--------- I call the Charlottesfield City Council uh meeting of May 18th, 2026 to order. Madame Clerk, will you please call the role? >> Councelor Fleer >> here. >> Vice Mayor Asherin >> here. >> Councelor Payne >> here. Councelor Snook
>> here. >> Mayor Wade >> here. Uh, is there a motion to approve or amend the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. All in favor, please say yes. >> Yes. >> All oppose, please say no.
>> This will be the um the meeting will be divided into three sections. The first one is a work session where we will hear and discuss um presentations that do not require council vote. Then we'll go into close session and then we'll come back at our regular business meeting at 6:30.
Today we're going to hear two reports and the first one will be the P C O proposed ordinance um revisions. Mr. U or Jame I mean um Sam, I'm not sure if you're going to open it up. Um yes, I will say that um tonight uh the the goal
here is that the police civilian oversight board and staff will be presenting to you uh long awaited uh updates, proposed revisions to the current uh framework that outlines uh its existence. Uh we've all been aware
that there's been challenges in the past of the PCOB being able to operate in the full light of what was uh imagined and therefore authorized in the past. Uh we feel good about where we are today. Look forward to the presentation this evening
and the goal is to frame how we go forward without there being any question as to the ability of this body to perform the function that we think is very important. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor Wade, members of city council, Mr. City Manager, and other uh officials.
Thank you for inviting us to this joint session of the police civilian oversight board. My name is Jeffrey Frasier. I am the current chair of the PCOB. I have been the chair since last November. I've been a member of this board since uh February of 2021 through I've seen it
through some stormy waters, but uh as the city manager indicated, things are beginning to settle and we're quite pleased with where we are at this point. Um I'd like to introduce uh my board members if they would raise their hands. They're all here except for one who is
out of town. And um we have a robust full board now, which I'm very pleased to report with a lot of diverse perspectives and it's the most excited I've been about this organization since my appointment in 2021.
Um so we are here to introduce a series Oh, I'm sorry. Our acting director, Mr. Walker, we are here uh to introduce a series of requested revisions to article 16 of the city code. And this is the ordinance, as you know, that governs the
structure, the authority, and the function of the police civilian oversight board. I'll refer to going forward as the PCOB. Before I ask Mr. Walker to walk you through some of the more detailed substance of the requested revisions, I'd like to take just a few
minutes of your time to frame the why we are here, what we are proposing in a sort of an overarching uh way, and what we hope to communicate to you through today's discussion. So, we have three goals for today. The first is review. We want to walk you through the core
ordinance revisions that we are requesting and recommending. Uh, this has been a real uh slog, but we're we're finally at a place where we can bring it to you. Secondly, we want to inform you to answer your questions and to and to hear your input. And then thirdly,
discuss any details, our rationale, and any implications of these changes, any concerns that you might have about the changes that we're proposing. We're respectfully asking for your engagement, your insight, and your candid feedback.
Now, let me say at the heart of this whole effort is the recommendation that that a proposed transition in the model of oversight itself. So stay with that point if you would. The current ordinance contemplates an investigation
dominant model in which the board and the director are expected to conduct independent investigations of complaints of police misconduct and employee misconduct and hold hearings to adjudicate those complaints. In
practice, however, as you probably know, that model has presented significant insurmountable barriers to implementation. We are rec recommending a transition to what is known as a monitor audit and review model of oversight which Mr.
Walker will explain to you in some detail shortly. This framework uh is is a nationally recognized one. It's not something we just came up with out of whole cloth. It is a model of many other um civilian oversight boards throughout the country.
Now I want to be clear uh very clear about something important. the the the proposal we are presenting to you tonight in which we're asking for your approval is not a retreat from oversight. It provides for more oversight at the end of the day, not
less. And Mr. Walker will will explain that to you shortly. But it is a refocusing of our oversight role as an achievable, sustainable and actionable u set of procedures under Virginia law
within the realities of the the the local statute, constitutional issues, employment issues, police union issues, the list goes on and on. The current ordinance, while well-intentioned, contains formidable structural challenges that the board has
encountered firsthand. And I will just say to you in short that in my um over six years on the board, we've been unable to hold a single hearing. We've done a lot of other good things, but we've not been able to hold a single hearing because of those formidable challenges and obstacles which have
consistently come up whenever we've uh tried to move forward. So, the board now in good faith has attempted to operate under that ordinance, but without much success, as as you probably know. Needless to say, this has been extremely
frustrating to the board. The revisions before you this afternoon are the product of that experience. what we've learned from that those years of frustration and barriers and many hours of work during the past year to to bring to you a workable ordinance, one which
we think is going to be effective and robust. Currently, the pro the proposed changes that you're seeing tonight, this afternoon rather, are being vetted by both the city attorney's office and by our independent outside council. They're both looking at it from a legal
perspective. We also have sought input from the chief of police and from the city manager's office. Mr. Walker's detailed presentation will walk you through each requested revision in turn excuse excuse me. So he'll do a fairly
detailed walk through together. These changes are intended to give us the PCOB a workable, legally sound, implementable and communityfacing framework that produces real public results. Our goal
is to bring a finalized ordinance to council for first and second readings hopefully by the end of the summer with your approval. In closing, I would emphasize that the work of the civilian oversight board is too important in our view to be limited by a framework that
cannot in practice deliver on its original promises. The revisions you will hear about in a moment from Mr. Walker represent a thoughtful, honest, and committed effort to strengthen oversight, not weaken it, by aligning the PC OB's authority with what can
actually be accomplished. In closing, let me say because I've know this has been a lot of sort of legal ease and and and and verbiage. We are completely committed to being the eyes, the ears, and the voice of our city and our
citizens with regard to police oversight. You have my word on that. So, with that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Walker. Thank you very much for your time and attention this evening, Mr. Walker. I'm always a little bit above the
microphone, so I apologize. Um, so, uh, good evening, mayor, members of council, and Mr. City Manager. I first of all, I just want to thank Dr. Frasier for doing the lead in there, as well as for all the board members who are here. Um, our eighth board member would have been here
had he not already had a a presscheduled event. So, um I just I want to appreciate their time, their dedication from the moment some of our newest members have joined to those who have been around for quite some time um and have stuck with us. So, I appreciate them. I appreciate their time and
commitment. Um and so I'm here uh because of them and for really no other reason than to support and facilitate their work uh and their mission. So, this evening um we have the presentation up here. Dr. Dr. I'm pretty sure you used the word detailed. Uh it is but
this is I would consider the high level >> view of the changes. There are several deeper levels. Um I believe you have seen the uh the table that lays out every change and the reason why that change was made. Um and then the the deepest level is certainly working on the actual language at the the final
version level. Um and so everything I say tonight I do want to say that uh I'm presenting it with the caveat that as Dr. Frasier mentioned, it is going through legal review. So, just because um I expressed something this evening, I I do want to make sure that uh the city
attorney's office is definitely going to have their say, and I want to make that clear. Um and so with that said, um I will go ahead and start. Let's see if this Oh, yeah, it does. Great. Dr. Frasier covered some of this this evening um about the purpose. So the
three core things are to transition the model from a investigation dominant model to a monitor, audit and review model of oversight. Second thing is to show the barriers that are being removed from the existing ordinance. And thirdly to clarify those duties, processes,
outcomes so that there's a clear sense of what does it mean to auditor moni monitor monitor, audit and review. Um so and Dr. Fraser already covered those points review discuss and form. Um, really our goal tonight is to hear your feedback and ask answer any questions
that you have and be able to then hopefully provide answers for you tonight or in the in the future months. So, looking at the purpose statement, this is one of the biggest things that we've spent as a board um and myself at the meetings just talking about the purpose statement of the board. I think
this sets the tone for the entire document. And so uh I think we've gone through several revisions as as discussions have happened during meetings and really what the reason for this change is the purpose was very broad. It talked about trust which is a
great concept. However, it didn't specify how the board was meant to achieve that. And so the purpose statement change is meant to actually lay out what is it that this entity wants to achieve? What is its ultimate mission? What are its goals? Trust might
be an outcome of that, but actually clarifying that the work is meant to be community focused, civilian-led terms like accountability and transparency I I use quite often. Uh accountability meaning that if something happens that needs to be corrected, it can be and
transparency meaning that there is a perspective inside of something that didn't happen before. So the board, I think, is able to provide both of those in a unique way. I think we're still working on some of this language, but it this has been a work in progress for sure.
So, the big topic is the transition to the monitor, audit, and review model of oversight. Many times, um, oversight entities have two two components. There is usually an office, a staffled office, and then there is the civilian panel, board, or commission. And often times, the the
work is divided up between them because in the staff, you're there every day. um you have greater access to things like the police department and some of the systems. So if you think about it, the monitoring and auditing component is largely done by the office on a day-to-day basis with the police
department with police department systems and data. And so that includes things like going to various meetings which board members have been invited to by the chief um whether it's comstat or to uh roll call of police officers. So they can see that too. But on the
day-to-day basis, my goal is to show up at those things, show up at internal affairs interviews, um, and be there and see what's going on, the eyes and ears of the board. The audit framework really is that deep dive, jumping down into data systems like with Flock when we had it at the time. Uh, looking at the Flock
data was an example of that kind of audit level. And then finally, everything is meant to flow back to the board. So, if you think about it as a funnel, the office is trying to funnel everything back to the board so that the board can review it and make determinations, recommendations, and decisions on that to then forward to the
chief of police, the city manager, and to the council as appropriate. So, the goal is to really take the ordinance and explain what each of these mean. And there is now a new section that is specific to each of these. So, what does it mean to monitor the department,
audit, and review the department? One other key section that I think goes along with this and that I I have continued to return to over and over again is what types of products and outcomes is the board creating as a result of its work. That has been a question um ever since my my two years
here and long before is asking what is what work is the board producing? What work is the board um getting done? And so this section makes that very clear. What is expected to come out of the board? How will it be reported to who? what audiences and what is going to
happen as a result of that. And so the aim of this section in the ordinance is to just clarify all that and make it um unambiguous that this is what the board can decide. Here's what they do with it and here's how the police department or the city is meant to receive that information.
So one of the things that Dr. Frasier had mentioned is the concept of a hearing that is that is grounded in the state legislation that allows for oversight ordin um oversight bodies like this one. The hearing as it was written largely looked like a trial um
adjudicating officers uh complaints against officers bringing in witnesses and testimony. There are many reasons why uh there are barriers that exist in that model. Whether it is privacy laws and foyer requirements, public meeting requirements, um the lack of certain
exclusions to go into close session for certain things that the board lacks in many ways. All of those shaped to create a situation in which the hearing as it was written wasn't very functional. The goal is not to take that away, but the goal is just to transition the the
purpose of a hearing, which is to really bring in testimony, experts, research, um, public comment, questions, all that kind of stuff into a single forum for a specific topic. And so, the hearing power remains, but it focuses more on large picture things, whether that's an
audit report that has come out and we're going to have a hearing on that specific audit, or it could be on a specific policy or topic or issue in the community. And so it is just that focused meeting, public meeting of the board to be able to really dive into the details of a specific topic.
Alignment of the subpoena authority. This this went closely in hand with the hearings. The subpoena authority is again grounded in that state legislation, but from the beginning it existed as a conflict within the own ordinance. The ordinance said you cannot compel officer testimony. The the
subpoena said you can compel officer testimony. And so that conflict right there raised many issues and how that would work, how it would be implemented, does it only get implemented in the hearing authority? And so removing this aspect of it, keeping it in a way that
allows for collection of outside evidence from maybe a a video camera that's not within the control of the city or um a witness. I think this would be reserved very uh for very key issues and this is not a power that would be
used at with any frequency but it was important to to leave it in there because the concept of having that final authority is really a part of the teeth of the board. Um and again that that is grounded in the state legislation. But what it does do is it removes it
from compelling that officer to appear or even make an attempt to do that. Um, part of that conversation happened as a result of with the with the judge and just kind of going through the legal framework of that and some of the challenges around that.
So, getting into those barriers, as Dr. Frasier said, one of the key things throughout the entire ordinance is that it said, hey, you can you can monitor, you can audit, you can review, but it didn't really discuss any of those topics throughout the ordinance. The only thing it really discussed was independent investigations.
And so in removing that language, that's why it's really important to replace it with the monitor, audit, review context and really lay out what does that mean. The independent investigation model had many, many barriers. This is where I'd say 90% of the challenges arise. It's because it's connected with the
hearings. It's connected with subpoenas. It's also connected with the disciplinary recommendations that might come out of an investigation. And so by removing the investigation model, it just frees up the board to actually focus on the core aspects of
oversight that it can reasonably do on a monthly basis during monthly meetings, during work sessions. Um, and as a small office, it allows this office to focus on supporting that work rather than thinking about investigating every complaint that comes in. So, as it is
now, when a when a complaint comes in, it ultimately is referred to the internal affairs of the police department with monitoring by this office. So, that means going to those uh those interviews, watching body cam footage, um sometimes talking to the complainant if the complainant calls the
PCOB office, kind of guide them through what's going to happen with their complaint, make sure they're being attended to by the internal affairs department. Uh and so those are kind of the aspects of monitoring that replace this independent investigation model. Another big barrier and I I handle this
separately although it's tied in is the disciplinary recommendations. So as it stood right now is that the board would recommend discipline before the chief made the determination. There's a number of reasons why that's really problematic. the the easiest one being
that the chief has a defined window of time from the moment a complaint is received to the moment discipline must be given. And so if you think about it, the board only meets once a month unless they're calling specific sessions very quickly within 24 48 hours to actually
review a case and then provide a recommendation. That would be unworkable generally in that timeline. An investigation might take 30 days. Chief might have a couple days to make the decision about discipline. And so that's one of the big changes. Now what is left and what is remains as
part of that disciplinary action is being able to look at the discipline policy which is a matrix. So if officer commits um this act of misconduct then it would fall on this level of the matrix and the chief uses that matrix to determine discipline. So the board can
speak to that disciplinary matrix and the board can also speak to how the chief applies that matrix. And so those items still remain in the ordinance, but it is a kind of like an afteraction report. Discipline's already been given. So the goal is to change the systemic approach to discipline going forward,
not necessarily to recommend discipline on a case-by case basis. Clarification of board membership. There's really no major change of this section other than I know the council had um made some changes back I believe it was 2024 and one of the one of the outcomes of
that was just to clarify some of the aspects of who has priority uh in the sense of who to appoint to council I will say this is one of the number one topics that uh members of the community speak about about who should be on the the board and who shouldn't with that
said it basically clarifies that level of priority ity from city resident to county resident to uh a larger look if needed. It also does a couple other small things. It changes the term length. Um one one piece of feedback that has been going on over the years with board members is that the term is
quite long. And so to bring it in alignment with uh city council's existing ordinance. It just changes it to two years with four consecutive terms. Um, and so there's some other language in there to allow the continuation of some of our members who have just joined and are filling um,
unexpired terms to be able to help with that transition. >> So, um, I'm sorry, quick change, I mean a quick question. Um, when we've had a few work sessions on this and one of the obstacles in us keeping members was the
required training. It was as I recall I think it was this organ this group that required significant training. >> It did. Yes. >> Is that with this new proposed change would that change? >> So that that aspect was addressed when
we met back in September. Um that was one of the big changes that was made at that time to reduce those numbers of training and yes it was it was like between all the different elements it would have been like 18 hours worth of training which is very hard to do especially the different types that it
specified. Um so as an example this board has already done training with city attorney's office on foyer requirements. We're slowly working that out. Um it also extended the length of time to do the training. >> Yeah. Yep. >> Thank you.
So one of the um big changes also is there were two subsequent documents that came out of the of the ordinance. It was the standard operating procedure and the memorandum of understanding. Both were with the police department. One spoke to access to information and records. The
other one spoke to kind of the monitoring side. What does it look like for this office to monitor and investigation observe interviews? Both of those which had language from the city attorney's office have been now consolidated into the ordinance. So what
it does is helps prevent that document sprawl where one document speaking to another and this one's speaking to this one and potential conflicts arise in that process. Takes all that language, brings it into the ordinance and simplifies it a little bit. Um and the goal of that is really just to eliminate
all this excess documentation. The goal is to have the ordinance and operating procedures that speak to the board's function. And those two documents can work hand in hand without anything additional. One other these are these are kind of smaller things that were at the end of the ordinance. But one thing that it
said uh in the existing ordinance is that the board could initiate mediation between a complainant and an officer. Realistically the board has no authority to do that. Right. And so I know the chief at times has looked into uh that type of program. And so the ordinance
still leaves that that option as well as some alternative resolutions. Sometimes when a complainant calls, they just want to share some things. They want the board and and the city to know that these are the things that happened and for them to be on our radar, not necessarily to file a complaint. And so this section speaks to some of those
other options that are um before a formal complaint is filed. But every time that someone calls with a complaint, uh that that option is always given to them before the end. Do you want do you wish to file a formal complaint? And that way that choice is always rests on the complainant. Um but
this is just a little bit of cleanup language. Another area of a little bit of a cleanup is there was a commendation section and the board felt strongly that this was an important thing to leave in the ordinance so that we can commend officers when um they show exemplary
service and uh other acts that that merit that. This section was very generic and the goal was to actually lay out some of the parameters of what it might look like, what criteria need to be met, where does the information come from and then how does the board make the decision on that to commend an
officer, commend the department. So that's made to be a little bit more robust. And then lastly, there is a definition section that has been added. So there were many definitions scattered throughout the document. There was also some in the SOP and theou that we
consolidated. This just gives us a specific section to add definitions if in the future we need to make some amendments um and bring those to you and it's a definition very easy to add. Doesn't mess with any of the numbering in the document just goes into the list. So that is the the big picture of all of
those changes. Um again very very high level but the whole goal is to seek to address some of the issues that existed up to this point and move forward with a workable model that is workable both for the board and for the office. Um, and so of course there are are much more
detailed explanations related to all of that, but I would be happy to answer questions or if you have questions of the board members. Um, I don't have a question. I just want to thank you all for your service. It's, you know, everyone's busy, but you all
take time out to get trained and to serve the city in this capacity. So, thank you um very much. Um, with that being said, I'll ask council if they have any questions. Michael, I'll start with you, sir. Um,
excuse me. Well, first off, um, thank you for the presentation. I know, uh, tremendous amount of work has gone into leading up to this moment. Um, and I always just reflect on even when the PCOB was being created, looking at
um, how it plays out nationally, it was almost always the case they're created in a crisis moment and there's that huge community pressure to create it. And then after that, they typically struggle to um, figure out how to work as
effectively as possible. And there's a huge dichotomy between cities that just abandon that work or they stick with it and figure it out. But it often does take several years. Um but um I think we're in that moment of figuring out how to get it firing on all cylinders and
stay committed to police oversight. Um a few questions. You had raised a couple points in the presentation concerns around the collective bargaining agreement and I just looked at the original collective
bargaining ordinance and it excludes from bargaining anything quote matters pertaining to the composition, duties or powers of any civilian review board applicable to police officers or to any decision rendered by such a board. So,
how did we um end up with collective? >> So, sure. There's there's two items that I can answer that question with. In the police's collective bargaining agreement, there is a section that basically overrides the state legislation.
