* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. CAN I HAVE OUR ROLL CALL, PLEASE? HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE. YES. HERE. THANK YOU. [*A portion of this video is without audio*] MR. HARRIS, CAN YOU HANG UP ON THE COMPUTER? WAIT A MINUTE. LET ME HANG IT UP. LET ME, OKAY. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAY I? PARDON? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. OKAY. UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED MEETING FOR MEETING UNDER VIRGINIA CODE SECTION 2.2 3 7 11 A 29 AND EIGHT TO DISCUSS THE AWARD OF A PUBLIC CONTRACT WHERE DISCUSSION IN AN OPEN SESSION WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE CITY'S, UH, BARGAINING POSITION. AND TO CONSULT WITH LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING SPECIFIC LEGAL MATTERS, REAL ESTATE CONTRACT DISCUSSIONS, UNSOLICITED OFFER ON CITY OWNED REAL ESTATE IN 2.2 DASH 3 7 11 A ONE TO DISCUSS AND CONSIDER PERSONNEL MATTERS, INCLUDING BOARD AND COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS, SCHOOL BOARD. SO SECOND. ALL RIGHT. MOTION'S BEEN MADE BY COUNCILOR DAY AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ELLIS. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION SEEING NO LIGHTS? ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNSELOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS. COUNCILOR HARRIS. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. OKAY. THANK YOU SUSAN. YOU ARE WELCOME, YANA. ALRIGHT. UH, IF YOU TWO CAN NOW JUST, OH CRAP. WE FORGOT TO ALLOW Y'ALL IN. OH, MAN. APOLOGIZE. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. ALRIGHT, SO LET'S, ALRIGHT, SO LET'S COME OUTTA CLOSED SESSION REAL QUICK. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO COME OUT? CLOSED MEETING. SO MOVED. I'LL SECOND IT. ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS. COUNCILLOR HARRIS. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR. PARDON? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. OKAY. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. ALRIGHT. CERTIFICATION, PLEASE. YOU DON'T NEED A CERTIFICATION. WE DON'T NEED IT. YOU DID NOT ACTUALLY HAVE ANY DISCUSSIONS ENCLOSED. OKAY. EASY ENOUGH. ALRIGHT, THIS TIME, IS THERE A MOTION TO ALLOW COUNCILORS, UH, HARRIS AND STOKES TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY? THAT MOVED. ALRIGHT. MOTION'S BEEN MADE BY COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY AND SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR DAY. UH, AT THIS TIME, UH, COUNCILLOR STOKES FIRST AND THEN COUNCILLOR HARRIS, CAN YOU STATE WHERE YOU'RE CONDUCTING THE MEETING FROM AND WHY YOU'RE ASKING TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY AT HOME? AT MY KITCHEN TABLE AND HEALTH AND HEAT. OKAY. THE HEAT ADVISORY. UH, SO JUST DOCTORS ADVISED THAT I STAY OUT BECAUSE OF THE MEDICATION. OKAY. SO, MEDICAL. ALRIGHT. UH, COUNCILOR HARRIS, UH, FROM MY PHONE FOR MEDICAL REASONS. OKAY. THANK YOU'ALL. ALRIGHT. ANY DISCUSSION? SEEING NO LIGHTS? ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR GAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. [00:05:01] OH, I'M SORRY. PASS. I APOLOGIZE. IT'S ALL RIGHT. UM, COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. MAYOR PARTON. YES. COUNCILLOR ALICE? YES. MOTION PASSES. FIVE TO ZERO. OKAY. [CLOSED MEETING ] NOW A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED MEETING UNDER VIRGINIA CODE SECTION 2.2 3 7 11 A 29 AND EIGHT TO DISCUSS THE AWARD OF A PUBLIC CONTRACT WHERE DISCUSSION IN AN OPEN SESSION WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE CITY'S BARGAINING POSITION. AND TO CONSULT WITH LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING SPECIFIC LEGAL MATTERS, REAL ESTATE CONTRACT DISCUSSIONS, UNSOLICITED OFFER ON CITY OWNED REAL ESTATE IN 2.2 3 7 11. A ONE TO DISCUSS AND CONSIDER PERSONNEL MATTERS INCLUDING BOARD AND COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS. SCHOOL BOARD. SECOND. I'LL SECOND IT. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION SEEING THE LIGHTS ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNSELOR DAY? YES. COUNSELOR STOKES. YES. COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOYNER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON. YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. OKAY, NOW WE'RE GOING INTO CLOSED SESSION. ALRIGHT. SO IF YOU TWO, UH, WANNA DIAL IN ON THE CLOSED SESSION LINK, UM, THAT WAS SENT TO YOU IN THE EMAIL. I'M GONNA HANG UP YOLONDA. OKAY. ALRIGHT. BYE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU ALL. [RECONVENE OPEN MEETING ] CLOSED SESSION. UM, IS THERE A MOTION TO COME OUT? A CLOSED MEETING? SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. MOTION'S BEEN MADE BY COUNCILOR DAY AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ELLIS. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? GOOD. SEE NONE. ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR BRUNER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR. PARDON? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION, UH, PASSES. SEVEN ZERO. OKAY. CERTIFICATION, PLEASE. WE'RE ONLY PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS. LAWFULLY EXEMPTED FROM OPEN MEETING REQUIREMENTS AND IDENTIFIED IN THE CLOSED MEETING. MOTION DISCUSSED IN THE CLOSED MEETING. ROLL CALL COUNCIL DAY. YES. COUNCILOR STONE? YES. COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOYNER? YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARKLAND? YES. COUNCILOR S ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. OKAY. AT THIS TIME IS THERE A MOTION TO APPOINT C CATHERINE AL TO THE BRIGHT POINT COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD? CHRISTOPHER REBER TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. JOHN GRIFFIN, TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. AND HEATHER BENNETT TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. SO MOVED. SECOND MOTION'S BEEN MADE BY COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ELLIS. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION SEEING YOUR LIGHTS ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNSELOR STOKES. COUNSELOR STOKES. UM, I CANNOT SUPPORT THE APPOINTMENT OF MR. WEBER TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. AGREE UPON THE OATH. OKAY. SO IT'S A NO, BUT JUST ANNOTATE IN THE NOTES THAT IT'S JUST THE SCHOOL BOARD. YEAH. COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY. OH, I APOLOGIZE. ROLL CALL. I CAN SAY I DIDN'T ASK FOR DISCUSSION. UH, WE DOING ROLL CALL NOW? WE'RE DOING THE APPOINTMENTS. YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON. YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. UM, HOW DO I DO THAT? SIX. SIX TO ONE. ONE. HOW? WANT TO MAKE POINT OF INFORMATION? I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WAS PROPER. SO THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO SEPARATE THAT MOTION. NOW SAYING THAT SHE, 'CAUSE HOW CAN SHE, THAT WE DON'T HAVE I UNDERSTOOD THAT IT WAS, IT WAS NOTATED AS, AS A, AS A NO VOTE ON ALL. IF IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BLOCK VOTE, THEN THEN THE, THE CHOICES ARE EITHER TO, TO ANNOTATE IT AS A NO VOTE OR TO SEPARATE IT OUT AND VOTE ON THE CANDIDATE SEPARATE. I JUST, YEAH, BECAUSE IT WAS A BLOCK. I JUST YEAH, SHE'LL BE RECORDED AS NO, BUT WE'RE GOING TO ANNOTATE IT IN THE MINUTES THAT SHE SUPPORTED. UM, MS. KOFF, MR. GRIFFIN AND MS. BENNETT. OKAY. BUT, BUT I'M SAYING BUT STILL, SO THE ANNOTATION STILL WOULD BE A NO FOR ALL OF THOSE THOUGH, RIGHT? RIGHT. 'CAUSE SHE WOULDN'T VOTE. AND, UH, SO THEN WHY WON'T WE SEPARATE IT [00:10:01] IF SHE WANTS TO VOTE GUILTY? YEAH, BECAUSE I SUPPORT THE OTHERS. I JUST DON'T SUPPORT THE ONE BECAUSE NO ONE ASKED TO BREAK IT OUT. THAT'S ALL. I MEAN, WE CAN, DO WE MAKE A, DO WE JUST NEED TO MAKE A SEPARATE MOTION JUST TO BREAK IT OUT? OR YOU DON'T NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO BREAK IT OUT, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE TWO OF THE THREE CANDIDATES THERE'S UNIFORM SUPPORT ON, SO, SO JUST HAVE TWO SEPARATE VOTES. ONE FOR THOSE TWO CANDIDATES AND ONE FOR THE CANDIDATE WHO'S, WHO HAS DIFFERENT SUPPORT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO IS THERE A MOTION TO APPOINT CHRIS REBER TO THE SCHOOL BOARD? SO MOVE. SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. SO YOU NO LIGHTS FOR DISCUSSION. ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? NO. COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SIX TO ONE. OKAY. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPOINT CATHERINE OV TO THE BRIGHT POINT COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD? JOHN GRIFFIN TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. AND HEATHER BENNETT TO THE SCHOOL BOARD. SAME. MOVED SECOND. ALRIGHT. UH, ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY? UH, YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN ZERO. ONE MORE QUESTION, MR. MAYOR, DO WE HAVE TO DO ANY STRIKING OR ANYTHING FOR THAT FIRST MOTION THAT WE PUT IN PLACE? I DON'T THINK SO. I THINK IT'S MR. BESSETTE. I APOLOGIZE. ONE MORE TIME. DO WE NEED TO, DOES JUST THE NOTES MINUTES NEED TO BE STRICKEN ON THE FIRST VOTE THAT WE TOOK ON THE FIRST, OR DID THE OTHER TWO JUST OVERRULE IT WHERE WE DID THE BLOCK VOTE? IT WAS A RECONSIDERATION. SO AS I UNDERSTOOD THAT, THAT THE BLOCK VOTE WASN'T COMPLETED. NO, IT WAS COMPLETED. NO, IT WAS, SO WE RENEWED, DO WE NEED TO STRIKE THE STRIKE? THE, UH, FIRST VERDICT? YEAH, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO NOTATE IT IN THE MINUTES THAT IT'S THE VOTE WAS THAT THE VOTE WAS, WAS REPLACED BY A, BY A BROKEN OUT VOTE. OKAY. SO YOU MAKE IT REPLACED BY A BROKEN OUT VOTE? YES. OKAY. WE'RE [WORK SESSION] GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO OUR WORK SESSION. AND FIRST UP IS MS. MARTINEZ. GOOD EVENING, MS. MAYOR. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MS. MAYOR, VICE MAYOR JOINER, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. TONIGHT I COME BEFORE YOU TO FOLLOW UP IN REGARDS TO THE REQUEST OF EXPLORING A MEMBERSHIP SLIDING SCALE AT THE HOPEWELL COMMUNITY CENTER. YES. SO AGAIN, THIS OBJECTIVE WAS BROUGHT TO BY CITY COUNCIL TO EXPLORE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT MEMBERSHIP SLIDING SCALE OPTIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY CENTER. ALSO TO INTRODUCE ANY NECESSARY STAFFING THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO, FOR THE ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF THAT PROGRAM AND TO DISCUSS BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF A MEMBERSHIP OF A SLIDING SCALE OPTION. THE LOCALITIES THAT WE RESEARCH, UM, THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR TO US AS PRINCE GEORGE CLIENT HEIGHTS, AND OF COURSE THE PETERSBURG YMCA. NOW PRINCE GEORGE AND