The state legislation, there is a something called the law enforcement officers procedural guarantee act. It is the way in which officers are guaranteed rights as part of their investigative process um if for misconduct. The collective bargaining agreement for the police department establishes that
as a core parameter of their internal investigations. So even though the state law says that oversight entities actually can ignore that, it it says that in the uh legislation that allows oversight bodies, the collective bargaining agreement brings that back into the picture for the officers. So
there's a tension there. There's a second piece in the collective bargaining agreement that says any disciplinary findings, recommendations, um decisions from the board cannot enter into appeals or grievance processes when an officer appeals. And the remarks from
the chair addressed this point um that you know the community there was a lot of community conversation and intentionality intentionality on choosing the investigative model. Um, and there's certainly some people in the community who, you know, I imagine will
have a concern of saying, "Well, isn't this watering down what the community chose?" Because at that time, the community believed that was the most um powerful um model. Um, just how would you address that concern? And I know you made the point that this is not this is about improving oversight, but if you
could just walk through why that you view that as being the case. So I think the the primary aspect of that is removal of the barriers resolves the problem of the last seven years that everyone has recognized. So in that
sense you're going to get more oversight as a result of that. Um also clarifying what does monitor audit and review actually mean versus before they weren't clarified. Um you also have the public reporting component that has been added to clarify what is meant to come out of
the board. So yes, I would I would agree the uh the independent investigation model it would be the highest level of oversight where a board is adjudicating specific case by case allegations against officers that would require a major review of collective bargaining
budget powers and authorities was within the ordinance itself. um certain decisions made at at levels above the board about the authority of the board and the staff. And so that becomes outside of our court. What I would say is we're taking an approach
that is within our court that we can move forward with that we're doing now and trying to actually formalize it. Um and that I think is going to produce more results than it has in the past. >> If I could add council pain to that just a specific example just sorry go to the
mic for the public. Just a specific example is it's been made clear to us that we cannot compel uh officer testimony and we nor can we give a guar guarantee to an officer that anything they disclose. So there's there there's going to be no cooperation nor can we
compel cooperation from an officer were we to do an investigation. That's just one piece of a larger puzzle notwithstanding the questions of of of hiring an investigator, paying an investigator, you know, putting boots on the ground. It's just be it's just been an absolute unworkable uh situation.
>> But but the gu alone is is is a major barrier for us. >> Well, and without question, I mean, as was touched on, there's that dynamic of when um it's it's not possible to follow through on what you've said on paper or
your goals that that reduces the community's trust. Um it's um there's no question about that. Um and I guess final question is you touched on it um at a high level but just for the
community could you walk through what why specifically were hearings not feasible to actually implement? So there's there and this is this gets back to a much broader legal discussion but it comes back to the fact that if the
ordinance from an officer but then there's a power that says you can compel testimony from an officer but you have to go through these steps first. There exists a tension in that and it brings into the g it brings in the Gity
question of can this board can this entity extend a protection to officers that they by providing testimony are protected against criminal suit as a result of that testimony. So we're creating these strange conflicts and
inconsistencies with the way that it was worded. Is it impossible? No. But the board would need the ability to compel officer testimony and the board would have to follow unless it was amended the collective bargaining agreement saying that we need
to follow the law enforcement officers procedural guarantee act and the tenants laid out in that. So I think the state legislation is possible. Um, I don't know that there's any oversight entities in Virginia doing it in in to the full extent um because
it does require a much more nuanced approach. I think the other thing with the hearings, something that we've been dealing with recently is that we do not the the board does not contain any exclusion from uh going into close session. So from FOYA to go into close
session. So, if you're in a hearing format and there's a number of provisions related to confidential information, um, private information, personal information being protected from a public hearing, but there's no ability to enter close session, it does then create this inherent tension
between is the hearing meant to be a public thing or not? Um, or is it partially public and partially not? Is officer testimony public? Is it not? Witness testimony. So these are things that at the time a couple years ago the
the hearing desk book was trying to answer but it existed in a larger I think framework of problems beyond just that just the hearing component because then you're talking about what does discipline look like? Can we adhere to the timelines established by that with a
hearing? Um what do subpoenas look like? Do we have this authority? Have we never tried it before? So I think it it creates broader questions. Um and that that is the reality. >> Mhm. And then just going forward, you know, after this presentation tonight,
what is um is there a timeline or set process for um you know, enga soliciting community feedback and then city council making a final decision on these recommended changes. So, I think that one of the things that we started off the year as as the board
with a work plan that said community uh community engagement and seeking community input is the first thing we do no matter what we do. Um whether it is reviewing policies, auditing, um changing ordinance stuff. So, collectively the board has been making those connections in the community. Um
everything from um there was a recent Simber events that we attended. There was NAACP which Mr. Dillard thankfully graciously invites us to as the vice uh vice chair vice president vice president. Um and so these are the kinds of things that we're attempting to do more and more and meanwhile just trying
to shape the ordinance to say when we go and have a conversation with somebody in public here's what we can do and we they can trust us when we say that. Um I admit that's been a that's been a difficulty where if you're talking to the community they're asking you can you
do this? What about this? What about this? and we're like, uh, it says we can, we're not really sure if we can. We have these problems. That's a much more difficult message than, yes, we have a clear mission. We have a clear purpose, and we can communicate it back and forth
to you. Um, and so some of these changes are are probably not of interest to some of our community members. We understand that. Um, and that's why I'm asking those community members, have the conversation with conversations with us, speak to board members, come to our
meetings, um, share those opinions, help us direct our work. >> Well, I'll let others go and we'll just say again, I I strongly believe, you know, the board is committed to robust independent oversight and these conversations are absolutely necessary to expand trust and effectiveness in the
community. So, um, I just appreciate the presentation, all the work. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Natalie, >> hi. Thank you. Um, echoing what um, councelor Payne said that uh, we appreciate that you're sticking with it. Um, that we haven't abandoned this
project because it does mean so much to the community. Um, but what what it sounds like to me to kind of sum up this presentation is that the model would be switching from attempting to duplicate an internal affairs investigation to
oversight over that investigation. Is that >> that's one component of it? Yes, absolutely. Um I would call that the probably the most primary component but I I would say that the change also tries to expand that some too where it's not
just overseeing internal affairs but also looking at technology systems policies practices um how decisions are being made by the department. So it it expands what does monitor audit and review look like beyond just internal affairs.
>> Okay great thank you. Um uh can you briefly summarize for anyone who might be listening or here in the audience what does it look like to file a complaint? How does that process work? >> Sure. And has that changed? >> That has not changed. Um there's a variety of ways you can so you can always go to the police department. Um
you can go to the front desk of the police department. You can contact internal affairs. If you come to the PCO, you can show up at the door, which I admit is sometimes challenging. I'm the only one in that door, so it's it can be hard at times depending on what's going on. Um, but you can call the phone there. It picks up the voicemail. I will
give you that individual a call back. You can email PCOS charlottville.gov. That email goes to everybody uh all the board members. I will be the initiate an initial initial person who responds to that email um and tries to get on the phone with you. Uh you can also send a
letter. We have an address. And then finally, there is an online portal on the website. So if you go under the main city page, departments, you'll see PCOB. One of the first things you'll find on our page is a place to submit a complaint online when that occurs. And my goal is to talk to that person to
collect as much detail as possible and to ultimately reach the point of can I provide other um ways of addressing this question. Sometimes it's not within our jurisdiction just sometimes there's a information giving process but if they wish to file a formal complaint that is
then referred to internal affairs. What I do is I try to make sure I am at any interview of an officer related to that complaint. I keep track of the status of that that investigation so that the person on the other end knows who should be calling them from internal
affairs. Um kind of where it is in the process. There's no content given as part of that, but it's pending or you know you should be receiving a closure letter soon that that tells you about how your case has come out. and then also telling them that the board can fully review this case and give a a
final determination, opinion, and recommendation on it. So, they're hearing that someone's paying attention, someone's watching the process, and that they have a a board of of members of the community who are going to see and give their opinion as well. Um, and so that's part of the process of explaining that
to the complainant. >> Okay, great. Um, thank you so much. I don't >> have any other questions at the moment. I look forward to this. You said this is coming back in front of council. >> The hope is is kind of like the July
time frame because it is being reviewed by the city attorney's office right now. It is a lot. So, I've done as much as I can, but I am no lawyer. So, >> um I also have a a baby coming at any moment. >> Oh, amazing. >> Within the next 24 to 48 hours, call my
wife. >> Um well, we wish you all the best with that. Um, but I am looking forward to hearing the the community feedback. Thank you. >> Thank. >> Yeah. Uh, first of all, let me say uh as one who tried mightily in 2022
to get some sort of an agreement, this is just so much uh beyond where we were able to get to at that point. It's it's really very impressive. And I will say just for the benefit of those who did not live through some of those times
uh in 2022 when we were trying to reddraft the ordinance because the first draft uh that had come out of the initial process that everybody was upset about because of the way it ended up in 2019.
That that didn't work well. So, we were trying to redo it. And at that point, we had no AC. We had no city attorney. We had no city manager. We had uh let's see, no
police chief. Um and we didn't really have any of the people in place who could possibly weigh in and really help us figure this stuff out. And so, Bill Menddees and I tried for many, many,
many months to make sense out of all of this stuff. And we ran two primary obstacles. The first obstacle was the community had a desire for an investigative model. And as you have documented, that is just really, really hard to do. It's hard to do with any
kind of credibility when you can't make the officer talk to you. Uh second was that there was a desire which we couldn't figure out how to do to have some input into officer discipline and off issues of confidentiality and time
deadlines and everything else got in the way there and we finally sort of said okay we're we're at our limit and at that point it was taken over by the city attorney and by the attorney who was working for PCO and what happened to
produce the uh ordinance that we got in 2023. And more importantly, the about 70 pages of operating procedures that was completely beyond the ability of any of us to to produce you even really to kind
of parse um was was the best that anybody thought we could do at that time. But I think everybody kind of recognized as they sat there and looked at this massive stuff that it didn't really provide any guidance as to how you all were supposed to go about your
jobs. Um, and so uh when when I heard that it was that there was going to be another attempt to to do this, my initial thought was god speed. uh but the the desire to go to the
monitoring kind of model is something that I had been kind of hoping for recogn having having recognized the difficulty with the investigative and discipline kinds of models. I hope that you're going to be able to implement all of this. It it seems I I will tell you
I've I've read everything that you've provided and it's about I don't know how thick this is. It's probably 30 pages. Uh, and while I'm not going to claim that I understand it all and that I've kind of figured it all out, I do think that it makes sense from what I've been able to see, I do think it's probably
going to be far more workable than what we had come up with before. Uh, and the kind of of monitoring and auditing and so on I think is is a valid function for the PCOB. I had suggested some years ago and this is sort of a
variant on the auditing concept that at some point the PCOB ought to go back and take another look at the data on disproportionate minority contact and that that's an auditing kind of function that could could have been performed all along and then perhaps would be a
welcome issue for you all to tackle when you have nothing else to do. Well, I don't other that's just on my general statements. I don't have any comments because I think I have questions because I think you've you've got a good job here. >> I think that's an important point that I want to highlight is the work that we've
been doing in writing this is built upon what was learned in the past. So I think without what was learned in the past, it would not be possible to create what has been created today. >> I'm glad that our failures are able to help us. >> Isn't that how science works?
technology. So I think you know and I I want to highlight one thing is that some of the original members who first sat down in that working group they they did hundreds of hours of research I have some of their files I have thousands of files from them. Um and so looking back
historically just all that documentation research like it is very commendable the amount of time and effort put in from the start to lay at least an understanding of the framework and the and the foundation of what this community was looking for. Um and I don't think that this is possible
without that. >> U Miss J. >> Thank you. Yes. Uh echoing the gratitude for all of your time. Thank you so much. Um, and there's no faster way to get a doula to get you off behind the mic but until her you're on call. So, um, I'll
just ask, um, what's the community messaging plan to help the public understand that this isn't a reduction in oversight? >> So, I think the the number one thing that the board has as a tool is the work plan that was created. The work plan is
meant to actually lay out what is the board working on monthtomonth and how does the community input feed that work. So whether it is um topics that bubble to the surface uh example would be school resource officers that have a
tie-in with the board um or it is related to some of the other work that we hear going on in the community. The whole goal first is to talk to people. um without that talking and listening, the board is not going to know what is the highest priority. And so more than anything, our role is to get out into
the community, myself included. Um and members have been doing that. Um and we need to do it more. So there's it's there's never enough of that. And that truly is meant to guide the work. There's only so many things that can be prioritized at any given time. Um and so like for example, myself and and uh Dr.
Dobson. We're at the workg groupoup session for the school resource officers by the school board. Just showing up, talking to people, answering questions. Um we also have a lot of content that we've been generating to put out website, social media, wherever need it needs to go. Um anything and everything
is a is a method. >> Got it. So yeah, that'll be that'll when there is something brought before you that would be more traditionally like traditionally have gone the independent investigation way. You will go engage
with community to talk about how it's doing to reassure them that the oversight is still happening in this new model. But um there's not like a a real u Yeah, that might be the most effective way to do that. Anyway, we'll use Yeah. real quickly.
>> Councelor Fleer, excuse me. Um, in an investigatory model, it would be ambitious to be able to do one case a month given the volunteer nature of the board and how it would be. With an oversight model, we could do five. We could do six because Mr. Walker will be looking at every single case. Any that
he flags or we flag, we'll we'll review. and and and because we have a model for how to do how to condense a case in a way that the board can look at it in a timeefficient way with a with a specific body cam footage with a specific witness reports. We don't have to throw the wide
net that we would in an investigatory model. So that's what we meant when we said this will provide more oversight, not less. And that's our takeaway message to the community. We're not taking this away. We're expanding our repertoire. So, I just want to leave council with that message because, you
know, we envision in a in a meeting and we're still haggling over whether we can do closed sessions because of issues of confidentiality and privacy, five or six cases a month, which would be outstanding from my perspective and make up for all those lost years. But anyway,
>> great. Thank you very much. Can I ask you a quick question following up on that? is has there been that demand >> that the PCO hasn't been able to keep up with or are we anticipating that >> having that many cases and we're looking at all of those. We're just not able to
do what we're proposing tonight and and so we will look at every single case right now. We couldn't do that and we certainly couldn't do that under an investigatory model. we'd have to find the most egregious violations of policy or officer conduct before we could then
even start to look at it from an investigatory perspective. And um I can say I've had conversations over the years with Council Snook who's been asking for years for a more of an audit oversight model and we finally got the message. >> Okay.
>> Did that answer your question? >> Yeah. Yeah. I was just wondering if if that demand existed. So >> Oh, yeah. You know, we'll we we'll have plenty of work to do, but it'll be a much more robust, streamlined process, which we're all pretty excited about cuz we really want to get to work. I mean,
we've been spinning wheels for years >> and it'll be work that you can actually do. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Jen, did you have any question? >> So, I know we're title time. I just had one kind of question comment. When we met in September, we talked about, you know, other cities, what they're doing.
Um I can't remember what other city is taking this doing this model if anyone is doing this particular model in Virginia. >> So there there is a couple cities doing a variety of the different components of these models. So uh typically most cities have at least one or two of these
categories if not more. Alexandria as an example um Virginia Beach is another. Richmond is kind of building up as well as I believe Fairfax I think is the other one >> or Arlington. Um, and so everyone looks a little different. We actually have now
a monthly group where we meet with those other oversight entities and share kind of what's going on, challenges being encountered by different entities. Everything looks different. I can say one thing that is very uh certain, we have more access into the police department than any of those other
Virginia localities. Um, Chief Kas has created a culture of access and openness. I don't think that any board member has asked to be a part of something that the police department is doing and been denied that request. Um, so one of the things that I've been
trying to emphasize is that to do true monitoring, auditing, and review, you have to be present and have the access. If you don't, then you're only getting some of the picture. Um, so I think that also speaks to the ability to provide more oversight, not less. and uh the
chief, you know, in conversation about this ordinance change understood the reason of putting some of those things that were in the SOP and theou that governed how the board would access information, how we would monitor putting that in the ordinance. So, um I'm thankful for that and thankful for
the access and that's an important component. So, thank >> mayor quickly and in addition to to the access which has been remarkable. We are very grateful for that. I've encouraged all the board members to do ride alongs to go to the citizen citizens police
academy to to interact with the police to get to know them because we really feel like you know that this is not I don't want to suggest it's it's a cozy relationship it is it is still we are monitoring them but the kind of access
is a function of a collaborative relationship that has proven and I think will continue to prove to be incredibly valuable in fulfilling our mission Thank you all. >> Mr. Mayor, before we leave the topic, could I ask one of the two of you all to introduce the other members of your
board? >> Dr. Kyle Dobson, Mr. George Dillard, retired law enforcement officer, Miss Karen Lenor Kelly, Mr. Andrew Fry, and Mr. Abby Lefave. And if you know these folks,
you'll know. >> Oh, I'm sorry. miss that. Um and uh each of these folks brings a unique set of skills and experience mental health, law enforcement, um law, whatever, research. So I feel
like we really have an incredible rival. I am the most enthusiastic in my six years on this board. >> I'm really excited about where we are. >> Great. Thank you, Lloyd. That's it. And and again, thank you all so much for your work on this. Looking forward to I
guess in in June or July, it'll be coming back to us and we'll have another opportunity for public input during that time and and I'm sure that people will be talking and emailing us as well. And it sounds like you all are out in the community getting input and and that is
amazing. I'm glad that y'all at the school board's hearing when they had that. So, just good to be out there. >> Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate. Thank you so much. >> Um the next item we're going to have is a um report on homeay short-term rental.
Miss Crees. All right. Um no. Uh Remy, I'll take care of it. Thank you. All right. Good. Good evening, mayor, council. Good evening, uh, community members. Um, I'm Missy Cesy. I'm with
Neighborhood Development Services, and I'll be guiding you through the materials that we've compiled um through the homeay and short-term rental study project that we did over the last year. I'll attempt to complete the presentation um with time for questions
if that's uh what you all would like to do. But if there are questions for clarity that come along the way, please do let me know and I'll I'll assist with that as well. Um, next slide. Um, so our agenda and this is very similar to the presentation that we've provided to the planning commission. There are some
changes and some updates that we've done. Um, so I do want to make that clear. Um, we'll do an introduction uh process uh study of the process uh research that we did as part of this um options that were considered and um
moving forward to our community engagement steps and then implementation and next steps. Um I did want to point out that there is a website that's dedicated to having um information on the things that have taken place through this. So that is um something that is
available for folks to take a look at. Uh next slide. Um so we're starting with the end. Um we're giving you a summary of of where we've where we've been and and where we got to with uh this study. Um so we researched a number of
jurisdictions as well as state code which had some changes on this issue. Um we looked at potential for development code changes that could arise from this and we went through a community engagement process as as part of this as well. Um the presentation is going to
give you all an overview of um kind of where we landed at the end. Um there is an unknown potent potential impact for some of the changes that the state code has provided. Um the state code uh now requires if you change your ordinance
pertaining to homeay short-term rental that you must include an allowance for renters to operate homeays. Um however, you do not if you do not change your code, you do not have to do that at this at this moment in time. Um, and you'll
see as we go through this presentation kind of where we why we landed the way we landed. Um, there are benefits to code changes, but they may or may not outweigh um, additional issues that are involved. Um, we have put additional staff resources towards focusing on
homeay um, enforcement and running of the program. And so we'll talk a little bit about that. And then um at this point in time, we're recommending maintaining the ordinance, continuing to monitor the situation, um allowing some
of our new enforcement um uh are basically stressing on enforcement and the program itself to try and get some results there. um to be able to um make sure that we're making some progress
there before we add additional unknowns into the situation. So, next slide, please. Um so, we'll begin with a definition. What is a homeay? It's a residential property that's rented less than 30 days. And this includes the R
districts and they are shaded in yellow in this map. Um and for those sites, the property owners have to reside at the residence at least 185 days of the calendar year to apply for the permit. Um once it's determined that uh well, we
determined um last spring to take a look at this um because our ordinance was about a decade old. Um, it's one of the earliest ordinances that was put in place for this type of use and a number of communities have reviewed our code as
they were forming their own along the way. Um, the number of home stays in our community has increased significantly and this was just a good opportunity to look at um how that was complying with
the comprehensive plan that we've had um changed recently. of course, um, make sure we're kind of lining up with our goals and intentions for the community. So, next slide. Okay. Our current regulations have a a
number of milestones in them. Um, one is proof of residency um with an ID. Uh, the permits are valid for a year at this point in time, and there's a $100 fee involved with that. Um, the code requires a number of safety measures. um
having detectors within the units um as well as um there is a provision in our code that does allow for staff to access the premise um once there has been a notification given uh to the individuals that are there. Um again the owner must
reside in the unit at least 185 days and up to six adults and any number of children may lease a home stay. Uh next slide. So there are a number of key concerns and issues that fell into the categories
of code compliance and impacts on the neighborhoods. Next slide. So we get to the study process and then again next slide. This diagram provides an overview of the timeline beginning in the of the spring of 2025 with a project
scoping and information gathering phased uh followed by a community survey um and then the procurement of the granicus system which I'll talk about in a few minutes. um drafting of recommendations based on those findings followed um with
additional outreach in the winter of 2025-26 and we met with the planning commission and receive feedback and then we're uh meeting with you all and um we'll go to our next step at that point. So next slide research and data again the next
slide thank you um Granicus. So, Granicus is a software that we've obtained that has been tailored for the city of Charlottesville and it provides a number of services uh related to short-term rentals. It allows us to locate the short-term rentals. Um helps
assist with the proactive enforcement and licensing of short-term rentals. Um it ensures that occupancy taxes are collected and um it generates letters for us. Um so use of the system has provided us with quite a bit of
information. We've identified um quite a few uh short-term rentals. Um many of them on our first pass there in lots of districts around the city. So there there are only the residential districts is where we focus this study because in
the other districts there is already a hotel um short stay allowance. um it tracks rentals from every platform um and catalogs that rental history as well as being an enforcement tool. So, prior to us having the system, we would have a
staff member go from platform to platform. So, each of the different websites that um host short-term rentals. Um they would look for the address. Um they would then need to screenshot what any listings would be and create this file over time. Whereas
now this system um cataloges that for us. We go into the system, it shows us um spots on the map where someone has a listing for a short-term rental that they've gleaned from the web and then
we're able to go into that listing or listings um from there and then uh work through the permitting process. Um so it's been very helpful and um we've also done this in partnership with the commissioner revenues office and they um
have been able to utilize this software as well. Uh next slide. All right. So a couple of charts. Um we've got one that shows that most of the time if it's a short-term rental the entire house is being rented. And then
um we were able to glean the bedroom count from uh what is showing up there. And uh that that was something that was was helpful along the way with number of of individuals because um you know that that ends up being one of the the
concern issues that has come up along the way which we'll talk about a little bit more. Uh next slide. So budgetary impacts. This is some information the commissioner of revenue was able to provide to us. um 17% of the transient lodging tax comes from locations using
online hosting sites. Now, that is not that's residential commercial sites, anything that uses a platform. So, we weren't able to split out the residential to really kind of get the the gist of what that is. But you can also see that um hotel motel is is still
a pretty significant amount of revenue that comes in through transient lodging. Sorry, you said 17%. >> 17. >> Okay, thank you. >> All right, the next slide. Um, this provides guest accommodations in the Charlottesville Admiral area. Um, the uh
available sites um don't hone down to within the city borders. So, it's a little bit broader in um in in what we've found, but um a number of of the data sources out there kind of give us a very
they give the same numbers generally um a couple of different sources. So, that is always a good sign when you see multiple sources seeing this a similar amount. Uh next slide. So, in addition to um uh you know tax revenue, of
course, there are a lot of other things that uh home stays and short-term rentals provide benefit to the community. Um tourism, uh weddings, uh breweries, these are all things that are very big in our general community. uh
local restaurants and businesses and then the cleaning and repair companies have additional opportunities that come through um this being a use that's allowed in our community. Next slide. So, as part of the research process, we
did a comparative research study. We um um reached out and uh gleaned information from a number of communities um and got different points um from that as we were gathering data along the way.
Um I know you guys are in a bit of a time constraint so I won't read every single one but I'll just note that um that we were in line with with a lot of our communities that that are around. Um and then uh next slide actually um one
thing that's brand new to um uh short-term rentals in Virginia is uh the requirement for human trafficking certification. So anyone who is performing um this service to the community um has to do this training.
Now um we we've we've heard it's it's a bit of a challenge. They're still trying to get that ramped up. Um but it is definitely a um you know a a something that's a benefit to um making sure that things are as well as they can be. All
right. So next slide. >> So that I'm sorry that training is provided by the state. It's an online >> would the applicant be required to take that training or who involved in the
stay process would >> um the the the persons who are who are renting >> and sorry by applicant I mean like on the permit >> um well again since this is one that they haven't really gotten up to speed
yet they have approved it um we haven't integrated it it into our system yet. But um we you know would of course as they as they make that much more clear as to who and what and where that
training is will definitely provide that. Um there's um I know there's some folks in the community who are out here who may have had have experienced it. I know that um the last grouping we talked to folks were a bit frustrated because they didn't have access to it yet. It's
not a not a thing that um we the city is in control of. The state is doing that. >> Thanks. >> All right. So, um Virginia Assembly passed a new law um that requires lo localities to allow for tenants to be able to operate short-term rental with
the permission of their landlord. Um so, this is this is a requirement that that came to pass in the last um last general assembly. Um, and it came to light as part of our research process
with this. Um, and um, it would only be required for us if we change the current code. Um, it definitely would open up homeay opportunities to more operators within the community. Um, and definitely
has potential to increase the number. Um, and there's potential increased impact um, that could come from the community. So, um, we'll continue through and y'all y'all will get more of what we're doing here. Next slide. All right. Options considered. All right.
Next slide, please. All right. So, we put together a chart that had the current regulations with the options that we considered along the way. Um, and um,
they were very minor changes. Some were minor, some were some were not. Um we'll go to the next slide so we can walk through those a little bit better. Um so we had a few more stringent requirements um that we had considered
as part of this process. Having an internal safety inspection requirement. Again, the code allows us to do that, but putting in instituting um a requirement in order to get a permit um to to have that be um done on the front
end and it would be used to establish um the occupancy allowance um that could occur for a short-term rental. Um so we did recommend after looking at many many uh opportunities a
potential increase in number of guests uh adult guests. Um and that would allow additional people the information the opportunity to perhaps uh utilize this. Um so that was one piece of the puzzle. Um
also um let's see the permit um would reduce having a permit that was more than one year would also reduce year staff time that goes into reviewing permits. Um so those are some of the
benefits that we we found. But then there were some potential costs involved of course because uh we would have increased staff time that would be needed to do internal inspections. we'd need to make sure that the staff doing that had the correct um training and so
there, you know, there are definitely some costs that would be involved with that. Um changing the code um again would require us to include the provision for tenants to operate the short-term rental and um you know
there's potential impacts of additional guests. Um so those were some of the costs that we pointed out. All right. Next. If if the if the tenant is to be operating in short-term rental, the tenant would have to get the application filed. >> Yes, they would have to
>> Would the owner have any say in that matter? >> Yes, of course. The owner would have to sign that the tenant could do it. Um >> I mean, many leases have some provision for sublets, >> which this is sort of a species of, but
not. I'm just wondering how that how that is expected to break out. >> Well, again, another unknown. Yeah. Um Yeah. So, >> okay. >> And perhaps new leases will be rewritten stating that a sublet is different than
a Airbnb. >> Yeah. Okay. >> All right. Um next slide. So, we'll talk a little bit about our community engagement with this. Um again, the next slide. Um, we had a community out um, we had community outreach um, meeting. We
had an online survey and we had a meeting with the short-term rental advocacy group as part of our um, uh, dialogue. We've had continuous dialogue with um, with a number of interested parties along the way. Um, next slide.
For the community survey, we had about 500 people respond um to the survey and they noted a number of benefits which included economic uh tourism type options. Um and then we had some concerns that were noted which was uh
you know impact on housing, neighborhood and uh nuisance related items. Um, and then there was a subset of the respondents that noted that they didn't have any concerns from short-term rentals and uh, those identified
primarily as resident homeowners. All right, so our next slide, we had a community meeting in December of 2025. We had a lot of different people from a lot of different walks of life um who came to learn more about this view
displays that we had um as well as ask questions and then um we had a formal presentation that um ended up in a pretty extensive question answer session. Um so there was definitely a lot of information that was shared during that time. Um it was noted in
summary that home stays generate economic benefits, boost tourism and offer unique options for um for lodging. Um but there were also the concerns raised about uh rising housing costs and
um loss of housing uh within the community. So next slide, please. So, um through the community meeting, there was a group of short-term rental um operators who organized and um
contacted us uh with a different model for regulating home stays. Um and this group provided a number of questions for review and suggestions that could be part of of that and we've highlighted a number on the slides there. Um, we do
want to note also that sta that staff received comment from providers in the community that were not a part of this group and did not feel that that group represented them. So, they just wanted that to be a piece of the puzzle as well. All right, so um next slide
please. All right, we have key findings and the staff recommendations. Again, next slide. So much has been learned and confirmed through this process. Um, community engagement supports um, short-term rentals with increased enforcement efforts. Um, current
occupancy of six adults limits larger properties but provides opportunities for a number of operators. Uh, strengthening requirements for home occupancy would be challenge challenging to enforce. Um key item that came to
light was the change in the um state code provision um which really led to potential unknown impacts. Um and so that was something we definitely focused on. Um
yes. All right. Um next slide please. Okay. So, um we've uh recently been um enacting a
number of um measures concerning um short-term rental. Um we have uh focused staff. We have um most of one of our zoning team u most of their time is focused on um building up this program.
Um and so they've been working extensively with the Granicus program. um also been navigating the uh the concerns that come in um and um assisting with uh the permit reviews that occur.
Um all right. So for the recommendations that we have um at this point in time, we um recommend uh maintaining the existing ordinance. Uh we want to strengthen the mon monitoring of the home state compliance uh permitting
requirements and then continue with education and monitor the impacts of how this change in the state code happens in other localities around Virginia um to see what other sorts of um things that
are unknown now perhaps have a little bit more um information um for homeays located in other zoning districts which we have many other zoning districts. Um there's a lot of interest in actually doing the yearly
inspections um because they do fall into a different building code requirement. That is something that we've been working with the fire department on how to implement. Um and then to consider a potential study for issues and other opportunities as part of a f future work
plan. So the next slide will talk a little bit about what the planning commission um had to say from their meeting. Um they had a number of key themes uh support for maintaining the existing regulation and pursuing
additional enforcement. Um as well as interest in um understanding future or potential impacts for renters um being able to occupy or operate homeays. Um other comments included um allow current
codes to determine maximum occupancy and they were referring to building codes at that point. Um continue the discussion on the permit time frames. I know there's um there's there's debate back and forth about one year versus three years versus 5 years. Um there's lack of
support for having a 90day maximum allowance on homeays um from the commission. uh support for operators to continue to sign off that they are adhering to the rules. Um there was a request about other localities,
everyone coming together to try and get the plot the platforms to comply and then consideration of a two-unit minimum on site to apply. Um uh next slide that gets us us to the end. I wanted to
talk a little bit about um these enforcement issues that we have been talking about. Um we started the year um so the permits are due um well they're supposed to be due right at the beginning of the year. Um we uh it takes
people a bit to remember that. So, we reached out to everyone that we had a contact for who had done a short-term rental and received a permit in the past years and reached out to them with um with a preliminary message noting the
time frames and when uh permits were due. And from that, we gained a flurry. Um so, we ended up with 84 permit applications as part of that effort. We had a few that came in as they're supposed to come in, but um we got quite
a few once we sent the reminder out. Um and then uh with that, a number of those permits um not a huge number, but a number were for folks that um didn't qualify for those permits. And so we're continuing to ask them for the correct
information if they have that. um and uh continuing to work with sites um about uh you know if there's situations where they could conform or not. Um soon after we sent out a press release. Um that was something that um definitely got a
little bit of flurry of information as well. Um people reached out when they saw that. And that was really just an education opportunity to link people to how you fill um where you go to fill out the permit and what information that you need. Um and we have been working with
our Granus software team over the last uh couple of weeks here and we have a mailing that went out today. Um well, it went out through the system. it'll probably be later in the week where it will go to um about 200 eligible
operators who have not filed for their permits. Um and so they're going to receive another notification that specifically says, you know, hey, you have this. We see that you're doing this because it's on the internet. Um and uh
here's how you get your permit and please reach out to us if you have questions. Um, we're uh we'll let that part go for a little while. Try and manage what the feedback we're going to get from that because we definitely assume that we will get some. And then
we'll move to our next group of um properties and residential areas that don't appear to um comply that are showing uh listings online um and take those one by one. Um well actually first
we're gonna plan to send out a warning letter and then hope that they come in dialogue with us so that we can either help them get into compliance or um you know maybe that's just not the opportunity that they need to be taking
at that point in time. So that is an overview what we've done. Um the the software has definitely been incredibly helpful um in minimizing our research time. We still have to you know go and
look at each site to see what the listing is. Um but uh it compiles it for us which has been a really good tool and saved a lot of time. >> So um thank you. is that so I know we
probably will go over a little bit over um but this is a important topic I want to get comments from my colleagues but I just had a quick question and that is like um you know as far as enforcement because you know I agreed that we should probably leave it the way you know make
no changes at this time but you know after you sent out the letter for those that we know that are doing what's then because ironically just in Richmond paper today that talked about how I don't know 70% you know they send
the letters out but they're not getting it. So what what what's our next card? >> Um so yes we'll we'll move to that next next group um and warning letters and then we will work in collaboration with
the attorney's office as to the best way to move forward um through the enforcement realm. There are fines that are available. There um is the option of taking people to court. Um these are
these are all considerations. Um and we will work in partnership um to make sure that uh we're doing the most palatable situation. >> Okay. Um Jen, I'll start with you. >> Yeah, I think mine's my question is
similar to yours. So over the next year, strengthening monitoring means more. >> It means actually getting people on the books is our is our start. We're start we now know where they are. I mean they, you know, if if someone has has put a
listing in an Airbnb or whatever, you know, even the more obscure ones, this this thing is taking it from the internet. And we have a map that will show us. We can click on it. it'll say this house has listings here, here, and here. So, um, you know, there's a little
less speculation that goes on with that, which is really helpful. Um, and so now we're trying to get people in compliance. Um, that's kind of our first move. And then we also want um to work on the situations where people are not
in compliance and see if there's a way for it to get into compliance or if it's a situation. I mean, we have had situations where um zoning has noted that, you know, the person doesn't meet the criteria and someone actually sold
their house that they were using for this use that they did not live in um because they weren't able to adhere to the rules. Um those again are outliers. Um we do we do have a number of uh
situations in the community where um there are challenges um with the individuals who are renting um the establishments um there have been um involvement with
other groups within the community, the police. Um and um you know some of these are just really hard. Um but you know the majority of the people that we're finding who are doing this it's it's not
something that every that people see or at least the people around them are not concerned about it. But there are there there's you know there's a healthy handful of uh of situations that are not going well. Um, and we uh work with
those neighbors the best we can. >> So, the same team that's going to do the granicus followup on the IDing and starting the conversation will be doing the active complaint followup. Okay. And
do we know how many of the STRs are ADUs versus um homes renting entirely or single rooms? Um, well, we have the little bit of data that Granicus gave us on that. I
don't believe that it says if there's more than one unit on the property, it just knots for that property. So, that'll be something we'll have to dig into a bit more. >> Oh, quick followup there. So, if it's like a house with an ADU, but the ADU is
like it's whole a whole house but small, does that count as a whole house rental or does that count as a part of a property? in in their data. I'm not 100% sure on that. >> Okay.
>> Back to you, Jen. >> That's Are there streets or neighborhoods where you are aware that there's a concentration of short-term rentals that is causing neighbors to be
upset about just the character of the neighborhood or anything like that? Is there anything that we have the ability to do about that fact? >> Um, it is somewhat limited if the individuals are able to comply with the
code requirements. Um, you know, we we do continue to educate folks. Um but uh yeah, there are definitely some some pockets of the community where there is concern um that
has arisen. >> Okay, thank you Natly. >> Hey, thanks. Um, so I I was at the meeting earlier this year and the presentation to me seemed like the changes weren't that ownorous, but the
big ch the changes in the the current or the options considered not not super significant. It really is kind of the change between the ability to enforce what we already have and not being able to enforce what we already have that that caused a lot of the stir.
I yes I I believe that that that has to do a lot with it. We had a zoning team of two people um and now we have a zoning team of three people and >> plus the software that helps >> and the software and so these tools have have made this um the process easier to
work through um because it you know when it was a research of a case where they had to go platform by platform that would take very lengthy time to gather enough data. Um whereas we're you know
we have this in one set place. Um but yes we've and you know because of this being such a concern for a number of people in the community, we've dedicated um a good portion of one person's staff time to making sure that this program
gets up and running well. And so is the idea to pause on the options considered because we haven't really gotten the chance to enforce our existing procedures. So we'll try that and we'll circle back like in a year to see or
like what is the plan for the options considered? >> Um well we're I mean definitely to to kind of pause. Um we're we're hopeful that uh with the enforcement um and the work that we're doing now that we'll start to get many more people in
compliance, we'll be able to know where there the concerns and we'll be able to work collaboratively with other departments to make sure that we're doing as as much as we can to make those situations not as hard on people. Um, we also are, you know, don't want to do
small tweaks to something and then have to introduce a very big unknown. Um, we didn't, um, as part of our community engagement process, we didn't really focus on a renter uh, type situation where there would be
renters allowed to do that. And that felt like something that the community would want to weigh in on as well. And so we we were hopeful to to have some time um to see if some other communities around the state enact changes to their
code and to gather what kind of information they're getting whether it you know what kind of impacts that may have on their community. >> So sorry to clarify the state law allows a locality to allow renters. It doesn't allow renters in the locality
>> council. Um there must be a pres mistake in the presentation because the um state law says that we are not allowed to prohibit renters from operating a short-term rental so long as they have the landlord's permission. >> Right. >> It does say that we can change the
ordinance to only permit them to have a single um short-term rental the renter the lei. That's the extent to which state law says it doesn't hinge on us changing our code. Yes. Okay. So, yeah, my my follow Thank you for that clarification. My follow-up was going to be what would the community engagement
process give to that if it's a state law that we can't do anything about? Um, okay. So I'm just the thing that uh the other question I have is um regarding the state law is it's you seem to
indicate and I might have misread the presentation that um something hinges on whether or not we change our ordinance. Not I I think it it was that
>> if we make if we were to make a change again this is something um may have been prior to Mr. Maddox coming on board um and we may need to revisit the interpretation on that. Um but uh noting that since we had the code in place
prior to the date that they had noted um we had been given guidance that uh as long as we didn't change the code we wouldn't have to add that in at this point >> at this point. But at some point there's >> but if we change if we change our homeay regulations then we would have to that
would be added in no matter what. >> Okay. But if we don't change our homesteadare regulations, is there some point of like grace period where it it would then apply whether or not we made any adjustments? >> I would anticipate that the general assembly could change it at any time to
say it doesn't matter if you change it or not. You got to do this. >> Okay. Um gotcha. Um Okay. I know we're running low on time, so I'll just say that um the the planning commission um
recommendations um the thing that I I mo that stands out to me as the most useful thing would be the um changing this is part of the original plan is bait and so you don't have to do it every year, >> but every two or three I think that
seems perfectly reasonable. I know we have to sus out what happens if we change anything. Um, but if it's not pressing now and we want to see how it works for a while with the granicus of it all actually being able to enforce the laws we have, then sure, because
it's not a huge jump from the laws we have now to the the recommended ones. But if we were going to change anything, I think that's kind of top of the priority list. >> Okay, Michael.