COLONIAL HEIGHTS ARE VERY DIFFERENT THAN WE ARE. WE ARE ACTUALLY MORE IN LINE WITH THE PETERSBURG YMCA, JUST BASED OFF OF OUR FACILITIES AND WHAT WE OFFER. FOR EXAMPLE, PRINCE GEORGE, THEY HAVE TWO EXERCISE ROOMS, WHICH CONSISTS OF, UH, WEIGHTS, UH, A COUPLE OF CARDIO MACHINES. CALLING HEIGHTS HAS A ROOM THAT HAS A ROW MACHINE, AN ELLIPTICAL, FREE WEIGHTS, AND A BENCH YMCAS. AGAIN, VERY SIMILAR. THEY HAVE FITNESS ROOMS, FITNESS CLASSES, POOL ACCESS, AND A FULL GYMNASIUM AS WELL. SO THEY'RE CLOSELY ALIGNED TO US. AS A REMINDER, THESE ARE OUR CURRENT MEMBERSHIP RATES. AS IT SITS, OUR RESIDENT RATES ARE $10 NON-RESIDENT RATE MONTHLYS 25. OUR YOUTH ADULTS, OR I'M SORRY, EXCUSE ME, OUR YOUTH ARE 100% FREE ALL YEAR ROUND FOR A MONTHLY DISCOUNTED, WHICH IS ANYBODY 50 OR OLDER OR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY RECEIVE A RATE OF $8 FOR A RESIDENT, 15 FOR A NON-RESIDENT AND FOR THE YOUTH IT'S $15 IF YOU'RE A NON HOPEWELL RESIDENT YOUTH. WITH THAT BEING SAID, THE BREAKOUT OF THAT IS ACTUALLY 50 CENTS A DAY. 40 CENTS FOR THOSE THAT ARE DISCOUNTED MEMBERSHIP. FOR THE ADULT NON-RESIDENT MEMBER, IT'S A DOLLAR 25. AND FOR THE YOUTH NON-RESIDENT IT'S 75 CENTS. SO THAT'S LADY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT IS LESS THAN A SENIOR MCDONALD'S CUP OF COFFEE, WHICH IS 97 CENTS. OKAY. UM, WHEN WE RESUME SATURDAY HOURS, THAT COST WILL OBVIOUSLY GO DOWN EVEN FURTHER. SO FOR AN ADULT IT'S 42 CENTS A DAY. FOR THOSE DISCOUNTED ADULTS, IT'S 33 CENTS FOR THE ADULTS NON-RESIDENTS, A DOLLAR AND 4 CENTS. AND FOR THE YOUTH NON-RESIDENT, [00:15:01] IT'S 63 CENTS. AS YOU CAN SEE. WE GOT A QUESTION UP FROM COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY. YES, SIR. UH, QUICK QUESTION. NOW, THIS DATE BREAKDOWN, I WOULD ASSUME YOU'RE DOING BY 30 DAYS. CORRECT. OUR MEMBERSHIPS ARE A 30 CALENDAR DAY. SO FOR EXAMPLE, JUNE HAS 30 DAYS IN IT. IT HAS NINE SATURDAYS SINCE BETWEEN SATURDAY AND SUNDAYS IT HAS NINE DAYS. AND WE HAD THE JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY THIS YEAR, SO THIS MONTH. SO TAKE THOSE 10 DAYS. SO IT'S ACTUALLY 20 OPERATIONAL DAYS THAT THESE MEMBERS GET. ALRIGHT. SO THE REASON WHY I WAS ASKING WAS EXACTLY THAT, THE OPERATIONAL DAYS AND ASIDE OF THOSE DAYS, THE AVAILABILITIES FOR EXAMPLE, OR LACK THERE OF AVAILABILITY TO POOL, ET CETERA. SO, UH, IN, IN TURN, WITH THE AVAILABLE DAYS, HOW MANY AVAILABLE DAYS, UH, UH, IS IT LIKE WITH THE POOL AND SO FORTH? SO THE POOL IS, IS WHAT WITH THE CITY COUNCIL HAS GIVEN US THE LIFEGUARDS. SO WITH US FOUR LIFEGUARDS, WE SHOULDN'T HAVE ANY DOWN DAYS. IT'S JUST WE'RE IN THE HIRING PROCESS FOR THAT. CURRENTLY. YEAH. RIGHT NOW WE'RE STILL CLOSED FROM LIKE 12 TO FOUR FOR THE POOL, BUT THAT DOESN'T EXCLUDE ANY OF THE OTHER AMENITIES THAT WE HAVE GOING ON. YES, SIR. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MY PLEASURE. DID THAT ANSWER THAT QUESTION? ABSOLUTELY. T UH, UH, COUNCILLOR STOKES, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES. UM, SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE 50 PLUS MEMBERSHIP FEES, UM, IN THE MEMBERSHIP, IN CONSIDERATION OF THE 50 PLUS AND ELDERLY. UM, DO YOU TAKE IN CONSIDERATION THE SILVER SNEAKERS PROGRAM AND ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMS? SO SILVERSNEAKERS AND RENEW ARE A SEPARATE PROGRAM. THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A DIFFERENT MEMBERSHIP. UM, ONCE THEY APPROVE, UM, WE CAN VERIFY THE ELIGIBILITY WITH THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE. IT'S ACTUALLY ZERO COST TO THE ACTUAL MEMBER. WE BILL SILVERSNEAKERS AND RENEW DIRECTLY. AND I, UNFORTUNATELY, I, I CAN TALK TO YOU OFFLINE IN REGARDS TO WHAT WE GET BACK PER MEMBER PER VISIT. UH, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE ASKED US TO KEEP CLOSE TO THE VEST. SO I CAN'T REVEAL THAT NUMBER IN PUBLIC. BUT YES, THEY MAY US FOR THAT. I'M, YEAH, I'M A MEMBER OF THE SILVER SNEAKERS PROGRAM AND I'M INTERESTED AND I'M ALSO, I ALSO KNOW THAT OTHER ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WOULD BE INTERESTED, PARTICULARLY IF THEY HAVE THE SILVER SNEAKERS PROGRAM, BUT I DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, HEAR YOU MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT THE SILVER SNEAKERS. OKAY. THANK YOU. MY PLEASURE. THANK YOU. YEP, YOU CAN CONTINUE. EXCELLENT. ALRIGHT, SO AS YOU CAN SEE OUR TOTAL REVENUE BASE OFF OF EACH OF THOSE MEMBERSHIP, WE'RE BRINGING IN APPROXIMATELY $28,208 CURRENTLY FOR OUR MEMBERSHIPS. UM, AND YOU CAN SEE BELOW OUR SILVER SNEAKERS. THIS IS OUR FISCAL YEAR, 20, UH, 25 UP UNTIL JUNE 5TH. THIS IS WHAT WE BROUGHT IN. WE HAVE ABOUT 16 RESIDENT MEMBERS AND 12 NON-RESIDENTS FOR RENEW. AND WE'RE BRINGING IN ABOUT $980 FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR. FOR THE SILVER SNEAKERS. WE HAVE 116 RESIDENTS AND 66 NON-RESIDENTS WHERE WE'RE BRINGING IN ABOUT $7,822. SO A GRAND TOTAL OF ALL OF OUR MEMBERSHIPS, WE'RE BRINGING IN $37,000 FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR AS OF JUNE 5TH. SO THE RESEARCH MEMBERSHIP TYPES TIERS, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE ARE CLOSELY ALIGNED TO PETERSBURG, Y-M-C-A-S, FAR AS WHAT WE OFFER AND OUR FOOTPRINT OF OUR FACILITY. SO THEIR RATES ARE, AS YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN, WHICH IS ANYBODY MAKING AN ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF LESS THAN $20,000. THE ADULT RATE IS $33. FOR A SENIOR, IT'S 32, AND THEN FOR 14 