So you've had the Granica system for a year now. Um and so increased enforcement activity has not yet been happening. >> Um not as much through the system. Um we had to of course onboard the system uh
which took a little bit of time and um then we were um working through what the system was telling us. So that was a piece of the puzzle as well. And because this is kind of on a calendar, it it it's hard midstream. It would have been
really hard at the end of last year to implement something when the next due date is coming. So, we we've kind of worked with moving to when um the required um when the when the permits
were required to kind of start fresh. >> And you have um there's a new Granica system. there's that one additional staff member. Um, those have changed. What other primary constraints exist around the ability to do proactive enforcement?
>> Um, well, we get we get plenty of complaints, so we spend a lot of time on on those. Um some it's uh people choose to tell us what they choose to tell us and it's not always uh something that we
can find any um evidence to the contrary. Um and so um that you know is something that we we battle with quite a bit is you know folks will say that person doesn't live there um but they provided us with the information that
they're supposed to provide us with and we're very limited as to um what we can do in those cases. Do you monitor um like LLC ownership in terms of if they're investment vehicles that are um owning and operating multiple Airbnb
properties? >> Um I know that you the it has to be an owner signing off on it. So the individual is going to have to note that they are the person for that group. Mhm. And as just a random example, you know,
today, you know, there's a complaint that, you know, there's an LLC, it owns three different properties, it's being used Airbnb full-time. What would the city's enforcement actions look like? >> Um, we would work through um sending out
um violation notices. um there's fines that are involved and then um if we end up uh moving forward uh you know we would collaborate to see if there was another way to enforce that. >> Um well I'll just say I think >> residential zones.
>> Yes. And this is in Yeah. Again, thank you for that. Um it's in the residential zones in the the mixed use and in the commercial zones there are allowances for transient lodging already. um >> they don't require a home state permit,
>> right? Um well, I would just say I think the the the you know, the current system of enforcement I don't think is is working nearly well enough. Um um and I think we do have to significantly step up our enforcement and be more proactive
and be willing to do things like take people to court. Um because in my mind the issue is, you know, if someone lives in a place and they're using Airbnb to help pay bills or supplemental income, fine. Airbnb as part of the market is fine. But I do think there's a real problem of investors
um uh investing in Airbnb who aren't living there at all. And I think there's a huge risk that it will highly distort our long-term rental housing market because it's just always going to be so much more profitable to do that as opposed to investing in renting. Um, and I think
we're kind of a ground zero for the type of community with UVA being here who can have Airbnb substantially distort the housing market um, in a way that just would not apply in most other places. And I think this is a particularly acute problem in Tenth and Page and Fithville
just because of the proximity to UVA of I think it's a a significant part of the dynamic of um the risk of those places becoming places that are just purely of buying for UVA and Airbnb um supplanting long-term rentals as the most profitable
use of land in those areas. Um and I think our current enforcement regime is just not able to stop that. um which hopefully changes. But um anyway, so um my colleagues have hit on a lot of
my questions. This a little bit more on on um complaints. If someone has a complaint, is it clear on the site where and how they do that? And is there any followup? >> Um yeah, I mean we have an email zoning
charlesville.gov. Um we have uh phone, we have um uh forms that people can fill out online um as well. And uh we have people who are using all of those methods to get that information to us.
>> And so it's not when someone submits a complaint, is there a way to follow up with them or you know you acknowledge that you received it type of thing or >> um it it'll depend on the complaint. Sometimes people don't always put their name. um most of the time they do. Um
and um sometimes it's something that we're able to kind of get to the next steps with and sometimes it's it's just an unfortunate situation where there were guests that were behaving poorly.
Um and it was a difficult uh situation for those individuals. >> Okay. Um other questions or comments at this time? Yeah. I just wanted to provide one clarification. Um earlier I said that
the the permit time frames were a priority list. I really meant low hanging fruit. >> Thanks. >> Um Sam, what is the next step with this? Is this um information or >> um I don't know if I know that there's
any further action. I think one thing we definitely need to make sure of is that we clarify the renter matter. um because we probably need to make sure that we put that information out for public benefit just so that they know doesn't appear that they know that they can participate. So I think that's just
one thing to follow up on is what I've noted uh for the gallery. >> Um but I don't think that there's any action because based on what uh Miss Chrissy has presented, our goal is to not change the code so that we don't have to do anything else. So the goal is to try to push forward and just focus on
enforcement. >> Yeah. um >> the program I should say. >> So um will you read this into it's another long one. Pursuant to section Yes. Thank you. Pursuant to section
2.2-3712 of the Virginia code. I move that this city council close this open meeting and convene in a closed session as authorized by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act as follows. Pursuant to Virginia Code 2.2 to uh pursuant to
Virginia Code section 2.2-3711A1 for discussion and consideration of prospective candidates to be appointed to the following boards and/or committees. Board of Architectural Review, Board of Zoning Appeals, Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund Committee, Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board, Community
Development Block Grant and Home Task Force, Community Policy and Management Team, Historic Resources Committee, Housing Advisory Committee, Java Board for Aging, Java Board of Directors, JMRL Board, Local Board of Building Code Appeals, Minority Business Commission, Pedmont Virginia Community College
Board, Region 10 Community Services Board, Retirement Commission, Sister Cities Commission, Social Social Services Advisory Board, Thomas Jefferson Water Resources Protection Foundation, Towing Advisory Board, Tree Commission, Vendor Appeals Board, YMCA
Board, and Youth Council. >> Second. >> Um, all in favor, please say yes. Yes. All oppose, please say no. Um, thank you. We'll be back probably a little after 6 6 um 30, but we'll be back.
Thank you. Part: 2
I call the Charlottesville city council meeting back into order. Um, madame vice um mayor, will you please um read us out, please? >> Certainly. I move that this council certify by a 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 convening the close session were heard, discussed, or considered in the close session. >> Second. >> Second. All in favor, please say yes.
>> All opposed, please say no. Great. So, um we can start um logging in if we need to. Everyone's in. Okay, good. Um, we're going to have a a a moment of silence, please.
Thank you very much. Um, we have a couple of announcements and proclamations. Um the first announcement is that on May the 30th at 3:00 um there will be a community unveiling of Males
Walk. Um um uh it's going to be right by the D. It's a it's a street there and um for those who didn't know it, the actual location is um Main Street um between 7th um Street Northwest and 8th Street
Northwest. And so, um, if you didn't know Mel, he was a longtime owner of Mel's Diner for nearly 40 years. He passed away in 2024. Just a staple in the community and just working with the family and community members to figure
out the best way to um um acknowledge him and recognize him and and so this is something that we can do. I'm planning to speak as well as Creds and probably others. James Bryant will be singing. So, it's gonna be a wonderful festive day for so hope people will come out.
This is being coordinated by Miss Alexand who's another amazing community member. So, um if you could please add that to your calendar. It's a busy time of year for um
festivals and carnivals and not carnivals but events like that in the community. Um any other announcements? >> Um yes, it's continues to be bike month and um if everyone checks uh bikesville.com,
you'll see a calendar of events uh a bingo card that you can fill out for different activities. And tomorrow there is an ebike demonstration at that's open to the public. Um that will be located at the county office building from 4:30
to 6:30. So you can swing by and test out an ebike um in the parking lot so you won't be on a busy road. You'll be safe. Um and they're super fun. Great way to get around town. Um there'll be a bunch of different types to try and a bunch of people there to help you figure it out as well as helmets to stay safe.
Um so again that's bike seville.com for the full calendar of events. Can I add to that bike seat bill piece for just a quick minute? The um also in if you join connectingva.com and track your bike rides this month,
we're in a bike friendly. It's not so friendly. Bike friendly city challenge. I don't think it's friendly because what's happening is Richmond is beating us by like five rides right now. So I need you guys to sign up >> and track your ride so we can beat Richmond as on the leaderboard. Um, but we are number two right now ahead of
City of Ron Oak and I think we can win. So, yes. Yeah, get on your bike and track it. >> Last week, Jen and I had a fun um outing with um um city staff to ride around the city. We first time I got to try the
>> meta rayband glasses. So, but um please it's a way to kind of test, you know, using alternative modes of transportation is a good way to do that, fun way to do it and realize that maybe you can do more and more trips that way.
So, thank you very much. Um any other announcements? >> Should I read the boards? >> Yes. So, we made several um board appointments during close session. We're going to be doing some interviews, but we were able to make some appointments. And we do want to thank everybody who
applied. Some of the decisions were super close. Um for the board of architectural review, we're appointing Jen Trumpeter, the community polic Oh, I'm making a motion. >> Oh, yes. >> To appoint. Thank you. Uh Jen Trumpeter to the board of architectural review,
community policy and management team. Marquez Mitchell, Historic Resources Committee, William Bergen, Lucy Pola, Jonathan Rice, Richard Guy Wilson, the Jabba Advisory Council on Aging, Katherine Zoover, and I do apologize if I mispronounce anyone's names. Um,
Jefferson Madison Regional Library Board, Janelle Lynch, the Pedmont, Virginia Community College Board, Brian Pingston, the Region 10 Community Services Board, David Oper and Emily Warren, and the Retirement Commission, Casey Parker. the Sister Cities
Commission, John Mason, St. Stella Mioli and Elizabeth Smiley, and the Thomas Jefferson Resources Protection Foundation, Aaron Mills. Lastly, the Tree Commission, Roger Getedic. If you applied for a commission and you didn't hear it announced there, it will is
being deferred, so stay tuned. >> Yes, >> second the motion. >> Second. So, um I think we can vote electronically. The motion passes um five to zero I believe.
Yes. Thank you all so much. Again, for those that apply, um we are now um we have a couple of proclamations and the first one is public works week May 17th through the 23rd. Whereas public work professionals focus on infrastructure
facilities, waste management, street maintenance, engineering and and traffic uh and traffic field operations and services to make Charlottesville quality of life better for people to live, work, play, and visit. And whereas these
infrastructure facilities and services could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of public work professionals who are engineers, managers, skills, trades, uh, equipment operators and employees at all levels of
government who are responsible for rebuilding, improving and protecting public buildings and other and other and other structures and facilities essential for our community members. ers whereas in the public interest
Charlottesville to gain knowledge and maintain an ongoing interest and understanding of the importance of public work programs in their respective communities. Whereas the year 2026 marks the 60th annual national public works
week sponsor by sponsored by the American public works association and can Canadian public works association. Therefore, it be it proclaimed that the week of May 20 17 through the 23rd is public service public works weeks in the
city of Charlottesville and we urge all community members to join in activities, events, and ceremonies designed to pay tribute to our public service professionals. Steve, >> thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good morning. Good evening, mayor, vice
mayor, member of council. Um, public work is about recognizing the people behind the work, but it's also about recognizing the success of the team. The story of public works today is just just not about maintenance. It's about execution. It's about outcomes. But most
importantly, it's about our workforce. Over the past year, we have changed the way the department delivers through collaboration, accountability, and stronger focus on execution. We have taken projects that sat on the books for years, in some cases over a decade, and moved them forward. The
Bellbomb Bridge is now complete, reconnecting neighborhoods and restoring a critical link in our transportation network. That shift from planning to delivery. We have turned around a locally administered program with VOTE and transformed what had been struggling
program into a clear success story. Projects that once was stalled are now advancing to construction with nearly $60 million in projects moving forward over the next 36 months. At the same time, we are tracking long-standing challenges that require coordination and
persistence. Our work with Dominion Energy, Bright Speed, and other telecommunication partners to relocate utility poles is directly tied to our ADA compliance efforts. Progress may appear slow at times, but it's steady. And many of these conflicts have existed
for 15 to 20 years. Today, we are working through them to make our systems safer and more accessible. We are also challenging how we deliver work internally. We're expanding our in-house capabilities and building crews that allow us to take greater control of
our outcomes. where it makes sense. We're reducing reliance on outside consultants and contractors and doing more work directly with our teams that allow us to move faster, reduce delays, respond more directly to the community needs, and
deliver work at a lower cost. This past winter, the same commitment showed up during multiple snow events. Our team opened roads, cleared key public access areas, and did what it takes or did what it took to get schools, businesses, and community moving again. Snow response is
not simply putting plows down and spreading salt. It requires planning, timing, equipment placement, and real-time decision making. A delay of even an hour can determine whether you stay ahead of a storm or fall behind.
Our team understands that and they execute. The same level of professionalism was displayed last week at the Mid-Atlantic American Public Works Association conference. During the equipment rodeo, we there were six of our equipment operators competing and
demonstrating their ability to safely and effectively operate heavy equipment. I'm proud to share that Josh Wildin placed second in the snowplow operations, standing out among more than 150 equipment operators, competing in multiple equipment events that includes
West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. While at the Mid-Atlantic APWA conference, public works was recognized with an honorable mention project of the year award for structures from 5 to$25 million category for the Charlottesville Fire Department's new
fire station 1. That recognition reflects both the quality of projects this team delivers and skills the workforce behind the work. We have a similar progress in the land development process by making our reviews more predictable, more solutionsoriented, and more focused on
producing better outcomes while keeping projects moving. >> Our expectations is to keep initial review times 21 days or less, which reflects our commitment to consistency, responsiveness, and accountability. And as important as what we build is how
we communicate through work. Infrastructure projects affects neighborhoods, businesses, access, and daily routes. Routine. Our teamwork is in the space every day, explaining the work, hearing concerns, and helping
moving complicated complicated projects forward. The common thread through all this is the people doing the work. The team shows up every day with ownership, pride, and professionalism. They don't look for credit. They focus on doing the work well. Tonight, I thank you for the
proclamation recognizing public works week May 17th through May 23rd. This pro proclamation means a lot, but it also is a reflection of a team that is delivering, improving, and helping move the city forward in a very real and measurable way. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Nat. >> Yes. I have the proclamation for dementia awareness month. Whereas dementia is a growing public health crisis with more than 11% of city of Charlottesville residents over the age of 65 living with
this disorder and approximately 14% of the city's population being over the age of 65. And whereas family caregivers are facing increasing physical, mental, emotional, and financial strain. And whereas the number of people living with dementia are caring for someone with dementia is expected to grow in the
coming years as the number of older residents increases. And whereas the city of Charlottesville wants to ensure that the city is welcoming and inclusive to all of those impacted by dementia. And whereas local government, businesses, the faith community, financial institutions, first responders, healthc care providers,
educational institutions, and the residents of the city can make small changes to provide a community in which people living with dementia can continue to be involved, active, respected, valued, and understood. And whereas the dementia friendly central Virginia initiative is dedicated to raising community awareness of dementia and the
needs of those living with dementia and their caregivers in our area. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the month of May 2026 is dementia awareness month in the city of Charlottesville and the Charlottesville City Council recognizes Charlottesville as a dementia friendly community, urging all residents to participate in education and
awareness programs to support research and innovation and to share support and services such as the 1 800 dementia hotline for taking care of oneself or others. Mayor, Vice Mayor, and city council members, I would like to thank you very
much for declaring May dementia awareness month to recognize this important issue and the impact it has on our community and to support our dementia friendly efforts. Uh so I'd like to introduce uh city residents uh
Sue and Norman Dill who are living with dementia. Okay, thank you very much. Um, Norman Dill, longtime resident of uh this city and um having had several businesses uh
here and five children uh in the county and the city, I've been in both places. Um, uh, it it's was very surprising to me. I mean, I kind of knew what dementia was, but didn't really realize it until I was having trouble driving and having
some near mixes misses uh, in parking lots and on the road. Um, you know, I remember Sue, um, a couple Thanksgivings ago, I said, "Well, you know, I don't want my grandchildren in the car when I'm driving because, um, you know, I'm
just feeling like I'm wavering a little bit or something." And she wisely said, "Uh, well, maybe if you're worried about your grandchildren, you should be worried about everybody else on the road, too." Um, which struck a chord, and I stopped driving. Um, but that's a
huge problem for so many people with dementia. They are just so intent on keeping their car because, you know, you're stuck if you don't have a car. For a lot of places, it's one reason why we moved from uh the county into the
city to be able to walk to the downtown mall and to stores and that kind of thing. So, you know, we've made some adjustments, but it's still frustrating at times to not be able to do every everything I want. I really appreciate this announcement and that it hopefully
is a way to for people to understand um you know that it it's just for example and I won't go on um beyond that but it it's it's really hard for some reason I I it's hard to deal with money and
paperwork and I had heard that but I you know what's so hard about you know money you know $1, two, three, four, five, you know it's not that complicated. it. But um then shortly after having that kind of dismissal, I was in the bank and
getting some $5 and $1 bills cuz I'd like to have some money in my pocket. And uh and then um I dropped them all and they went all over the floor of the bank and you know people were picking up my money and all in their mind they were
helping but to me it was like people are stealing my money and um you know so we figured that out and now when I go to the bank they know me and we have a relationship and um it's not a problem of course but um so I just to be aware
people people are usually in denial about their limitations in the beginning and everyone I've talked to has the same um experience of no I'm I'm fine I just need a little more time to mow the lawn
or whatever but it's uh uh there there is a lot of danger in um not being able to know exactly where you are or how fast you're going or where to turn or that kind of stuff. So, um I think it's important for people to keep being
reminded that if uh you or people in your family or neighbors seem like they're struggling, they probably are and they probably are struggling more than they let on. Um so that's I guess what I'm trying to just
drive it home that it's a real thing. It's a form of um uh what's the overall disease? Um That's also Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's. It's so it's it's a an aspect of
Alzheimer's. At the same time, it's very important that I heard uh I don't know a few weeks ago that you know, I'm almost done. Thank you, Sue, for keeping
me on track here. But um uh you know be being um you know forgetful to uh is is not the same as being stupid. You know that you don't lose your intelligence
when you have Alzheimer or um a related condition. You you you keep your intelligence. You just have to apply it differently and not do things automatically without going into too much detail.
Thank you. Thank you. So, Norm, thank you um for your your service to community to the community. Norman is a former supervisor for the Ravana district in Albamar County and a longtime business owner. Um recently
served on a panel with um George for the TomTom Festival where we're looking at to make Charlottesville a dementia friendly community and and what I found when transportation when we do make it friendly for dementia um residents and
others, it's really going to make it more friendly for everyone. And so it's an effort that's going on to to do that and I'm happy to do that. But this proclamation brings um um some notoriety to to this issue and and I think that
it's going to go a long way in us working with that. So George, thank you. Norm, thank you again for your service to communities and coming up to to speak today. I really appreciate that. So thank you so much. Okay. So, we are now Any other proclamations? We're now at the
opportunity for >> No, that this is a different one. >> Okay. >> Um, we are now at the opportunity for community matters and we have seven people that have pre-registered to speak. So, we have opportunity for nine more after the registered speakers have
um already um spoke. And the first one is Laura um Sereni. Did I >> That's good enough. >> Okay. I'm sorry. >> Thank you. Uh my name is Laura Sargoni. I'm a community member who's been working with unhoused neighbors at Freebridge and local camps for the last
year and a half. I have seen these folks build community together and support each other despite difficult living conditions and constant harassment in many cases. And I'm infuriated by the way the city has continually treated these community members as a problem
instead of as human beings deserving the same autonomy and dignity that house community members enjoy. The city's working meeting last week unfortunately demonstrated this attitude. None of the people at the table at that working meeting regularly work with campers and
no attempts that I know of were made to let campers know the meeting was happening. When the city was discussing a shelter in Fville, they invited comments from the neighbors of that community. When they began looking into purchasing the holiday drive property, they made sure to engage the business
owners there. So why haven't they invited the input of the people most affected by these policies and plans? Clearly, they consider unhoused community members to have fewer rights than community members who own houses and businesses. This is wrongheaded and immoral.