IT'S 17. AND OF COURSE, YOUTH, WHICH IS ANYBODY ESSENTIALLY UNDER 17, IS FREE. YOU CAN SEE HOW THOSE NUMBERS GO UP AS THE TIER GO HIGHER WITH A MAX OUT OF $74,999. BASED OFF MY RESEARCH, I BELIEVE THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME HERE IN HOBO, WE'RE SITTING ABOUT 56, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, JUST ROUGHLY. SO WE WOULD FALL, MOST WOULD FALL RIGHT BETWEEN TIER FOUR, WHICH IS 2340 $6 FOR ADULT MEMBERSHIP AND 44 $4 FOR A SENIOR MEMBERSHIP. SO IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THIS, THIS REQUIRES AN ADDITIONAL ADMIN. UM, WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE TO FACILITATE KEEPING UP WITH SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS SUCH AS WHETHER IT'S TAX, PAPERWORK, PAY STUBS AND SO FORTH WHEN WE DO OUR VERIFICATION ON THEIR ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME. SO IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE ESSENTIALLY DEDICATED TO JUST THAT SERVICE. SO WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS HERE, WHICH WILL BE A CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPERVISOR OR A CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT MANAGER, WHICH WILL HELP OVERSEE THE ENTIRE FRONT DESK, UM, PROVIDE HIGHER LEVEL OF CUSTOMER PATRONAGE, UM, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. EXCUSE ME, [00:20:03] QUESTIONS? UH, COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY AND COUNCILLOR JOINERS. JOINER WAS . OH, IT, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THAT WE WOULD NEED ONE DEDICATED PERSON. WHEN YOU GO, GO BACK TO THE NUMBERS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE TIER ONE OR THE ACTUAL MEMBERSHIPS. CURRENTLY THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF MEMBERSHIPS TODAY, AS OF TODAY, AS OF JUNE 5TH. EXCUSE ME. YEAH, I MEAN YOU'RE LOOKING AT TRACKING WHAT, HOW MANY PEOPLE? 200, UM, 220, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. OR SO MONTHLY WE HAVE 3 79 ANNUALS. WE HAVE, UH, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT 3, 8, 7. SO, YOU KNOW, THE, SO WE'RE LOOKING AROUND WITH YOUTH NOT COUNTING BECAUSE YOUTH ARE ALL, ALL YOUTH ARE FREE. WE'RE LOOKING ABOUT AROUND 500. BUT WITH THE ANTICIPATED OF A SLIDING SCALE, WE COULD THEN INCLUDE, INCLUDE ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AS WELL. SO THERE COULD BE ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIPS THAT COME IN WITH THAT SLIDING SCALE OPTION. YEAH, I, I JUST, I MEAN I THINK THAT THAT'S, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT IT WOULD TAKE ONE FULL EMPLOYEE TO DO THAT WORK. IT, WE HAVE TO VERIFY IT SO WHEN THEY'VE I UNDERSTAND. BUT YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU VERIFY THEN YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW. I, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A LOT TO ME. YES, MA'AM. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. AND THAT'S, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S, IT'S GONNA BE AN ONGOING THING. 'CAUSE THEY HAVE TO REMEMBER THEY HAVE TO RENEW EVERY SO OFTEN, BUT ALSO PEOPLE ARE COMING IN EVERY DAY, SO THEY'RE NOT COMING IN JUST ON ONE PARTICULAR DAY TO DO THAT. RIGHT. OKAY. YES, MA'AM. WOULD, WOULD THE, WOULD THIS EMPLOYEE, UH, WERE YOU FINISHED? PARDON? YES, I'M FINISHED. THANK YOU. WERE YOU FINISHED? I MEAN, WERE YOU FINISHED? WOULD THIS EMPLOYEE BE RESPONSIBLE TO TASK WITH OTHER CORRECT. IT WOULD BE OVERSEEING OUR ENTIRE FRONT DESK TO ALLEVIATE THAT REQUIREMENT, TO REPURPOSE OUR BUSINESS MANAGER TO NOT HAVE THAT SOLE FOCUS, TO UTILIZE THAT TO BE THEIR SOLE FOCUS. IF WE WERE TO ABLE TO GET THESE POSITIONS, WHETHER IT'S A SUPERVISOR OR EVEN IF IT'S ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME STAFF PERSON AS VICE MAYOR JOINER MENTIONED, TO KIND OF OVERSEE THAT PROGRAM. THE REASON WHY I WAS REQUESTING EITHER A SUPERVISOR MANAGER IS BECAUSE WE'RE DEALING WITH PEOPLE'S DEDICATED INFORMATION. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE PROPER CAPACITY AND SKILLSET THAT CAN HANDLE THAT KIND OF CONFIDENTIALITY AND SO FORTH. SO, ABSOLUTELY. THANKS SIR. ALRIGHT. LET'S SEE. SO THE BENEFITS OF A SLIDING SCALE. OBVIOUSLY WE CAN INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY, UM, LOWER INCOME FAMILIES CAN AFFORD MEMBERSHIP, UM, IN THEORY, BUT AS WE SAW THE NUMBERS, THAT'S NOT A REALITY. ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. IT ALSO PROVIDES A DIVERSE POPULATION TO COMMUNITY. COME OUT TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER, WHICH I BELIEVE WE ALREADY HIT ON. IF YOU GO THROUGH THE COMMUNITY CENTER AT ANY POINT IN DAY, YOU SEE ALL TYPES OF PEOPLE. SO FEEL FREE TO STOP BY ANY HOUR. YOU'LL SEE A GOOD GROUP. OUR SENIOR GROUP COMES IN THE MORNING, AND THEN WE HAVE ACTIVE ADULTS IN THE AFTERNOON. OBVIOUSLY OUR MAIN GOAL IS TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY HEALTH, WHICH IS ACCESS TO OUR WELLNESS PROGRAMS. THE CHALLENGES WE MENTIONED IS INCONSISTENT REVENUE, WHICH I'M NOT REALLY, I'VE NEVER BEEN GIVEN A CLEAR DIRECTION ON WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE REVENUE GENERATING, IF WE'RE A HYBRID OR IF WE JUST WANNA BE OFFERING THESE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT FURTHER, BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN A DIRECTIVE TO GET X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS BACK OF OUR REQUESTED, UM, REQUEST OF GENERAL