At the city meeting, determinations of safety and well-being at the camps were being made by people who spend little to no time there or talking to the people who live there. And as such, the solutions that were being offered with were without understanding of the needs or the rights of the unhoused. Providing
alternative camping locations with access to resources is welcomed, but even if a totally ideal option is presented, it can't be compulsory to move there. Whether that option is a camp, a shelter, or even housing. From the
discussion, it was clear that the city's ultimate goal is to force unhoused people to move to a location that can be further surveiled and controlled under strict rules. This plan devalues community and denies the humanity and autonomy of our unhoused residents.
Instead, the city should provide better infrastructure that can be accessed by unhoused neighbors and benefit all community members. Starting with the portable restrooms the city has been promising and providing consistent sanitation services to current camps, which are immediately actionable items.
They even have the support of local businesses as was shown at the meeting last week. Access to clean water and showers would also support the safety and well-being of the community. Regardless of any measures taken, no decision should be made without unhoused
people, not just at the table, but leading the discussion. Unhoused people know their needs best. Ask them. Don't make assumptions that lead to further harm. Start engaging with the people that you claim to be serving. Our unhoused neighbors are part of this
community and we all deserve better and we demand it. >> Thank you, Laura. Laura Josie. Laura Josie. >> Good evening. My name is My name is Laura Josie. I'm here to discuss the
importance of the Stribbling Sidewalk Project. I've lived in the Fry Spring neighborhood for 15 years, lived on Stribbling for seven years, and currently own a property on Stribbling. I'm also on the board of the neighborhood association. In April 2022,
council approved the reszoning of 12 acres of wooded land with critical slopes with the understanding that stribbling would be upgraded with a sidewalk. Conversation between councilors at this April 2022 meeting was this was a win-win for the city. The
city was improving density, gaining future tax revenue on 170 new units, and improving the infrastructure due to the 2.9 million infrastructure funding agreement that was agreed to. In 2024, there were two public involvement
meetings for design input on the project. And at the July 2024 meeting, the display board the city created listed that construction would be complete in the fall of 2027. However, just a few days ago on May 8th,
the neighborhood association was made aware that the project is temporarily on hold for the rest of the fiscal year. This delay has the neighborhood concerned. Stribbling Avenue, if you have not been, is a pedestrian street a few blocks from
Scott Stadium. The majority of residents are renters and middle-class families that regularly walk to the bus stop, UVA, or many of the local Fry Spring businesses. There are no sidewalks. There is a blind hill, a blind curve, and many cars drive too fast as it is,
making the street exceptionally dangerous. Having lived on the street with my kids, I experienced this sense of danger firsthand. It felt unsafe before this council approved to reszone the land, doubling the density of residents and the number
of daily vehicle trips. Now without sidewalks, the street will become twice the pedestrian hazard for families and renters due to council's approval to reszone 240 Stribbling. If the city's goal is to increase density, which results in more tax
revenue for the city, the city also needs to keep its end of the agreement to improve the infrastructure for this higher density. Council approved the resoning on the grounds of the funding agreement. Putting a pause on this project is not acceptable. The construction trucks on
the street are not on pause. The development is not on pause. And it is highly unlikely constructing a sidewalk a year from now or the year after that will be less expensive. We need to see this project through. And the city needs to deliver on a 2.9 million
infrastructure funding agreement. Can this council provide the residents of Stribbling Avenue some assurance that this pause is only temporary? Thank you for listening. >> Thank you, Alicia. ALICIA.
>> Good evening. My name is Alicia Lennahan. I live in the county. Redlinining is a discriminatory practice involving the systematic denial of access and services to specific neighborhoods and their residents, primarily based on race or ethnicity of
their inhabitants. Although officially outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the echoes of redlinining remain heavily embedded in the economic and demographic makeup of modern American cities. In Charlottesville, red lining is alive, well, and allowed to move to
accommodate UVA and developers. The halfmile boundary explicitly influences private student housing developments built near UVA. This rule acts as a massive financial leverage point for private real estate developers operating just off grounds. They routinely push
the limits of this boundary by aggressively banking on the closest interpretation of the line. Developers continue to secure approval for high density luxury complexes by claiming they fall within the 0.5 mile zone. They're not required to include any
affordable units and they pay vastly reduced fees. Because the value gap is so affordable for multi-million dollar private equity firms, developers treat it as a minor negligible tax. You know, the cost of doing business. They gladly
pay the cash fee to buy out 100% of their affordable obligations, ensuring their luxury buildings remain entirely occupied by high rent tenants who may be students. You could intentionally create affordable housing.
You could support local businesses and public infrastructure that increases black wealth. Instead, you sell out to create areas that cater to the interests of UVA students. You could implement more ambitious development strategies
that intentionally try to rectify the negative impacts of urban renewal like 501 Cherry and the Carlton Mobile Home Park. Instead, you are leaving $10 million on the table for the two
projects in Fville and West Main Street. You know the history. Vinegar Hill, Gospel Hill, Star Hill. The the repeated displacement of black Charlottesville did not happen by accident. It happened through public decisions, public
neglect, and public willingness to call harm by other names. Urban renewal, market rate supply, urban density. You have shown us again and again that only the interests of those with money and
power matter. Voters will remember. They'll remember the $10 million. They'll remember your utter disregard and disrespect for the residents and community members who have named the harm here at every meeting for nearly a
year. >> Thank you. WN Martin. WN Martin. WN Martin. >> Hello. >> Hello. >> First, uh, thanks to the public works
people, well deserve. Uh, I'm here uh, as a resident of Fry Springs also like Lord Josie was. I've lived in Charlottesville for over 40 years and in the Fry Springs neighborhood for all of that. Uh I don't own property on
stribbling, but I have friends that I've owned. So I'm on stribbling at least uh once or twice a week with these those friends. And I I know how the street is as a a danger and a hard place to navigate by both bicycle and uh and
walking. Um I also know that the history that Laura does, I was at all those public meetings about the different aspects of it. Um the uh the notion that the easement is is a is a late breaking seems to be a late breaking issue is
kind of unusual. It's a that kind of thing was uh the sort of easements that are needed are needed by all the plans and so that could have been well underway already. Uh but uh the other thing I'd like to mention is that the there's been a recent utilities uh
project on striing. This is not the central line. This is a separate one. And the the citizens along there, the residents along there have been putting up with almost two years of a pretty mismanaged construction project along that line there. And I think a lot of
people who were uh putting up with that really thought, well, it's okay because we're going to get a a a new sidewalk and that's going to do a new street covering. We're all going to have something really nice by maybe uh into 27 or 28. And so there was a lot of goodwill uh toward what I think was a a
pretty bad bad in the sense of like digging up the street and leaving it gravel for weeks and weeks and weeks through rainstorms. So was uh dangerous to drive through with potholes and uh and but I think a lot of that was well that's okay. The city's going to come through with this sidewalk and we're
going to have a really nice street to walk on and and a good pavement for doing that. So I think uh not going ahead with the project would be a major disadvantage for the people there in terms of safety but also a major loss of trust in the city of actually coming
through with things they have said that they're going to do understandings of how they're going to finance certain pieces of it and getting the job done, letting the crews, public works crews get out there and do uh do their good job and uh and get a good project going. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you, Don. Don, >> good evening. Don Gathers, city resident. >> Uh, I do not come here this evening in peace. I come today trying my best to understand why some of you still continue to ignore the will of the
people. Some of you have seemingly sold what's soul of what's left of your soul to the countless stream of developers that continuously swoop into Charlottesville. Councelor Payne, Councelor Flesher, I applaud you for standing firm, listening to the people, and doing what you knew
was morally right. The other three of you, Lloyd, Natalie, and Juan Diego, the egregious, horrific vote that you placed at the last city council meeting will probably be your lasting legacy. You all routinely and systematically go
against the very direction of the boards and commissions that you've impanled. You disregard the words of the citizens heard during community matters. Lord, you have morphed into Charlottesville's version of Rudy Giuliani. Brazen, verbose, mean-spirited, and wrong. All while snickering the people
of Charlottesville. Natalie, you would seemly be the love child of Margaret Thatcher and Nancy Reagan could procreate. Your astronomics bear the hope of trickle down housing that does not has not and will not manifest itself in any
meaningful way. And you wand Diego, you are turning into the Mike Signner 2.0. To hell with the people, damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead. You won't sit on the precipice of becoming a modern-day Negropian.
>> What? you negropen. You are the the Charlottesville's answer to Clarence Thomas leading the charge for the newest version of Jim Crow redlinining betraying the people of Charlottesville. I would like to think there's presently a crisis of conscience. Yet, I'm left to
wonder if there is a conscience. What you demonstrated is not leadership. It's cowardice. Cowardice in its worst form. You're being used as the modern-day racist tools of white supremacy. You seem your seemingly thoughtless actions will surely drive up the
homeless the homeowners cost in taxes causing many of them to have to leave their family homes. This at best is backdoor gentrification. These developers are Charlottesville's weapons of mass destruction. And you would never allow this to go on in
Greenbryer or Park Street or Belmont. You may think that this fixes the previous screw up on the zoning ordinance, but in reality, it's the moral equivalence of changing your shirt because you've crapped your pants. While your actions will surely expand the city's tax base, it will
simultaneously ch change the very landscape of the Fville community. It will most assuredly change the fabric of an established community that you were elected in part to protect and not to destroy. You were remind you were elected to
represent all the people not just the rich but here you've missed the mark. >> Thank you speaker Jason. >> Uh first before I speak about why I'm here I wanted to say that my wife turned 50 last week and her first job in
Charlottesville was working for Norman Dill. He's done a lot for our community. That was 30 plus years ago. So, thank you for all you've done. >> Uh my name is Jason Halbert. I live in the Fry Springs uh neighborhood. While I'm on the board of the Fry Springs Neighborhood Association, these are my
own comments. Um I've enjoyed seeing the capital projects that are being that are getting done under uh city manager Sanders leadership with Steve Hicks at the helm. You guys are doing a good job on on the city projects with public works. Uh it's been a long time. some of the projects that I've advocated for for
over 20 years are getting it finally getting done and that's great to see. Um, small things and big things. Uh, from affordable housing on the big side, the new schools on the big side to small things like retaining laws in our neighborhood that have been ready to fall over for a long time. So, I thank
you for that. I've been silent though as our assessments jump and the tax rate increases twice in the last few years because of those improvements. But I'm here to speak about what I'm hear is the slowdown or stoppage of the Stribbling
Avenue sidewalk improvements. Um I think that would be a big mistake uh on council and city manager part if you were to slow that project down. It's been in the works for years. You spent a lot of money on it. The designs are well past the 60% mark. And I I get that
there's a lot of budget shuffling and rep prioritization, but this thing is underway and you need to get it done. Um, as Laura and Worley said before me, uh, the neighborhood is expecting it. Uh, the neighborhood deserves it. We've come forward to city council long before the 240 Stribbling development was
approved, asking for improvements to Stribbling Avenue. It's just not a safe street. If you're going to add 170 families to that street at the end and not improve the street, you're just asking for a kid to get hit on a bike or a stroller to get hit, you're just asking for it.
So, I uh I I understand the complications of being a city councelor and managing and juggling a budget. There are always more demands than money can can afford. Um but I don't think you can slow down and stop this one. I think you need to move forward with it. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Carlile Wade. Carile Wade. >> Good evening. >> Good evening. >> My name is Carl Wade. I live at 112 Stribbling Avenue. I want to start by saying I'm not here to oppose anything. I've spent 30 years in construction and
development and I believe in what density does for a city. More people equals more ideas, more vibrancy, more support for our local businesses and frankly a smaller environmental impact than the same number of units
spread across say halfacre lots. I support the 240 stribbling project and I want it to succeed. That's exactly why I'm concerned that the stribbling sidewalk project has been paused. This wasn't an optional add-on.
The city acknowledged the safety problem on stribbling. The city accepted a $2.9 million profer tied to it. The city made these improvements a condition of approving 240 struggling.
The city made a commitment. Now the development is underway, but the sidewalk and roadway improvement meant to keep pace with it is not. In the meantime, construction traffic has made Stribbling less safe to walk than it was
before any of this began. The need has not paused, but the project has. I understand the reason given was that it's over budget. In 30 years, I've rarely, if ever, seen a project that came equal to or under its initial
estimate. Costs can rise for a myriad of reasons. That's not a surprise. It's reality. A budget overrun isn't a reason to abandon a safety commitment. It's the normal expected part of the
work that the city signed up to do. I understand the most difficult case is the property owners that may lose on-site parking. That's a real impact to them and it deserves a real solution. That's negotiation and negotiation takes creativity. I don't know any of the
details. Perhaps dedicial parking permits tied to specific addresses. Perhaps new retaining walls that move existing parking closer to the units. It might simply be a fair monetary deal, but that's the work.
and it's solvable. I'm asking the council for three things. First, take the project off pause and recommit to delivering it in a timely manner. Second, consider phasing it. Begin construction while negotiations of
the with the affected owners. Continue. Progress and negotiation can happen concurrently. Third, give the neighborhood a timeline. We've been patient. You committed to these improvements. I'm
simply asking the city to be true to its word and to do so before somebody gets hurt. Thank you. Thank you. We have the opportunity for nine more speakers. Who would like to speak? Um, I'll start over here. Anyone over here?
Yes. I got the mic. >> Yes. Please come up to the mic. Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Hello. Thank you um for allowing me to speak. My name is Amanda Nelson. I live at 123 Stribbling. And I'd just like to paint a picture for you on life on
Stribbling Avenue. Um the other night I witnessed uh three young young kids um one scooting, one biking, one running behind and kind of chasing the the biker. um all under six years old. Um down the street, up down the hill, back
up um and having a wonderful time on a lovely evening. That was my kid who is graduating this week. um when we moved into that house and we were really confident that there were going to be sidewalks to make that street safer and
I have lived there since 2012 and we have seen a lot of other things happen but the sidewalks are not there. It is not safer. my kids are growing and other kids are coming in and um the
maybe half hour after I saw those kids, there were two vehicles speeding at least 40 or 50 miles an hour down that road. I try my best to call those license plates in, but I can't get them all. And I don't know that unless you live in that neighborhood or on that street, you become aware of how
dangerous it is. But I will tell you, I have been shoved off the road as a walker. I have been pushed or drawn off the road as a biker and I just am so afraid that any pause here is going to
be too long of a of any of any waiting time and unfortunately that could be the time that something really tragic happens. I'm just so nervous that every day something's going to happen. I would urge you to listen to my neighborhood uh
residents and um others in the neighborhood to take the project off of pause, commit to the project you you said we would do and that we signed a budget for. Move it along. Let's get creative.
We can solve this, but it needs to happen before anything happens to our kids. Thank you. >> Thank you. Hello. Um, my name is Sen Means. Uh, she her pronouns. I'm a pretty much lifelong resident of Charlottesville and Admiral
County. Um, this is not prepared, so forgive me if it's rambling, but I'll do my best. Um, I wanted to add a voice in support of what Laura Sagani said. Um, as long as I've lived here, of course, uh, affordable housing has been a scourge of the city. We've never seemed
to be able to do anything about it. I don't know much about development or city, you know, or building houses. I'm sure it's really difficult. But if you look at this city from pantops or anywhere else, there's so much green space. There's so many just woods and I
don't know whatever vacant lots and vacant forests that can accommodate campsites and camping is a pretty good way to stay sheltered, be you know have your dignity, have your life and live
and it's a lot cheaper than affordable housing is kind of the least we can do and the least we should do. So you see it all over when homeless folks go to an encampment, they set up a community, they start living their life for themselves, start building their own
lives, and we go in with cops, we kick them out, and all we do is make their lives worse, and we make that problem worse and worse and worse. And I use quotes on problem because whenever we talk about the homeless problem, it's really a problem for the people who have
no houses. And we forget that and we think of it as a problem for us. But it's it really isn't at its core. And um it's something that we can solve. And I've lived here for so long and this city never fails to disappoint, never fails to live up or always fails to live
up to its values. And along with so much stuff like white supremacy and fascist governments, we need, you know, taking care of people is simply the the one thing we should always always do. It's
not hard. has nothing to do with politics. And if you're going to be making rules about the lives of homeless people, you have to go talk to them. You have to spend time in the communities because I have. I've worked with them, friends with them. We talk on Facebook.
And so many of the myths that just stay in the minds of of most of us who are privileged enough to have a roof over our houses and food and a car, so many of these the things we think like safety, uh they could pull themselves up by their bootstraps, all this garbage,
it's just myths. And if you spend time with them, you not only see that they are wonderful people, members of our community, and that it is so hard to pull yourself out when you get into that place. and most of what cities do makes it worse. So
please, please try to work harder on that. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone over here like to speak? Anyone over here like to speak? >> Hi. Uh Cyo Flynn with the community climate collaborative. Um, C3 is currently leading a utility
decarbonization study that follows on from a preliminary study done by Shardsville Gas in 2024. Um, we got grant funding to work with the Southern Environmental Law Center and UVA's Center for Community Partnerships. Contracted with an environmental consultancy firm named Dunsky to investigate financial, legal, structural
pathways toward decarbonization. Um, and there's a firm grounding in equity to protect Shardsville gas rate payers from any changes. We're about a third of the way through the study. We have a few progress points to share this evening. Um so UVA's center for community partnerships they are leading public engagement opportunities
including focus groups workshops from community members um participants will be compensated for their time with gift cards. Their input will directly inform pathways identified in the study. Um the project lead from the consultant will be visiting Charlottesville between July 6th and 8th to engage with counselors,
city staff, the public to answer some of the more technical questions that benefit from his expertise. You'll also be present to um able to present present a status update to city council during the July 6th regular meeting if you want. Um C3 is also glad the city's not
doing a 5-year contract renewal to buy carbon offsets from British Petroleum who profit from both the sale of fossil fuels and rateayers good faith attempts to mitigate burning fossil fuels. We hope alternative uses of the enterprise fund can be identified without buying another year of BP credits which the city is currently considering. Um,
another C3 supported initiative, the Green Teen Alliance, is a student led group that unites various high school environmental clubs in the area. Currently circulating a petition through the community to improve recycling and composting systems in the Alber and Charlesville schools, which will be presented to both mun municipalities
school boards this and next week. The petition has hundreds of signatures, but more support is needed from the school board's peer decision makers like yourselves. Um, we understand the timeline is short, but the GTA is asking for support from individual council members for that. Um, on a very personal note, and why my voice is a bit shook,
uh, just before coming here, I was shaken to learn two of my friends, Logan Hollersmith and Kell Wrigle, were kidnapped today by Israel in international waters while on a humanitarian mission with the Global Summit Flotilla to deliver aid to Gaza. In my fears for my friends and all Palestinians, I move to thank the city for having passed a ceasefire resolution
a few years ago. I'm want to live in a community that continues to address the fact that we in the US bear massive responsibility for the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians. When incredibly brave people like Hell and Logan respond to that responsibility with direct action, they say knowing there's a swell of support behind them
from that growing majority of Americans that know what genocide looks like. Because there has been no ceasefire, please consider what are the ways you as a city council and as individuals can divest from the US and Israel's ongoing genocide. Thank you. >> THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. UH, THANK YOU. William
Abrahamson. I live at 123 Stribbling Avenue. Uh, when I moved here in 2010, we kind of threw a dart at the map as to where we're going to live in the city. Uh, and we landed in Fry Springs. Uh, we found a very welcoming neighborhood. And one of my favorite parts about it was the fact that I could walk to the free
trolley stop um at Mo and JPA. uh when my family looked to buy a home, we did we drew a circle of where we could afford and where we could drive to and it was pretty far out there. So, we made the choice to invest in the city, to buy a fixer upper home um because we loved
have being able to access public transportation in the city and be able to move around the city. Um and we wanted that life for our kids. Um I think it's very fitting that uh two of the things that we two of our first proclamations reinforcing our values
here in this city. One is the value of investment in our in our infrastructure, the investment in the people that do that work and making our city accessible for all throughout their entire life. You've heard about children, you've heard about elderly. This is critical infrastructure that we have said is part
of our value system. Uh tonight I ask you as stewards of both our budget and our values to put those two things together. Put the money put your where it has already been invested where we've already spent years and years of our
your staff's time a professional's time of the neighborhood's time building a product building an idea that is going to make this a better neighborhood for generations to come. That is something that is absolutely critically important. I was part of the group back in 2019
that had this conversation um with multiple city managers at the time, in particular, Mr. Sanders. Um and uh uh we established the long history of the value of this project to the neighborhood and the
city. Uh the 2015 bike ped um assessment as well. And it was great to have partners within the city helping educate uh the neighborhood about where the cost drivers were, about what were the difficulties of the grading and the storm water and and the and the right
ofway procurement. People understand that we can have that conversation going forward. People are invested in continuing it and uh the the staff that you just recognized deserve that right to see this project through. One of the first things that that uh deputy manager
Freeze mentioned to us was what if we did something a little different? What if we got a little creative with this because it was such a big problem. It was so big that it couldn't be done in typical fashion. I hope we can continue that thinking whether it be through phasing different uh types of rightaway
um uh taxes to tax accommodations, but let's keep that creative thinking going, get this project done. Thank you. >> Thank you. Someone in the center. Anyone in the center like to speak? Anyone else over here?
Yes, sir. >> Hello. Uh Stuart Gardner. I'm a resident of Fry Springs neighborhood. I'm on the Fry Springs Neighborhood Association and former member of the uh Charlottesville Albamaro Citizen Planning uh transportation advocacy citizen
transportation uh advocacy committee CATAC. Um talking about the 170 units uh at the end of Stribbling. Um I was inspired tonight just to hear so many people already talk about um quality of life for pedestrians, for cyclists, for
people with dementia. Uh, and my message is clear. Uh, no sidewalk, no subdivision. We've been talking about this for years. Uh, if we want to put in all these units, if we want a safe place to live, work, and play, as as you guys mentioned earlier, there simply must be
the infrastructure to support that. Uh, so please follow through with your commitment, put a sidewalk on stribbling, uh, and help invest in the community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone in the center? Anyone
else like to speak? I will close um public hearing at this time. Not I mean not public hearing community matters. There'll be another opportunity at the end of the meeting and we are now going to our consent agenda. Madam >> Mr. Mayor, if I could um just ask for a
point of privilege to ask our public works director to come forward and speak to this matter of this uh scribbling sidewalk. Good evening. Uh, Stephen Hicks, public works director. >> So, I've been asked to come to explain
the reason this project is just on pause as we really think this through and figure out other strategies. As you all know, for years this project has been in the works. The original estimate was around $13.5 million. Since then we revisited and we're using
100% of just city general funds. All right. Most projects that are at this magnitude we use VOTE funds. What has happened is it's not so much the infrastructure that's the costing the project or there's a risk to the
project. It's the actual purchasing of permanent easement and temporary easement. temporary easement to allow us to work in the area. Permanent easement is to allow us to maintain the infrastructure we we we install. So the
budget project right now the status is $5.7 million. As of now for PE we spent close to uh a million dollars. uh right away the the budget amount is $735,000 and we'll talk about needing more money
in that in the rightway phase and I'll explain why. And then the construction budget is is only about $4.1 million. The total budget is $5.7 million. All right. The challenge is through the
process we have a total of 48 parcels. uh we already have agreement of of we secured 12 of those parcels already. We have a remaining parcels of 33. The additional partials that we have went and started to negotiate it with
some are coming back in figures that are concerning us. The typical offer we're given and we're only taking slivers of rightway. Uh it's I mean we're literally trying to stay within the property line or within our rideway ranges between $2 to $6,000.
The counter offer are in six digits. And so while we work with them, it also requires us as part of negotiation, it's been mentioned here, uh that we can also make some property improvements to offset some of the damages they feel
that may occur. Now, not all of them are coming back at 600. I mean at six digits, but some are still three to four times the cost that we didn't foresee when we started a neighborhood project where we got the community involved and
people wanted to participate and assist in moving this project forward. So the unknown right now is mainly if we do not negotiate a price and some have already told us we'll see you pretty much in court. That means we will have to do
condemnation, imminent domain, which means council will have to authorize the city manager to negotiate the property or condemn it and then the courts decide how much we pay. That's an unknown risk
and we anticipate already eight to 10 of condemnation cases coming forward. So let me give you an example. uh where you see in the yellow orange uh area, that's the per permanent temporary
construction easement. And the reason why that's just a temporary construction easement is we're the area where you see the black and the hatches. That's where we're tying in the driveway. Either it's going to be gravel or pave depending on what exists or what we negotiate.
You could see where the sidewalk and that's hard. It kind of looks like little dots where uh if it was close up it looked like little pizza. That is where the sidewalk is going. And the green is just a permanent easement. So we're not talking about a lot. I mean,
we are really doing a great job keeping it within near the property line or actually just purchasing a little bit of the easement and the road will be repaved and we're also going to adjust the crown because in some areas the road looks like this and some it's like it's flat. And so by doing that we have to
raise the road up a little bit. That's requiring us to purchase a little bit more easement so we can get a a decent road. All right, here's another example though to the left. Uh, if you see where
63 is and 64, those are drainage structures where we are making enhancement to the drainage. All right. Right now, it's not necessarily the improvement, but we're just going to try to control the runoff the best we can because we are creating an impervious
service new sidewalk. And we know what that means. We have to follow DEEQ codes. We can't just say we're not going to improve some of the drainage, but the drainage is not that significant where it's going to be the reason the project can't move forward.
The unknown, as I shared with you, I can't I don't know if I can go back is the rideway process right now. So, we shared with uh the city manager's office the concern that it looks like we'll need additional $400,000
just based on some of the numbers we're getting back as part of the negotiation to give us a comfort level to move forward. This is an unknown area unlike VOTE. If we did condemnation depending on the percentage increase of what the court settles or what we go VOTE will
contribute for those condemnation cases. So that lowers the risk when you all do condemnation uh process. So the pause is just getting our engineers to huddle up to really
look at what can we actually do just the bare minimum to still make this project successful. And then how do we work with the property owners and some who don't live here and explain to them this is a neighborhood project where the the
rightway that is needed to make this project successful is starting to cost a lot more than we ever anticipated based on all the community meetings because I've been to four and we've been to a lot of community meetings. Some of them there 50 60 70 people there. That's the
only concern. We we we we see this project moving forward with no problem if we can get the rightway and that's that's the hiccup and as and we want to be as transparent to everyone that's an unknown cost to council to decide to
that's all I have to share I can answer any questions >> yeah what one question I had is it possible if the people are who are demanding the greatest amount for their property are on let's say the north side
that you could shift the road 3 ft to the south or something like that. >> Now we looked at everything. I mean we we have such a I have to admit this is one of the better engineer teams I've been with. We are doing everything we can. The road already goes back and forth. We got road we got crosswalks in
the road. We're doing everything we can to minimize one the canopy along the road, some of the retaining walls, and trying to do the best where it doesn't impact the property owners that much, but still gives us a a proven enhancement to the safety and the
character of the road. We've tried everything. I guess my my question is if if the purpose of the pause is to figure out whether there are some tweaks to the project that you could make. Obviously, you don't want to make the tweaks to the
plan after you've already started putting things in the ground. If the idea is we're going to pause it, I the the statement was made to the end of the fiscal year, which is only six weeks away. Um, and that in that intervening 6 weeks,
you think you may be able to figure out ways to shave certain amount of money off the project to make it work better. Is that what you're looking at? >> No. Well, we're relying on the city manager's office and council give us guidance on the additional funds,
not with the cost estimate for the construction estimate, for the rideway estimate to increase those funds. That's the concern we have. >> Okay. So, the amount of money that we've got, but uh you had a a sheet up there showing like $5.7 million budgeted.
>> The memo that we got a couple days ago, I thought was saying that the difference was between 4.3 and 6.0 million. Is that between 5.7 and 6 million? Is that I mean, I hate to be casual about it, but
>> I'd have to refresh my memo. I do reflect a memo, but the increase would be the total project would be uh 6 6.1 million with the additional $400,000. >> Okay. >> Which we may or may not need. That's just buffer to allow negotiations.
>> Buffer to move forward with recognizing this is this has been very costly for a sidewalk project. >> Yeah. it that that I've experienced. >> Well, I mean I you know I >> for for right away purposes >> if the difference is between 5.7 and 6.1
million I mean that's >> I could go back. I wish I could go back. >> That's 6%. That that's a year of inflation and construction costs. >> It's still it's >> I got it. >> It's an assumption at this time and >> sure
>> the point of the pause let me just state it clearly. I apologize to the residents who um didn't appreciate that the reference to the pause was supposed to indicate to you that it's not cancel because I could have easily said cancel it, right? So, we didn't do that because
we're trying to figure out what the real numbers are so that we can bring that information back to council. It's probably going to be more challenging as we continue to move. It's 400,000 right now. This is a very complicated project. it is more than likely to exceed that
number even. So, we'll be coming back again. That's already more or less being predicted. So, I think the the reality here is that we were hoping to get the pause and to get the information to this body so that you all can appreciate what I bring to you all the time, the
tensions and trade-offs. You have a big list, a long list, and this is more money for things that need to be addressed on that list. If the decision is that you want to move forward, then we want to bring you all the information that we can and make sure that that's clear. I'll also say that not everybody
in the neighborhood is supportive of this, they don't want to give up the rightway. So that's that's one of the things that we are now having to negotiate on behalf of everyone else who has spoken up on this project. So it's complicated. That's really the message. Um, and I just regret that we um made
the comment to you that caused this because we were trying to figure it out so that we could then give you the update. So, this project is not cancelled. It's paused and we're talking weeks. It's not going to throw anything off its major schedule of what we've already shared with you. The goal is to
get the information to bring to council and make sure that we're satisfied with what they need to know to be able to authorize the additional funds. Is there um you know since there are motivated neighbors uh which I've been to the meetings,
>> we're not gonna say neighbors on neighbors, >> but could we ask them? >> We're going to leave it to the neighbors to be neighborly. I I didn't say that specifically because and we don't want to show even addresses and things of that nature. This is a community
project. We have appreciated how well the community has responded. But I made the statement that I made being transparent. Not everybody wants this. I've had other conversations in other neighborhoods where folks don't want the sidewalk. They would rather continue to
live without it because there are other issues that come with that. So that's just being straightforward in that regard. >> So if the neighbors were to say do a door knockocking survey and check that out, >> they could. >> Okay. Just wondering. But this can't be a project where for a little sliver of
property someone is going to >> take a lot of money, >> right? But it's a lot of projects out there. So, >> well, there a lot of there's a lot of those instances. So, we can't afford for every one of them to triple, quadruple, or more. >> Um, I heard also
that so there's the stribbling extension through the back that comes up on Fontaine. Um, there was a little scuttlebutt from UVA that they were maybe thinking about turning that into a shared use path. Has any >> Does anyone know anything about that? >> I've noticed that.
>> It's in the county. >> Yeah, but to coordinate this project. >> No, no contact from >> Okay. So, we proceed as >> we proceed and hope that >> Okay. >> Other questions on this um project? Thank you. was you made it crystal
clear, you know, the >> we're trying. Yes, >> I will provide a update in a future city manager report. We'll get a message to the neighborhood group so that everyone can appreciate that we're back on track. The project is just temporarily paused, which doesn't mean we're not working on
it. Just means it's not moving as the schedule outlined. >> I think we were at the consent agenda. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Consent agenda number three, minutes February 17th regular meeting, March 2nd regular
meeting for a resolution to appropriate $389,975 from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS HIV grant. Second reading five, resolution to appropriate $98,484
from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development Virginia Homeless Solutions Program Grant. Second reading. Six, a resolution reallocating $200,000 in capital improvement plan funds for the downtown mall crossing project.
Second second reading. Seven resolution uh the proposed one-year annual action plan and associated funding recommendations for HUD funded activities for program year 2026 to 2027. A major amendment approximately
1,25,46964 second reading and that has three sub resolutions. Uh one is to approve the city of Charlottesville Thomas Jefferson area home consortium. One-year annual action plan for program year 2026 to 2027.
Second reading. Resolution to appropriate community development block grant funds anticipated from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for program year 2026 to 2027. Approximately $464,924
second reading. And the third is to approve awards of home investment partnership program funds anticipated from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for program year 2026 to 2027 approximately
$92,56821. Second reading. Number eight, a resolution initiating amendment to chapter 9, community facilities and services of the city's comprehensive plan. Number nine, resolution considering a special
exception permit request for 408 Harris Road. 10, resolution approving the public works 2025 to 2026 Pollock branch trail bridge activity, a minor amendment to the city's annual action plan in the
amount of $55,527.91 um in CDBG funds previously approved by council. 11 ordinance. Um this is a repeal of obsolete provisions in chapter 3 amusements of the Charlottesville city code.
>> Um would just highlight um that on the consent agenda there's several items of hundreds of thousands of dollars total related to um affordable housing interventions particularly around homelessness including investment in the Haven eviction diversion um and other uh
uh housing programs. So just wanted to highlight it touches just given the conversations it touches on a little bit of some of the things we do and that said would make a motion to approve the consent agenda. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Okay.
>> Have initiated the vote. >> Hold on. >> Okay. Motion passes. uh 5 to >> sorry >> 5 to zero. Thank you very much. The next item on the agenda is um city managers
uh report. >> So there's a couple of items this evening. Um I'm going to give comments, but I'm going to wait and go last. Uh Misty Graves is going to Right. Sorry. >> We're going to uh have our youth council
uh make their presentation this evening. So, >> greetings everyone. My name is Wana Howard, a youth council opportunity coordinator and I brought my youth council here. They would like to present on uh what they've been working on this
school year as far as moving youth council forward, their recommendations, um and how they would like their voices to be heard. So you'll hear from youth council. >> If there's a >> next >> clicker. Yeah. Is going to be if you
want to click it yourself. Hi, my name is Alex Zimmering. I'm just I'm going to introduce the members of youth council this year. Um so this year we had um David Daring, Dylan Grist, Emma Bennett, Ean
Haniker, Leela Castleman, Lucia Clarins, um Olivia and Nora. Good evening, counselors, mayor, and vice mayor. My name is Nora Urklins and I'm a sophomore in high school at CHS
and this is my second year doing youth council. >> I am Olivia Zumbren. I am al I'm a freshman at CHS and this is also my second year doing youth council. Okay. So today we'd like to present on first how youth council will look moving
forward and we want to talk about how we might amend the sustainability and membership of youth council in the future. And we want to improve the youth council experience through increasing knowledge and information of different events going on within our community. We
would also want to increase community partnerships and school partnerships as well as community building and engaging outside of the four walls. >> Okay. To expand on ways that we can create enrollment in the future more sustainable, we have some recommendations. And to start, we want
to include I want to say we want to include youth council members somewhat in assisting the adults who run youth council and bringing in new members and selecting the new members. And we want to change a bit the current guidelines
where we would instead select applicants based on the percentage of the pool applying. And then we would also like to possibly present a renewal application process for current youth council members where we would reopen their
applications and possibly reassess if they're still meeting the attendance requirements or are motivated and showing up because this year we had a bit of a drop off in members and this would just make sure that everybody who's part of youth council would want
to be there and be active members. We were also interested in creating a program that was stipened as an incentive rewards for the people who are in youth council and for their work. Um they shouldn't feel like they could they
can't engage between work and participating. And we would also like to create partnership with middle school and high school history departments, AVID, public speaking, coursework, and more, which would promote and engage schools to partner with youth council.
Okay. Thank you. >> Um, hello. Um, my name is Ean Pinker and I'm a sophomore in high school, CHS, sorry. >> Uh, hi, my name is Dylan G. I'm a junior at Charlesville High School. >> Um, so we're here to talk about um the
changes we want to make to like how youth council works. So our our main thing we during our monthly meetings we usually discuss about how there are many youth in the city of Charlott who are really interested invol in in involving themselves in community
matters but often they don't know how or where to start and what resources are available to them. This is why we want youth council to be more than just monthly meetings. We want it to be about education and real youth empowerment. We want to uh host sessions regarding how
local government works, how to use your voice in meet in board meetings and city council meetings and also um understanding uh your rights as a young as a young person. Uh in in addition to ci civic engagement,
we want we want to discuss about uh preparing youth for their life after high school. So, this would involve sessions related to life skills, uh, such as navigating through college, employment, and financial independence.
Um, and another issue that came up this year was that due to weather concerns and different things like that, we had uh we missed a good amount of meetings and we really weren't able to have the same level of like preparedness or
something like that that we would usually have because of our the fact that our meetings are monthly and if they're they're cancelled or delayed in some way, there's like we we did not at the back. And so I uh we would want to increase the uh like the frequency of
meetings for maybe from once a month to twice a month. And in addition to the frequency, we would also like to host a meeting at CHS to like support like inclusion like not only people in youth council be included, but also it be open
to students from uh from like the whole school or maybe from either uh other schools to come in and share their opinions and share their voices. And this would be like a opportunity for students to share their opinions about
uh what the like the status of the school and what they believe that the school is doing right or wrong or what they would change and having something like that without consequence. Uh and just having students speak their minds. And of course, this would be in
partnership with the um the school and uh the it would be probably advertised and like announced over the loudspeaker by um the school. Okay. and filling in for those who
weren't able to be here. So, another thing that they wanted to do is take their voices out into the community. Um, and some of the things that they suggested is having a table at Fridays after 5. Um, having um school walk feedback um sessions where the students
can walk and talk about things that they want to change. Also having a table where they can also um advertise or promote Youth Council and what it is that they do. Um and again they're also asking to have some type of voice in place within the school so that way they
can reach the crowd. Um the causes of uh what evoked some of these conversations this year from our folks was the presence of ICE uh nationally and locally. Um and also being inspired and encouraged by their
youth who um participated in walkouts. And so we had to have some conversations on like how do we use our voice effectively and what does that look like when you are a young teen. Another thing that came up was the special election and a lot of folks didn't realize that when they were at 17 and some months
that they can register to vote and so that also was a conversation of like why aren't we being educated on these things? And so being able to have a place and a space where we can have these deeper dives and conversations to truly empower our youth so that they can go out and be the leaders that we know
that they can be. >> Thank you. Any questions? >> Thank you. Um can the youth come up please? >> Just want to thank you all so much for your input. just wanted to just ask a question. What did you get most out of
this um your last year in participating in on this committee? >> I can start. So this year, as it may have been who had said, we definitely missed a lot of meeting time due to
weather and like the ginormous snowstorm that hit in the winter. Um, so we didn't get as much substantial like boots on the groundwork as we could have wanted to this year, but this year I think we all really gained just getting together
and like talking and noticing and identifying what in our community is something and issues that need to be touched on and what are things that we as youth can do to create more of a community and more of a cohesive way
that youth in Charlottesville can get together and just talking about these issues. I think that was really great this year. >> Good. Anyone else want to chime in? >> They won't say this, but I noticed that they actually came together and work more um cohesively as a group and the
for teenagers to think outside of themselves and consider their whole student body. that was more present this year as far as like how can we open this up and make it reduce as many barriers as possible so we can truly hear the voices of everyone. Um that was
something that really stood out for me this year as they were talking about the changes that were taking place in the high school and how they wanted to use their voices effectively. So I'm going to let them speak. >> Does other counselors have questions? I
it struck me as I was hearing you all talk about the things that you wanted to do. Uh sitting up here, I'm used to people saying, "Here's here's what we want council to do." And I was struck by the fact that almost nothing of what you
were talking about was anything the council would do, but things that you working through the school administration, maybe through the school board, but you know that that there there things that maybe the major constraint is
sort of everybody's energy level. Yeah, I know it takes a lot of time to do all this stuff in addition to to school things. Is there anything that you saw there in what you're talking about that council needs to do?