FUNDS. YEAH, I THINK, I THINK THE LAST TIME WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BRINGING, BRINGING THIS INFORMATION TO US, UM, SEEING WHAT THE, UM, SEEING WHAT THE EXPENSES LOOK LIKE AND EVERYTHING SO THAT WE COULD KIND OF GO INTO A DETERMINATION. AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DETERMINING THE FEE SET, CORRECT. SORRY, CAN YOU CLARIFY THAT QUESTION FOR ME ONE MORE TIME? YOU, YOU WERE JUST SPEAKING TO THE SIMPLE FACT OF THE FEE OF HOW, HOW WE WERE GONNA DO IT, WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN BE HYBRID, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, SO FORTH. CORRECT. THE DEPARTMENT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, HAS NEVER AGAIN BEEN TOLD, AT LEAST IN MY 70 YEARS HERE, WE NEED 10% OF REVENUE GENERATED BACK OF YOUR REQUEST OF THE GENERAL FUND. SO IF I CAN GET THAT DIRECTION FROM THIS COUNCIL, OR IF IT'S NOT A MAJOR PRIORITY, THEN PLEASE LET ME KNOW. BUT ESSENTIALLY RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT EVEN BRINGING IN A, A PERCENTAGE OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR JUST BECAUSE OUR FEES ARE SO AFFORDABLE FOR OUR RESIDENTS. I, I DON'T KNOW, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE REST OF COUNCIL'S, UH, STATUSES ON THAT, BUT I THINK WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BRINGING IN THE SLIDING SCALE SO WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR SENIOR CITIZENS, UM, AND THOSE OF THAT NATURE CAN AFFORD WITHOUT THOSE FEES BEING ASTRONOMICAL TO THEM AND, YOU KNOW, FIXED INCOME, ET CETERA. BUT I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE TO SEE, AND I DON'T KNOW, THE REST OF COUNCIL WOULD BE, I THINK THE BEST OUTLOOK IN THAT WOULD BE TO GET WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND THE, UH, FINANCE DIRECTOR TO SEE WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO FINANCIALLY, UM, AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. WHAT WOULD BE MY THOUGHTS? I COULD TELL YOU IT WOULD BE A LOT HIGHER THAN WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY AT AND WHAT YES. YEAH. I MEAN, [00:25:01] AND WE OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANNA DO THAT. I MEAN, OF COURSE, BUT I'M SAYING IS, AND, AND WELL, THE COUNCIL, WELL, WE CAN STILL GET THOSE NUMBERS. YES, SIR. SO WE CAN COME IN AND SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE JUST PERCENTAGE, WE GOTTA GET BACK TAX TAXPAYERS. WE PAY FOR BUDGETING, PERIOD. SO WE OF COURSE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ASTRONOMICAL AND THOUGHT, BUT THE REALITY TOO, SO THAT THE CITIZENS CAN HEAR AND THAT WE CAN MAKE THOSE APPROPRIATE DECISIONS. ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IS, YEAH, THAT'S IT FROM ME. I DON'T KNOW ANY, PARDON? YOU GOOD? YEAH, WE CAN KEEP IT GOING. THANK YOU, SIR. UH, INCONSISTENT REVENUE, AGAIN, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. UH, THE COMPLEX ADMINISTRATION DEALING WITH SOMEONE'S VERY SENSITIVE, UH, INFORMATION, UH, THE POTENTIAL ASIG NATION, WHICH OBVIOUSLY ON THOSE THAT ARE LOWER SCALE MAY FEEL, UM, NOT INCLINED TO DISCLOSE BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE THAT PERSONAL INFORMATION. THEY DON'T WANNA SEEK THAT RESOURCE. UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, OPERATIONAL COVERAGE, UH, COSTS MAY NOT COVER. UM, AND SOME OF THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO VERIFY THAT ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, ARE ANNUAL TAXES, PAY STUBS, WHICH HAS SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ATTACHED TO IT AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF, WHICH IS AGAIN, HAVING SOMEONE OF A HIGHER SKILL SET TO UNDERSTAND THAT CONFIDENTIALITY AND BE ABLE TO THAT AS WELL AS BANK STATEMENTS AND SO FORTH. SO A LOT OF SENSITIVE DATA INFORMATION AND BEING ABLE TO STORE THAT PROPERLY. LET'S SEE. THEN NEXT UP, UM, THIS IS JUST FOR CONSIDERATION AS THIS IS A WORK SESSION, BUT THIS STAFF MEMBERSHIP FEE PROPOSAL OPTION ONE, WHICH IS WHAT I HAD PRESENTED IN THE PREVIOUS ONE, WHICH IS GOING UP. UM, I KNOW THAT WAS A CONCERN, SO, BUT THAT WAS THE ONE, SO I DIDN'T WANNA BACKTRACK. THE OPTION NUMBER TWO. NO, HOLD, HOLD ON ONE SECOND. YOLAN. LET'S LET HER FINISH THE SLIDE. OH, I'M SORRY. I DIDN'T KNOW. I THOUGHT I WAS MUTED. . OH, THAT'S OKAY. , RIGHT. SO THAT, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WANTED, BUT I DIDN'T WANT Y'ALL TO THINK I WAS BACKTRACKING. THAT IS THE ONE I PRESENTED. UM, THE MEMBERSHIP FEE STRUCTURE NUMBER TWO IS A, A DIFFERENCE, BUT STILL INCREASING IT SLIGHTLY. SO THIS WOULD GO FROM A $10, UH, RESIDENT MONTHLY TO A 13. SO IT'S A $3 INCREASE AND SO ON THREE. SO WE WOULD ESSENTIALLY BRING IT IN AT A GRAND TOTAL, ABOUT $40,000. OPTION THREE IS TO GO EXACTLY WITH A-Y-M-C-A TYPE TIER. UM, BASED OFF OF THAT, THAT IS EXTREMELY HIGH COMPARED TO WHERE WE ARE, WHICH IS NOT MY RECOMMENDATION. AND THEN THE FOURTH OPTION WOULD BE TO SAY, AS WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, GO AHEAD, YOLANDA. UM, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION FOR A LOT OF REASONS. I AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY. UM, IT WAS ASKED OF YOU TO DO THIS SO THAT CHILDREN WHO LIVE IN, NOT JUST CHILDREN AND SENIORS WHO LIVE IN PUBLIC HOUSING, ET CETERA, THAT THE PARENTS ARE ABLE TO AFFORD TO SEND THEIR CHILDREN HERE. SO WE NEED A SLIDING SCALE THAT IS DETERMINED BY OUR