>> Can I answer that question? >> She's taking advice anywhere I can get it. She's coming to ask for money. Just be real. >> I'm not going to ask for money today. >> Today? >> Not today. >> I'm Chelsea Stratton. I'm the deputy director of the department of human services. I get to hang out with these
wonderful children and Miss Wanika. Um the answer is so we really the the changes to how council um the youth council runs in terms of onboarding and um accepting applicants is out of our
hands. That is something that city council um has to change and we can give you the list of ways we want to change that. Um but that would need to come from city council and also the stipened
piece where we can be more inclusive of um kids that have to choose between working and being a part of city council. Especially um as we're looking at adding in more meetings and more time together. Um, we want to get rid of that
barrier where kids have to choose if they help mom with a bill or come participate in this wonderful council. So, those are the two things that city council can really help us with. Changing how it's structured.
>> You did kind of slide in as if money. >> You're right. >> She's good at >> But I called it a stipen. and she wanted to prove to me that she was. >> So, we will make sure that um let's uh assistant city manager Roman will uh be in conversation with Miss Graves about
that. Make sure that we get that information passed forward for consideration on how to take it forward. >> And how would you work on the part that Dylan mentioned about the school meeting on site in the school and being more inclusive? Would that be school board or >> um administration?
>> Administration. Yeah, just curious. >> Administration. Um and so we did have um schoolboard members and the principal come at the start of the school year and so um hearing that we can take it beyond where we are currently meeting which is
city space um revisit that with uh Dr. Malone and seeing how we can actually get that on the calendar the school calendar and their afterchool activities. >> Fantastic. Thank you. >> I guess >> go ahead. >> Two two questions. One one of the things
that was brought up that was kind of an interesting reflection is um you know the the intersection of ICE and national politics in the work as well as like how to approach um walkouts and protests. And one I'm just curious kind of what reflections that you know y'all had
around that. And then to um the topic of like better information about how to advocate in front of local government was also something that was discussed kind of what areas um or like would be helpful or were there specific questions around you know how to be effective in
with local government. >> Um sure. Yeah. So, I was one of the students at Charleston High School who participated in in the ice walk out. And I think there was like a a large amount of turnout. Um, and I think that just continuing to have programs or have
resources that educate people on local and national politics and like educate them on what what they have a right to like what how they can make a difference in their community. I think that's really important. Um, I feel like something that maybe
council could be a part of is sharing more like sharing youth council so more students know about it. For me, before this year, I wasn't even aware that I like could go to the general assembly and then I I did go and I advocated for a few bills, but I didn't know until now. Um, and I didn't know about like
early voter registration. Um, and youth council is a great place to learn about that, but I feel like most students don't even know about youth council. Um, so >> yeah. Well, I would definitely say the the walk out certainly got a lot of people's attention and I think spurred a
lot of important conversations and and raised a lot of awareness. So, it certainly I think was noticed and felt throughout the community. Um I think that something that you kind of pointed out is the difference between national and local and what we can do
and then how we advocate through our general assembly to reach n uh national level but then how we can affect um Charlottesville and our own residents. Um is this is this everyone's first city council meeting? No. Okay, great. That's
awesome. Um, something we briefly just chatted about on this end of the DAS is we noticed there were five of you and there's five seats up here and wanted to see if you all wanted to come sit up here real quick to see what your future could look like one day. >> Come on. >> And we're going to have you all vote on
our upcoming items. You'll do a better job than us. >> This is the best seat. >> You are welcome to take this. I promise you'll be back. >> Thanks so much for coming. Thank you. >> Thank you so much.
>> Thank you so much for taking the seat. >> Thank you. >> I know. I'm going to That's why I'm staying. >> It makes me younger. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> You feel the power surging. >> I know. >> It looks different up here, right?
>> When you look back out there. You have to wear >> Natalie's go. >> All right. Thanks so much for their hard work and input. >> Good idea, Natalie. Thank you.
>> It does feel different up here. >> That's what I said the first time. Next up is Miss Hamill going to give us our quarterly financial report >> because we having separation anxiety. >> Will they get to sit up here?
>> She doesn't want to sit up here. No, I'm >> good. >> I feel like I'm kind of like the WW. >> I hope not. >> Good evening, council. Chrissy Hamill, budget director. Uh we're here to take an opportunity to present the third
quarter financial report to you. Um, as you know, our revenue team continues to meet at all uh every month at least um more frequently during the budget session. Um, we take more opportunity. In fact, tonight I have even a a more
recent update than what's in the actual packet. But first, just to give you some highlights. Um at the end of the third quarter um as of March 31st the general fund budget is about 78 uh% spent at
just over $25 million. Salary and benefits account for 59.1 million of that and then other expenses are about 147 million. Um discretionary spending departments almost every
department is about um around the 75% spent mark. So while our expenses are not um actually that easily um quantifiable you know a quarter a quarter a quarter um that does indicate that our budget is tracking pretty well
on the expenditure side with our budget although there are things that happen towards the end of the year that will impact that. So um the spending piece is still uh quite a bit of an unknown at this point. Um but in comparison to 25,
our third quarter expenses in 26 are um a little bit lower than in uh the previous year. Um so while it's not significant um our third quarter spending in FY24 was 24.6%
and in 23 was 23.9%. Um and this year we're about 19% spent. So, um, most of the things that are influencing that, um, from what we can tell is that, um, our third quarter expenses are traditionally lower than
the first two. That's usually because of contractual services, uh, also computer software, annual license that are due, those types of things. But moving on to the revenues, um, as it's stated in the
report, as of March 31st, uh, revenues were about 67% collected or just a little over or actually, I'm going do it a different way. Just a little under $179 million. Um, as you know, June 5th
marks the uh day of real estate taxes that will be due for the first half of 2026. Um and that will include the 1 cent um tax increase that you included with the 27 budget. So if we can turn to the
projections for the re uh revenues. Um there are a couple changes from what's in your packet. Um if you uh overall we are looking at a revenue budget surplus of about $5.5 million or just over um 2%
of the total budget. Uh the things that are highlighted in yellow on the screen or and then also in red indicate the changes from what was originally put in the packet. most of the increase. Um that from the packet to tonight um the
three big things, one was BOL or business and professional license and that is strictly a timing issue uh based on how things were working and updated numbers that we got from our Thanks Commissioner. Uh that was about a
$400,000 increase. In addition, um the our meals tax continue to perform strong although they started very slow this year. they have continued every month to um be strong and then personal property uh again as the work of the
commissioner's office has continued with assessments we are projecting uh an increase there. So all of that together again is about $5.5 million revenue surplus over and above what was included in the 26 budget. And with that I'd be
happy to answer any questions. So plus 5.5 on the revenue side and what's the expenditure? >> We don't know. I mean right now everything is tracking um pretty close to the budget but there are lots of things that happen at year end as other
funds close out and things. So it's a little bit harder to project expenditures but right now it seems to be tracking. I mean we're not anticipating >> any um under spend large unspending at this point. Thank you.
>> Jen, do you have any questions? >> No. Thank you. >> No, >> thanks for the update. >> Yeah, sure. >> Michael, you have >> No, that wasn't bad. >> Yeah, thank you. No question. >> Thank you. >> There's that stipen money for the kids. >> She was just worried that it wasn't fun. >> Yeah,
>> the next the last item that I have is um just kind of taking you back to last week in the work session on Wednesday, we talked about uh the state of homelessness part two. Uh, in that session, Councelor Snook asked that I give a two-minute update on homelessness going forward just to kind of keep you
all posted. So, here it goes. Uh, I have uh continued to work through a series of conversations that I was aware of at that meeting last week that would be coming up. Uh, just want to share just kind of some of the moments that have had happened since Wednesday. On Friday,
I met with the Ravana Trail Foundation. uh they came to discuss the concerns that they have as it relates to encampments in the city along the river. Uh but what was different in that conversation and one that I appreciated and shared with them directly was that they spoke from a place of wanting to partner and wanting to coordinate. So I
was I thought that was wellreceived. Uh I I received that well and I thought it was important to be able to hear that. Um naturally they have a concern of being able to to take care of the trails to uh make sure that those trails are available to the larger public. uh
there's just conflict in the idea that we can't make everyone happy. I shared that with them. They were very responsive, very supportive of the idea of getting the information that they felt like they needed to speak to their members, speak to their donors because they're concerned about being um in a position that they might lose support
for some of the ongoing work that they have if they felt that people were going to stop using the trail system. Uh so that conversation was good and I promise to get back to them. I'm meeting with Pajam tomorrow. We're going to talk a little bit about their budget projections as well as following up on
the comment that I made to them about uh could they operate the overnight shelter now. Now, meaning as soon as possible. So, that question is being uh further explored in the conversation with their executive director tomorrow. In addition to that, we've initiated a conversation
to try to gain some clarity on uh Mitchell Matthews did the design work for the lowberry shelter group. Uh in the conversation last week, I confirmed that we were only focused on the use of the 27,000 square foot foot building that was purchased uh that the small addition would not be a part of this uh
implementation. And the question was whether or not we could identif identify what we lose by not adding the um small piece to the building. How can we offset for that potentially with other ideas inside the building or what
is it that we just have to simply accept as a loss? Um, so we've initiated that conversation and hope to be able to get that information through our director of human services, Misty Graves. Uh, and the community foundation. I've been having conversations with Leslie Smith
who is the director of the foundation and she has indicated a desire to engage with the COC members to help facilitate the conversation of production of the operating plan. I think that is definitely something that we would like to have sooner rather than later. Uh and
she's going to try to see if we can help get that produced faster. And that's the two-minute update and I will give you another one at the next meeting. Thank you. That is my report. The next item on the agenda is our action items. And
the first action item is a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a power purchase agreement and associate site access agreement for the Charlottesville Middle School. U Chris, >> good evening, Mayor Wade and counselors. I'm Crystal Ritterville, director of the
office of sustainability, and I'm here today to present you with a resolution authorizing the city manager to exercise to execute a solar power purchase agreement and associated site access agreement for Charlottesville Middle School. As you recall, in February, I
provided you with an overview and an update of our um efforts related to power purchase agreements or PPAs for two city of Charlottesville school sites. I subsequently brought the same presentation to the Charlottesville City School Board. The presentations shared
how these clean energy projects will result in both substantial cost avoidance as well as progress towards our greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and renewable energy goals. They also covered what a PPA is and how they work. Since then, the school board has
taken action and a power purchase agreement for Charlottesville High School has been executed. I'm joined this evening by Megan Milo, director of the solar empowered schools from Madison Energy Infrastructure with whom we've been working closely on this opportunity.
As a quick reminder, the important context for this project is Charlottesville's climate commitment, which comes in the form of goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 203 by 2050. Charlottesville's
climate action plan identifies the installation of solar energy production systems on suitable municipal properties, including schools, as a key implementation strategy to generate clean energy, reduce electricity bills, and reduce greenhouse gases. And it
identifies PPAs as a mechanism to expedite this. We have, as have many in the community, been eyeing big buildings like CHS and CMS with big roofs and their potential for solar for quite some time. With two
new roofs on these two schools, they present themselves as ideal candidates for solar deployment. And we have been aiming to align the life of the so of the roofs with the life of the solar systems on them. The projected project size for the projects on CHS and CMS
came with substantial installation cost deemed infeasible to pursue with local capital funding. As I shared with you in February, the power purchase agreement or the PPA is an alternate financing strategy which presents an appropriate mechanism and an intriguing opportunity
to deliver on-site power generation. The PPA enables the customer to receive predictable and often lowerc cost electricity with no upfront capital investment while also enabling the owner of the system to receive income from the
sale of the electricity. So here is just a quick reminder of the slide you saw in February about what the PPA is and how the model functions. The PPA is a contract between a power producer referred to as the seller and a buyer referred to as the purchaser
outlining the sale the terms of sale and purchase of electricity over a set period of time. The site owner shown here in the middle has an arrangement with two power providers. The first one is with the solar developer who finances, installs, owns, and operates a
new power generating system on the owner or purchaser's property and provides that power directly to the site through a long-term contract at an established rate. The other is with a traditional electricity provider, in our case, Dominion Energy, who continues to
provide electricity from the grid as needed and compensates for any excess power that the solar system generates and goes back into the grid. So, PPAs provide both price certainty for both parties. They can help the purchaser meet their climate and clean energy
goals, and they can also help reduce long-term electricity costs. As I mentioned, we first received and reviewed a power purchase agreement for Charlottesville High School, which underwent significant vetting by the city attorney's office and the school
board's council. We now have a final PPA proposal for the Charlottesville Middle School for your consideration. The table here presents the roles of purchaser and seller, the system capacity, and the amount of annual traditional electricity that the system production will offset.
The negotiated rate versus the current electricity rate will result in avoided costs starting in year 1 with nearly 1.3 million in avoided costs projected over the 25-year term of the the agreement. And importantly, this proposal does not
require any expenditure of funds by the city. Another quick reminder on this side. On this slide, you see a graphic that I shared with you that shows the projection of avoided costs over time based on a guaranteed energy rate over
the term of the agreement. You can see this hypothetical cost comparison. The upper portion of the chart shows traditional energy costs rising upward. The lower portion of the chart shows the PPA energy costs in comparison staying lower with less significant increase.
And over time, the amount of savings or avoided costs increases as these two lines deviate. My favorite slide of the presentation is this one. I can't pass on the opportunity to show you how great solar all over Charlottesville Middle School
looks. So, in conclusion, we see a number of benefits to entering into the power purchase agreement for the school. The PPA offers a strategy to rapidly install large solar systems on our large eligible roof eligible roofs without local capital investment. They support
the growth of en renewable energy resources. They provide significant long-term cost savings and this this pre PPA as with the high school is projected to save money in year one and substantial avoided costs over the proposed five-year term. And they
provide price stability. So this evening, staff recommends that city council approve a resolution authorizing the execution of a solar power purchase agreement for the Charlottesville Middle School and the associated site access agreement in
order to provide on-site generation of clean energy for that facility and thereby achieve significant cost avoidance over the term of the agreement as well as greenhouse gas emission reductions. Um, before I open this up to any
questions or comments you may have, I wanted to thank Kirk Vizier. He's the city's energy management coordinator on my team. He's been diligently facilitating many of the site and data logistics involved in getting us to this point. And I also wanted to thank April Wimberly from the city attorney's office
for her thoughtful support and guidance. So, with that, thank you. And I welcome any questions you may have. >> Uh, thank you. I'll start with you, Natalie. >> Um, this is one of those things that we heard about, we heard about, we heard
about, and um, it's very exciting to see that it's something we we're very close to checking off our to-do list. um especially considering the federal shenanigans uh about the um the tax
incentives that are are being sunseted and knowing that we had a time frame to get this um done. So, thank you so much for all of your hard work and for your presentation and your updates. Um what is the remainder of the timeline for
installation? So, um, once we have the agreement executed, there will be a letter of authorization issued to Dominion by Madison, but the city has to sign it, and that will then start the clock on them developing their timeline to do the
utility side upgrades, and the project installation timeline will get backed out from there. Um, it's well understood that nobody wants equipment up on a roof doing nothing, but both Madison and the city are motivated to get that system up and running as soon as possible. So,
this time next year, we should be installing, but it's a multimonth project. >> Okay. And um, and I assume you probably aim for summer vacation. Um, it's a project that, again, I will defer to Megan, but they have experience doing portions of projects when the schools
are in session, and that would be a similar scenario with the high school and school board understood that. >> Okay. Um, excellent. And the equipment purchased before the tax credit situation we talked about last time is >> we're all good. >> Okay. Could you give a just a brief summary for folks who might not remember
what what we're thumbs uping about? >> Sure. Yeah. Um so thank you everybody and uh thank thank you for your support in the great presentation Crystal. Um yeah so the the there is a change in tax credit eligibility which is a benefit that is passed on through a lower power
purchase agreement rate um and that is sunsetting in July. So this is really important that we are coming to this agreement um now before July so that the city can uh leverage all of those benefits in the form of its PPA rate.
And so, um, by executing this agreement now, you're securing that 30% extra benefit for the city. >> Great. Thank you. >> That's all the questions I have at the moment. Thank you. >> Michael Hammond.
>> Yeah. I mean, obviously just a long time coming, but a very positive advancement for the city. Um, I know one thing at a time because this project still has to be completed. But it just makes me think, you know, for the city thinking midterm, long-term, are there other kind
of major sites where you think could be next opportunity areas for additional PPAs? >> Any building that's getting a nice new roof is the next opportunity. Mhm. And I know um um >> and you have a series of schools with
roof replacements in your CIP, >> right? And I know um our airport is jointly managed by the city and county and um has some significant renovation projects coming up as well as um large uh unused field areas. Um, does that
seem like uh an opport like a potential opportunity area that the city could use its seats to advocate for like a PPA in that context? >> Um, I think the answer is always yes. Um, I think the timing of when that discussion happens and what the
financing of a PPA looks like or solar in general um will have to be looked at in the moment. But I my understanding is that if that's going to be a gateway to the community, it could look like what this community wants its gateway to look like. Right. Um but that's it. That's that's it. But again, um you know,
definitely exciting to see it move forward and hopefully becomes um a model we just continue to build off of. >> Can I ask a quick follow-up question before somebody else jumps in? um for any of those new projects that that may
happen, you know, other new roofs for the schools, are we able to purchase equipment in advance without those projects being completely secure yet so we can take advantage of that tax credit? Um, we can't purchase equipment because we don't have the funds in place
to make those purchases or to store them somewhere. But >> there's a December 2027 deadline >> under which we might still be able to access some of the federal incentives available to taxexempt entities. So,
we're looking at what options exist for that. Mhm. And um what about I you know you mentioned the airport um thinking of other modes of transportation um parking lots, parking garages. Is that something
we can chat about? >> So I think um it was definitely our priority to get these over the finish line and we're almost there. We haven't voted yet. not to pile on but >> but you know the financials of some of the other systems like canopy systems are hard because it's actually the
structures the the canopy steel systems that are expensive so um there are there's a lot of projects that we can look at how to build that in >> I don't know that we should feel limited by some of these
imposed deadlines because we were talking about solar before those types of incentives existed and we will talk about solar after those incentives go away. >> Okay, great. Thank you very much. >> Well, just quick on that front, somehow I didn't realize until like a week or so ago that Outl
on on some of their schools. So, it just points the fact that it's, you know, it can still work. >> Lloyd, yeah. >> Um, I just say this was part of my campaign seven years ago. Glad it's getting done. I'd like to encourage
looking at parking lots and and so on, too. Yeah, >> Jen. >> Nope. That's all of it. >> Yep. Same. Same here. Excited about this. Um, is this a public hearing? >> Can we like get up on the roof for a ribbon cutting or >> Oh, yeah. We might go on a roof.
>> I will also say it is really strategic. >> Well, Sam can't come, but it's really strategic to be doing this as well as we see news about rising energy costs. Some of the projected avoided costs might will realize as bigger. So
>> yeah. >> Okay. >> I think we're just all very excited >> both for the the checking it off the list, but also for the many wonderful benefits that it it brings to the community and thank you so much for working with us and for the partnership that you've created.
>> Thank April and I'm sorry your namegan. >> Megan, thank you all so much. >> Um I think >> so. Will you take a vote? >> Yes. >> Yes. I would move approval of the resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a power purchase agreement and associated site access agreement for
Charlottesville Middle School. >> Second. >> Okay, I'm coming. >> It's failed. Five to zero. >> The next item that this motion passed five to zero. Thank you all so much. >> Thanks, April. Thank you.
>> Great. The next item on the agenda is a resolution to approve um approval of a refund of business of tangible personal property tax and business license and tax totaling $33,86314. Evening, Mr. Mayor, members of council,
happy Monday. Um hopefully this is the last one of these for a while. um they they kind of seem to come in spurts that you know when as we renew business licenses that's kind of when we uncover these things or when people self-report.
This is an instance where a business uh had been located in the city of Charlottesville and moved to Almar County and never told us and kept paying their taxes to the city. Um we eventually caught it and so now we're trying to get it straight. >> Um and that that's basically it. Part of
it is going to be a refund of business license tax. Uh there has to be uh unfortunately we have to pay interest on that. Um the other piece will be business tangible personal property. We don't have to pay interest on that. Uh any refund over $10,000
we have to bring to you guys for approval. >> That's it. >> Okay. Any questions or comments on this? >> Quick question. We talked about this is ringing a bell. We've talked about this recentlyish. Is it the same one that we talked about before or a different one?
>> It's a different business. There was one business I had to bring back twice because we had to go to the court to get permission to do the out years and that took a little longer. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much. >> I like move approval of the resolution. Second.
>> The motion passes. some 50. Thank you, sir. >> Then you're you have the next one, too. This is a is a resolution for approval of the 2026 homeowner assistant grant program. >> Yes, sir. This is the like I said, it's Charlottesville homeowner assistance
program. Um this is it's not real estate relief because we can't give a tax exemption um to just anybody. But this is a grant that we administer for the Department of Social Services. Uh it's entirely based on income. Um I have to
bring it to you guys every year to to approve. And the most probably meaningful piece of it is kind of where the um income thresholds are set. Uh and you'll see um anyone any household that's $39,000 or less is going to get
$2,500. Any household between 39 and 52 will get a grant of $2,000. um incomes between 52 and 58500 $1,500 grant. And then anything 155 to
65,000 um that's a household um would be eligible for $1,000 grant. Um I've attached the this is these incomes are based on area median incomes. Um and then there is a limit on the value of
the home that is pegged to the uh median um assessed home value in the city. So if if your home value is below average and your income qualifies, you can qualify. >> Thanks direct many people um to you. So,
thank you so much for >> Yeah, it helps a lot of people. Um, >> you know, folks who can't quite, you know, qualify for the elderly disabled program, they can, you know, a lot of times still get in under this. >> Any questions or comments on this? Did you?
>> Yeah. Um, Todd, how was the $65,000 chosen? Like, when was the last time that was adjusted? >> I do it every year. every year >> it's pegged to the median >> FMI >> MFI median family income that we get from HUD. Um
>> it's just a number I pull every year and um so that way I don't have to keep coming back to you guys to keep adjusting it year after year after year the way we used to. So now it self adjusts. >> Okay. And then
so there were 296 households that got chap. Was that right? And so >> that sounds right. Yes. >> How many do we think are eligible but not applying? Do we have any idea? >> I mean we do our level best to get the word out. Um
you know we do some stuff with communications office. We put out press releases. We've got some videos out there. I've done the TV spot with Mr. city manager a time or two. Um, you know, but you never know. Um, we we try
to build in a little bit of an increase year to year just to to make sure we don't miss anybody. But you guys budget for this as part of the annual budget. So, this has already been allocated. >> Okay. Thank you. Mhm. >> And on that um point, just for the um public, I know you've talked about this
many many times, but um could you just walk through how in the past the qualifying limits used to be have a hard limit that was determined by state law and every year we would negotiate whether or not to increase or how much and explain like how that is totally
different than the past and it automatically increases each Yeah, it used to be I mean it's just like you said we would go into the typically we'd do it during the budget cycle um and there would be just this negotiation of well what if we set the um the income
value here and we have two or three tiers and and and and so then I was coming back constantly with different variations and estimates and and it was a thing that we did every single year um you know and if we didn't do it it didn't get adjusted and So, you know,
there were years where it got, you know, it stagnated and it didn't move, you know, until, you know, somebody had time to ask about it and think about it, you know. Um, but a few years ago, we changed that and
I, you know, figured out a way to peg it to incomes so that they adjust automatically. Um, and I think it's pretty pretty fair way to do it. Um, so you know, it's always as long as incomes are rising, it's going to go up and
hopefully people won't fall out of the program. That's the idea. >> No, I think it's been a very um positive change. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? If not, um, can >> you just quick quickly can you give a
brief spiel on applying the process? Sure. Uh, yes. People can get in touch about it. Um, we will start taking applications in my office, Commissioner Revenu's office in July. Uh, you can come into the office and do it. Um, you
can also do it online. Go on our website. I don't think it's live yet, but there will be a link where you can go in and, um, you supply your income documentation. Um, you know, attest whatever you have to attest to. And um
yeah, we try to make it try to make it as simple as we can, but um if you have any questions, you can call our office 970-3160 or uh citycore at charlottzville.gov if you've got questions. Uh go on the website. There's information on there.
Thanks for asking that. >> I move approval of the resolution for approval of 2026 homeowner assistant grant program. >> Second. vote started. >> Thank you, Todd. Motion passes five to zero. Thank you. >> Thanks.
>> The next item on the agenda is a resolution to endorse the location for the swards into um plowshares project. Mr. Freeze. >> Good evening, Mayor Wade. >> Good evening. Uh my name is James F, deputy city
manager. Trying to get this up and running. All right, good evening. So the item before you this evening is a resolution to endorse uh location or potential locations for the swords and the bioshares uh project. Uh you will recall
back in December of 2021, the Charlottesville City Council conferred ownership of the city's Robert E. Le statue to the Jefferson School African-American Heritage Center. Uh the proposal that uh that was approved at that time in in in making
that um in conferring ownership uh basically included melting down the statue and then reforming it into a new memorial um following a community engagement process. The Jefferson School is currently engaged in that process has
been for quite a while and I'm sure many of you have been tracking that. At this point in time, that process is narrowed down to three potential artists, designign teams, each presenting a different vision for what that memorial could look like. Once that process is
complete, um uh the uh the uh Jefferson School will be presenting to the city and ultimately to the city council for y'all's decision. um the that final design and city council will then vote on whether or not to accept that uh
piece into um the city's public art collection. What we're doing this evening in um in putting this resolution before you is is to provide some guidance and feedback along the way so that the project can move forward with a certain degree of
confidence that um that they're kind of on the right track. And so the item before you this evening in particular would be a resolution to endorse one or more locations for um for aspects of this memorial piece um to to be located
in the future. Now it's noted that this is non-binding because ultimately the final decision is the decision at which you will accept the piece and you'll be able to accept that piece as as a whole or not as you as council chooses. Um but again this is this is an opportunity to provide some some direction and guidance
um back to the back to the design group as they move forward. So the resolution is kind of in the choose your own adventure style in that it gives you an opportunity to identify what park locations you would want to um endorse at this time. Uh staff is
recommend recommending that at least in a minimum we would anticipate the market and court street parks. But you will recall um if you've if you've looked at the three different proposals, those include a much wider uh range of parks um I believe it's six parks in total. And when I was preparing my notes
earlier, I forgot to note those parks, but I'll do it from memory right now. And anyone can test me if I get it right or not. >> Um it includes uh obviously Market and Court Street, Washington Street Park is included in that list. Um uh Forest
Hills, Belmont, and Tonsler. >> That's it. All right. Um, I'll note that uh Dr. Andrea Douglas is also here with me tonight and both of us are available to answer any questions you all may have.
>> Okay. Um, I'll start with Jen. >> Super. Um, thank you. Thank you for being here. So, if we only said two park sign, we didn't say a minimum and we we just limited it to I'm just doing a hypothetical. I just just to
make sure I understand everything. Could Hoods and Push, can the two other groups still move forward with their vision? >> Defer that question to >> Dr. Am I? Oh. Uh oh. I'm getting stinker.
>> Dr. Dr. D. Um the answer would be that as part of the plan for the project anyway is that there the designs that you have before you would then need to be altered significantly. >> Okay. Super. So they could still be I
didn't want them to get knocked out in that theoretical >> each one of them in one form or another does um address at least street park. >> Okay. >> Right. Right. Super. Thank you. And then >> just stay right there. >> Yeah. Maybe stay close.
>> Where you go? >> So my last question was when you come back the second time on scale and specifics. What will you need from us then that we don't need
tonight? Just ex the or am I messing it up? It >> No, you're not. It it'd be essentially the same process. So our our next step their next step is that they're going to finalize down to one uh design team and then uh we're going to begin a process
of meeting with staff. Uh we're going to essentially do it in a similar way to we do the way we do design review processes with development projects. That's going to be a technical review, right? Staff is not is not going to be judging these in any sense any artistic sense. Um and
but in the same vein, we want to bring forward and kind of get that endorsement from council that you're okay with the scale as presented as that project is kind of move forward before they go into more detailed design work. >> Okay. >> But it would be it would be the same essentially the same process as we're going in right now.
>> Got it. Crescendoing. Got it. Thank you. >> That's it, >> Lily. I don't I don't really have any questions. Um I will say that you know I I I saw the presentations at our meeting
a month or two whenever ago it was uh and while I have not spent the time that I should have to come down to to look at the the whole exhibits and so on at the school um I intend to but I just just haven't been able to. My gut feeling is
that I am a I'm concerned about the proposals that would have pieces of a larger thing uh scattered around the city in ways that might make them seem almost trivial in those
locations. And that I I I I sort of feel I I the the design that I that appealed to me most was the one of the the the schematic represent or the symbolic representation of the baobab tree in in
Market Street Park. Um but that was from what I saw in of it in Market Street Park. And I I guess I'm I'm just not I'm not clear on on how well I'm likely to react
to having having things sort of scattered around at at the other at the other places. Again, I I just it feels to me like it's going to uh invite a response in a lot of those parks uh or maybe not a lot,
but some of the parks anyway to say I don't understand why this is here. Um, but that's that's an issue that we'll deal with in in greater detail later on and after I know more and after uh the design gets worked out in in greater
detail. Okay, Natalie. >> Um, I just wanted to kind of summarize that, uh, when we had our special work session, um, we realized that this project is kind of moving along in
parallel to what the city's thinking, but there hadn't been a formal um, agreement at any point to make this space available. So, this is really just kind of like solidifying a process we all kind of were vibing along together. Um
and uh and so if we're endorsing at least market and court square market street and court square parks would the recommended motion because there is not one here. Do we >> there is one >> you're endorsing that's the motion
>> the motion motion to endorse and and I and and the motion would include the list of parks. >> Okay. >> Page of page 239 of the packet. Oh, I'm >> the very last page. >> I just see that it says if applicable on a blank,
>> but um someone else can make the motion. I was just clarifying um that uh that that's how we're getting to here is just to make sure that we're in agreement at the steps along the way. So, thanks >> Michael.
Well, I know it's a um community involved design process and I know voting is still going on. Just for anyone who may be watching or listening, um when's the deadline for voting and how can people get involved um you know at that level? >> Uh the deadline is May 30th. We'll close
voting then. Um and there are multiple ways to get involved with that. You can go to the exhibition um and actually cast a ballot there. You can go online to sip seville.com and there's an opportunity to cast your ballot there. We have also um created a handout so
that we if you weren't willing to vote after being there and you wanted to think about it a little longer, the handout also has a QR code. Um and the handout mimics every single thing that you can find on the website and in the exhibition. We worked really hard to make this as portable as possible.
>> Thank you. Um, and I would just say as I've, you know, I said at the work session, I think this is a huge positive opportunity for the city to, you know, after the removal of the Confederate statues to not just replace it with nothing and have them be public spaces that could be, you know, any public
space in the entire country. Um, so I think it's an enormous positive opportunity for the city that I think city government should embrace. So, I'm fully in support of the resolution in front of us tonight that allows us the flexibility of um accepting um um uh
whichever project is chosen in numerous park locations. >> Yeah. >> Can I ask a quick clarification for the feedback on Cypville and at uh the school or the QR code? Um is is it voting and the most popular vote wins or
is it feedback that is >> feedback? It's feedback. what we're asking the question is which one do you like and why right and at the end of the day um as James um mentioned we will tabulate all of that but we also want to have conversations with city staff to
make sure that we understand what are the um pushes and pulls in each one of those and whether or not we need to increase budget or there are ways in which that we can make sure that what is proposed can actually happen. >> Great. And um since you brought up
budget, can you just briefly remind everybody about the funding sources and allocations? >> Well, we're raising funds for it and so we intend to do foundation and private funding for it. It's we're not asking the city for any money, just so you know, but um the we never intended to,
but um the way that we've been approaching it is the next phase of it is a community engagement, and that's what we're working on funding right now. Um and then we'll continue to fund now once we have something in hand to take around we'll be in a better position to to understand that.
>> Great. Thank you so much. >> Sure. >> So this is tagging on with I support all of my colleagues comments. What Natalie was talking about is like the the um how you going to make the choice because they all are really nice and kind of come from a different angle and um but
we're not the public in general. they're not art artists. And so, how are you going to decide? Um, >> well, I I believe that we've provided quite a lot of information for the public. Um, there is um the in the installation that gives you information
on how we got there. There is a full description on why we began to highlight the kinds of parks that we highlighted. So we have available on the website and it in on on in through all three of the the facilities an opportunity to watch a
um a story map about the five parks. We originally started with five parks. It was one of the designers who felt like Tonsler Park needed to be addressed. So the bulk of the project is really about five parks with one design team
addressing an additional park. Um and so most of what we have been working on is what we've been calling community awareness. And so trying to um bring people to the place where they have the full spectrum of understanding of the
issues that led us to the place where we were thinking of taking them down. Then um a discussion of where we are now. And ultimately by the time we begin a community engagement process um we will hope to have brought the greatest number of people to the understanding of all of
our reasoning in that. So um I think that what we all have to remember is that the what you're looking at is concept drawings. Um when we I've been involved with monuments in this town for
about 15 years. We are in some ways following the same process the monument to enslave laborers that was used the community engagement used to build that project was very successful successful in the ways that they tried to reach out to various um groups. As we're looking
at the demographics now we have a good age mix. Gender is always a problem. Women answer questions more than men. Um and so we continue to work towards that. But the exhibition in itself, although
we will not will stop um accepting opinions on the 30th, the exhibition will stay open through um the beginning of July so people have additional access and we'll continue to do the tours and we'll continue to do all the things that
we've done to prepare people. Um, we've been touring since November and we do two types of tours. Park tours and a tour that is about the built environment and the uh the visual language of that built environment. And
so we've we've done a lot of work to get people as aware about the project as we can and we'll continue to do that. >> And how can people find out about the tours? >> Um tours have ended but we will there are other tours to be able but it's mostly it's going to Sip Seville. SIP
Seville is our um evergreen site. So it's not just even there are res sources on there. So we have the blue ribbon report is on there. Um in 2024 we published the first phase of our community engagement project where 600
people responded to that. So if you aggregate all of this work um all of that information is in the resources part of CIP bill. So, if people um run through that website um they'll be able to keep up with the project and learn more about all of the issues that are
involved in the thinking of it. And I lastly want to say the three design groups that we've chosen, they average 30 years of experience in this work, they are the three groups that are both nationally and internationally known for
this kind of work. So, we feel like we're bringing to the community um the capacity to have a very strong conversation moving forward. >> Great. >> Yeah. I was in some meetings when they first kind of was listening to the public to determine like what they were
going to design and they were just all really really good. So, um and we see why they were asking all the questions when they came back with the three designs. So my last question or comment is like do you see any big obstacles
now you know you know um >> obstacles are always opportunities for me some >> all right before making a resolution uh a question um so the resolution that's in our packet endorses it for
Market Street Park Square Park obviously some of the designs have additional ones. Would there be value in amending the resolution to incorporate those other parks? >> I think he says minimum. >> My Yeah, my intention in drafting that was to fill in those first two and then
allow you all to fill in the rest in making the motion. >> Yeah, I just know it the the language is to endure endorse the use of the following listed parks and then it's just Market Street Park and Court Square Park. >> And so so yes, if the if the procedure would be to amend that, then amend that.
But the intention was for you all to decide what parks to include on that list. >> Understood. Yeah. >> Um but just to have as much clarity as possible, I would um move the resolution with the amendment of incorporating um
um uh Booker T. Washington, Tonsler, Forest Hills, and Belmont Park into that list. >> Second. Yeah. Second. Okay. Just a moment. >> Thank you. >> Okay. The motion passes five to zero. Thank
you so much, Dr. Douglas. Leah Perier who's um chair of the board who's been part of this. Thank you so much for for coming out and all your work you've done on this. Um that is the end of the the regular items. We're now for general
business. Last opportunity for the um public to make announcement. Robin, >> thank you city councelor for listening to my emails. I got really scared when I took out my bike for the first time at the end of April and saw all the encampments, but
mostly I was nervous because I saw a lot of people who needed a lot of help right away. And this was different from last November when there was five people or five tents. Uh, as of yesterday,
there's at least, and I'm not exaggerating, 20 more than I saw when I went on my trail ride, April 29th or whatever it was. But on May 5th, when I took my next ride, um, I noticed the
chart area, the burnt area, but in between that time, we had smoke on Caroline Avenue, like thick smoke. In fact, I came out of my house because I thought my house was on fire or something was going on. And I saw
another um uh resident of Caroline and she said, "I'm not calling the police. You call the police." And I said, "Why why wouldn't you call the police if you always smell smoke and you always have this situation on 500 Caroline Avenue,
which is the lower part near Fairway?" and she said because nobody listens or something to that effect. So I don't know who she complained to. But anyway, I called the police and and and the sheriff came I mean the captain of the fire told me it's not in my hands to go
down there and to tell them not to burn unless I actually see a fire. Well, I got really nervous and then on May 4th happened without anybody being alerted on Caroline. It took them three hours. I heard, not heard, but I spoke with a
fire truck that actually put out the fire. And that was my biggest fear because it is dry. And just today on the news, Channel 2, the fire chief, whatever, forestry just
said, "Yeah, it's really scary." Um maybe the driest that we've ever had in this area, and this is the most trees is Virginia. So, um, and all of those fires being Okay, so quickly, please address the fires tonight. I
spoke to the person who had the fire. He happened to be here and I just left because I didn't want to talk on it then, but um, they said they don't care to go to a shelter for food and they should be privileged to cook. And I say
you all need to set policy just like I can't open burn in my house. You all need to allow everybody who says their hands are tied to be able to set, you know, some kind of p piece of paper that says a warning just like a ticket,
a traffic ticket or anything else that they're not allowed to do that. And so I couldn't go to sleep because my neighbors, my little baby neighbors >> on the on the, you know, they're they're going to be in in trouble. Okay. Just like I said before. And so
>> thank you. Thank you. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> All in favor, please say yes. >> All oppose, please say no. Thank you.