LOCALITY. SECONDLY, SHE, SHE DID GIVE THAT FREE FOR KIDS FOR YOU AND WELL, I, I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT JUST THE YOUTH, BUT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE ABOVE THE AGE OF 17 LIVING IN PUBLIC HOUSING THAT HAVE OTHER ISSUES, UM, SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY BE MENTALLY INCAPACITATED. THEY GO, THEY STAY IN PUBLIC HOUSING BECAUSE THEY'RE BEYOND 17, BUT MENTALLY THEY'RE STILL EIGHT YEARS OLD. BUT THOSE FAMILIES THAT MAY WANNA SEND THEIR CHILDREN OR, OR THEIR LOW TO MODERATE INCOME FAMILIES THAT WANT TO USE THE COMMUNITY CENTER AND HAVE OTHER EXPENSES COMING OUT OF THAT HOME. AND THEN A LOT OF THEM ARE HUGE FAMILIES, UM, THAT HAVE FIVE OR SIX CHILDREN THAT THEY WANNA SEND. LIKE YOU SAID, A YOUTH IS FREE, BUT STILL THE SLIDING SCALE WILL BENEFIT THEM. AND THEN IT IS, APPEARS THAT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT THE COMMUNITY CENTER PERSON PRESENTING IS INTERESTED IN. MAY I AND THEN THEY DON'T, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. YOU MADE A COMMENT ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL STUFF. THE ONLY THING THEY SHOULD, AND OTHER LOCALITIES THAT DO THIS, THE ONLY THING THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE TO PRESENT IS A PUBLIC HOUSING LEASE WITH THEIR NAME ON IT. AND YOU DON'T NEED ALL THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND WHAT THEIR INCOME LEVELS ARE BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY BEEN PROVEN ON ANOTHER DOCUMENT. AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S ALL BASED OFF OF LOCALITY AND WHAT THE INDIVIDUAL POLICIES ARE. NOW THAT IS AN OPTION. ABSOLUTELY. COUNSELOR STOKES, THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE THERE. IF THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO UTILIZE, AS LONG AS IT'S WITHIN THE POLICY, IF THAT'S THE CASE. BUT AGAIN, I WANNA REMIND YOU THAT IT IS LITERALLY 50 CENTS A DAY FOR THE MEMBERSHIPS AS WE CURRENTLY HAVE THEM. AND, AND I KNOW THAT YOU KEEP REFERRING TO THE YOUTH, [00:30:01] UM, AND, AND THE FAMILIES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE YOUTH, THROW IT OUT THERE. BUT YOUTH IS ANYWAY DEFINED IN PUBLIC HOUSING AS A 22-YEAR-OLD THAT HAS A MENTALITY OF AN 8-YEAR-OLD. CORRECT. AND AND MOST OF THE TIME, SORRY, BUT GO AHEAD. I'VE WORKED IN OTHER LOCALITIES THAT DO THIS AND IT'S LITERALLY ISOLATED. SO YOU'RE NOT GONNA FIND IT IN THE PAPERWORK THAT YOU WENT OUT TO GET BECAUSE IT'S USUALLY DONE BY THE PETERSBURG REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AUTHORITY. IT'S GONNA SUBMIT TO THE YMCA THAT THESE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY QUALIFY FOR THE SLIDING SCALE. AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, SOMETIMES IF THEY HAVE A MENTAL CAPACITY, UM, DISABILITY, THEY DO QUALIFY FOR THOSE MEDICARE BENEFITS, WHICH WOULD THEN ALLOW THEM TO HAVE THE RENEW OR SILVER SNEAKERS, UM, IN REGARDS TO THEIR MEMBERSHIP. SO THAT WOULD AGAIN, BE A ZERO COST TO THE PATRON. I'VE NEVER SEEN THOSE TYPE. UH, YES MA'AM. I USED TO WORK FOR AN INSURANCE COMPANY AND I USED TO DEAL WITH, UH, MEDICAL INSURANCE AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE QUALIFICATIONS AND THEY DO HAVE THAT. YES. SOME OF THE PARENTS MUST NOT KNOW, BUT I KNOW I WORKED THE ONE IN PETERSBURG AND I WAS THE ONE THAT FORWARDED WHEN, WHEN OUR RESIDENTS APPLIED AND QUALIFIED FOR THE SLIDING SCALE. I SENT THAT TO THE YMCA OR ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION THAT WILL CONSIDER THESE FAMILIES, UM, INCOME SO THAT THOSE CHILDREN ARE ALLOWED TO SWIM AT THE POOL OR DO WHATEVER THEY GOTTA DO, UM, WITH THE NUMBER OF KIDS IN THOSE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. YES, MA'AM. SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR. YES, MA'AM. AND I, AGAIN, I'D JUST LIKE TO REITERATE THAT ALL HOPEWELL YOUTH ARE 100% FREE. YOU, YOU COULD KEEP REIT REITERATING THAT PART, BUT YOU, YOU KNOW WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS. THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE BEYOND THE 17-YEAR-OLD, AND THERE ARE SOME PARENTS THAT HAVE COMPLAINED THAT I CAN'T AFFORD CERTAIN THINGS AT OUR COMMUNITY CENTER IN THIS HOPE, UH, COUNCILOR STOKES, CAN WE ALLOW HER TO FINISH THE, UM, PRESENTATION TO I WILL, BECAUSE I THINK SHE HAS A COUPLE COMMENTS AND THEN I HAVE A IDEA THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, MIGHT HAVE SOME INTEREST, UM, YOU KNOW, AMONGST THE MEMBERS ON COUNCIL. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . UH, AND THEN THIS IS JUST JUMPING BACK AS A REMINDER, UM, AS I COME BACK FOR YOU IN JULY FOR THE FEE PROPOSAL IS JUST THE HOPEWELL COMMUNITY CENTER, ADJUSTING THOSE RATES AND PAVILION RATES AS WELL TO HELP GENERATE AND BECOME FOR THE HOPEWELL CITY COUNCIL. LET'S SEE. AND THEN WE HAVE THE BREAKUP OF THE AL FEES FOR THE ATHLETIC FIELDS. AGAIN, JUST BEING IN COMPARISON TO OTHER LOCALITIES. UM, AND THEN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO SPEND TIME ON THESE IN DEPTH, BUT IT'S JUST A SLIGHT INCREASE IN REGARDS TO THAT, UM, JUST TO HELP GENERATE REVENUE FOR THE CITY. YEAH. SO I I, I THINK ONE THING THAT I THINK IS KIND OF, UM, A PERCOLATE AN ISSUE IS MAYBE, YOU KNOW, LET'S LOOK AT LIKE A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF IF WE RAISE THAT AGE FROM 17 TO LIKE 21 FOR YOUTH. UM, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT WOULD HAVE MUCH OF AN IMPACT AT ALL, BUT I THINK IT WOULD TARGET, YOU KNOW, YOUNG ADULTS. UM, UM, BUT I THINK THE OTHER THING THAT I THINK WOULD END UP HELPING YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW, LONG TERM IN KEEPING, YOU KNOW, RATES, UH, LOW, UH, IS TO LOOK AT DOING EXACTLY LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE, UM, THE MARINA, TREATING IT LIKE AN ENTERPRISE FUND. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY THAT YOU GUYS GENERATE OFF THE MEMBERSHIPS AND, YOU KNOW, FROM THE, UM, THE, THE SWIM TEAM YOU REYNOLDS TO LET THAT MONEY FLOW RIGHT BACK INTO, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY CENTER FOR, YOU KNOW, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. UH, I BELIEVE WE DISCUSSED THAT BEFORE AND I'LL LET DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, UH, JORDAN ANSWER NOW I CAN, I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT OFF THE BAT, I, I THINK I KNOW WHERE SOME OF THIS CONVERSATION IS GOING, BUT YOU GUYS CERTAINLY HAVE MORE CAPITAL NEEDS THERE THAN WHAT THAT'S GOING TO ALLOW. CORRECT. BUT THIS AT LEAST GIVES YOU SOMETHING KINDA LIKE HOW CHARLES IS MANAGING, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, THE MARINA RIGHT. WHERE, YOU KNOW, HE, YEAH, HE NEEDS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF MONEY. HE NEEDS, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX IT UP DUE TO THE NEGLECT OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT, 10, 15 YEARS DOWN THERE, NOT REINVESTING BACK IN IT LIKE THE CITY SHOULD HAVE. YES. BUT I THINK IF, YOU KNOW, WE CREATE, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY, LIKE THE POOLED CASH STYLE, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT GOES BACK INTO A FUND THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO AND TAKE CARE OF, YOU KNOW, SMALL IMMEDIATE NEEDS, THAT'D BE AWESOME. THAT WILL PREVENT LARGER CAPITAL PROJECTS DOWN THE ROAD. THAT, THAT WOULD BE PHENOMENAL. BUT I, UM, BUT YEAH, GO AHEAD. I'M SORRY, STACY. I, I KNEW WHERE ONE OF THE COMMENTS WERE GOING AND I JUST WANTED TO SAVE YOU SOME BREATH. YES. SO PREVIOUSLY THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT WAS [00:35:01] SET UP AS A SEPARATE ENTERPRISE FUND, BUT PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL THAT SWITCH WAS MADE TO PUT THEM UNDER THE GENERAL FUND. NOW WE CAN BREAK THEM BACK OUT. THE GENERAL FUND WILL STILL HAVE TO COMPENSATE FOR THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT, EVEN REGARDLESS WHETHER IT'S ENTERPRISE OR UNDER THE GENERAL FUND. BUT I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THE REVENUE THAT THEY RECEIVE GOES SPECIFICALLY TO THEIR CAPITAL PROJECTS FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE BRANCH AND THE, THE GENERAL FUND WOULD JUST COMPENSATE THE ADDITIONAL $40,000 THAT THEY CURRENTLY BRINGING IN REVENUES FOR OTHER STUFF. YEAH, I MEAN, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL FEELS, I MEAN, THAT'S JUST, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S VERY MANAGEABLE, YOU KNOW, ON, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL'S END. BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IF IT, IT WAS SET UP THIS WAY, I THINK IT COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, PREVENTED, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HVAC ISSUES, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU GUYS ARE EXPERIENCING OR, YOU KNOW, OLDER EQUIPMENT THAT COULD, YOU KNOW, BE ON MORE OF A REPLACEMENT CYCLE. THAT'D BE AWESOME. YES, SIR. MR. UH, CITY MANAGER, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT U GUYS CAN, YOU KNOW, LOOK INTO? I'M, I'M THINKING THAT WE SHOULD STUDY IT AND, AND, AND LOOK AT IT FOR THE NEXT BUDGET, BUDGET CYCLE. YEAH. OKAY, GREAT. UM, NOW I KNOW LIKE, YOU KNOW, OVERALL, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MEMBERSHIP FEES AND EVERYTHING, UM, MAYBE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OPTIONS BECAUSE I MEAN, I, I THINK EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RATE HAS TO, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHAT GO UP IN ORDER TO HELP PAY FOR, YOU KNOW, THESE IMPROVEMENTS THAT NEED TO BE DONE. BUT I THINK DOING A VERY, UM, STRUCTURED, YOU KNOW, TIER SYSTEM WHERE, YOU KNOW, ONE YEAR, YOU KNOW, IT GOES UP, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 50 CENTS AND A DOLLAR, AND THE NEXT YEAR IT DOES THIS AND WE DO THAT FOR, YOU KNOW, X NUMBER OF YEARS. SO PEOPLE CAN ANTICIPATE THAT. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD THE REASSURANCE THAT YOU, THIS MONEY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, COLLECTED HERE IS GOING STRAIGHT BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY CENTER. YES, SIR. ABSOLUTELY. AND THEN YOU GUYS CAN, YOU KNOW, SHOW CASE, YOU KNOW, HEY, YOU KNOW, YEAH, YOU KNOW, YOUR RATE WENT UP 50 CENTS, YOU KNOW, A MONTH OR WHATEVER, BUT YOU ABLE GET THIS NEW EQUIPMENT AND THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DEMONSTRATE WHERE THAT MONEY GOES TO. YES, SIR. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT IF, IF THAT'S THE CITY COUNCIL, WHICH ABSOLUTELY IS. IS THERE SOME APPETITE FROM CITY COUNCIL TO LOOK AT KIND OF PROPOSALS LIKE THAT? I MEAN, NOT SAYING WE'RE GOING TO DEAL WITH ABSOLUTELY. I THINK WE CONFER CITY MANAGER. YEAH, YEAH. HE LOOKS AT THOSE THINGS. YEAH. AND ALSO OTHER, OTHER THINGS, I DON'T KNOW, UM, I KNOW RENT OUT THE PAVILIONS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, BUT I SEE YOU ALL VERY BUSY IN THE CITY DOING OTHER THINGS AS WELL. SO, UM, IF THERE ARE OTHER, UM, AVENUES IN WHICH THE, THE RECREATION AND PARTS CAN, UH, GENERATE MORE REVENUE, UH, TO BRING AS A CONSIDERATION WHERE IT WOULDN'T BE D UH, DIRECTLY AFFECTING THE MEMBERSHIP FEES, BUT RENTAL OF EQUIPMENT OR SOMETHING OF NATURE. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, BUT YOU MIGHT WANT TO DISCUSS THOSE THINGS AS WELL. WHEN YOU SAY RENTAL OF EQUIPMENT OR CAN YOU CLARIFY? I, WELL, I DON'T MEAN EXACTLY RENTING THE EQUIPMENT OUT, BUT LIKE I SEE Y'ALL SET UP A LOT OF STUFF KIND OF LIKE PUBLIC WORKS DOES AND SO ON AND SO ON. I KNOW LIKE WHEN SOMEBODY HAS AN EVENT, THEY WILL PAY, UM, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? THE, THE, UH, THE EVENT FEE, SPECIAL EVENT FEE. CORRECT, MA'AM. THOSE TYPE OF THINGS. UM, WHEN YOU'RE HAVING TO SET UP AND ET CETERA, CONSIDER THOSE SPECIAL FEES GOING UP AND BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. WE SHOULD LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE. I WAS JUST SITTING, SITTING HERE THINKING ABOUT THE RENTAL OPPORTUNITY REVENUE FROM THAT AND, AND YOU'RE RIGHT. EQUIPMENT STAGING. CORRECT. YOU KNOW, ET CETERA. UH, ALL PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR, UH, FOR REVENUE FOR, UH, THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU MS. MARTINEZ. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, LOOKING AT THE TIME THAT WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW, IS THERE A MOTION TO EXTEND THE MEETING UNTIL WE COMPLETE ALL THE REGULAR BUSINESS ITEMS? SECOND, SORRY. MOTION HAS BEEN MADE BY COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR DAY. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION SEEING THE LIGHTS ROLL CALL PLEASE. MAY I PAUSE? YES. SORRY. COUNCIL, SORRY. LEMME START OVER WITH THE WRONG SPOT. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILLOR STOKES. YES. COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOYNER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. OKAY, THANK YOU. UH, MOVING ON TO NUMBER TWO, MR. CRAWFORD. GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. UM, I WILL TRY TO BE BRIEF. I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE HOPEWELL CONVENIENCE CENTER AND USING IT SOMEWHAT AS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE FACT THAT WE DO HAVE A CONVENIENCE CENTER . UM, IT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS. IT'S CONVENIENT, IT'S VERY CONVENIENT. I COME FROM A LOCALITY THAT DOESN'T HAVE ONE, SO I FIND IT TO BE VERY CONVENIENT FOR THE, UH, CITIZENS OF HOPEWELL. SO WHAT IS THE CONVENIENT CENTER? UH, IT'S OPERATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF [00:40:01] PUBLIC WORKS. PROVIDES, UH, RESIDENTIAL REFUGE CUSTOMERS WITH A CONVENIENT LOCATION TO DISCARD DEBRIS. UH, WE ACCEPT REFRIGERATORS, TIRES, VARIOUS THINGS. UM, IT'S VERY CONVENIENT AND HEAVILY UTILIZED, I MUST SAY. UH, THE CONVENIENCE CENTER HOURS OF OPERATION TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, UH, 1230 TO THREE 30 DURING THE WEEK, AND EIGHT TO FOUR 30 ON SATURDAY. UH, LIST OF ITEMS ACCEPTED. UH, ONE OF THE ONES THAT I'LL ASK YOU TO PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO TONIGHT IS THE C-F-C-C-G-C-F-C, UM, GAS APPLIANCE FEE OF $10. UH, THIS FEE HAS NOT BEEN RAISED SINCE, I BELIEVE PRIOR TO 2020. UM, HOWEVER, THE COST TO HAUL OFF THOSE APPLIANCES THAT THE CITY INCURS HAS GONE UP, UH, AND IT, SEE IT WILL GO UP AGAIN JULY ONE. UM, CURRENTLY IT'S $15 PER APPLIANCE FOR US TO HAVE THEM DISPOSED OF AND WE CHARGE $10. THERE'S A $5 SUBSIDY ON IT, AND WE'LL GO UP TO 17 ON JULY ONE. UH, SOME OTHER ITEMS LISTED HERE THAT I THINK THEY'RE OF VALUE FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW, UM, ESPECIALLY BRUSH. WE, WE DO GET A LOT OF SERVICE AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER WITH PEOPLE BRINGING IN BRUSH, UM, YARD AND GARDEN WASTE. UH, WE ACCEPT CAR SEATS, MATTRESSES, HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, UM, MAJOR APPLIANCES, UH, SOME ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED. SO, UM, LARGER STUMPS AND LOGS. UM, LARGE LUMBER, CONCRETE MASONRY, LARGELY DUE TO THE WEIGHT. UH, WE DO NOT ACCEPT AUTOMOBILE VEHICLE PARTS, WET CELL BATTERIES, PETROLEUM BASED PRODUCTS, ASBESTOS AND OTHER HAZMAT SUBSTANCES, UH, KITCHEN OR FOOD WASTE AND PAINT AND OTHER LIQUIDS. UH, THE CURRENT FEE SCHEDULE AS IT EXISTS HERE, UH, YOU'LL SEE FOR, UM, RESIDENTIAL WASTE, WHAT WE WOULD CLASSIFY AS RESIDENTIAL WASTE. UH, THE CHARGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CAR PICK UP SINGLE AXLE TRAILER OR DOUBLE AXLE TRAILER. UH, THERE IS A SEPARATE FEE FOR TIRES SPECIFICALLY AND ALSO THE CFC FEE OF $10. UM, LARGELY BRUSHING YARD WASTE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A DOUBLE AXLE, UH, DOUBLE AXLE TRAILER. THERE IS NO CHARGE. UM, I WILL SAY THIS, WE DO GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS WHEN PEOPLE COME IN WITH MIXED DEBRIS. SO BRUSH AND YARD WASTE, MIXED WITH OTHER THINGS THAT WE WOULD TYPICALLY CHARGE FOR. WE HAVE TO CHARGE FOR THAT LOAD. UM, AND THEN ALSO FEES ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION DEBRIS. UH, THERE IS A, A ADDITIONAL FEE OF $10 ADDED TO VEHICLES AND TRAILERS WITH RAISED SIDES SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO HOLD MORE WASTE. UH, SO TO THE CFC DISPOSAL FEE. SO AGAIN, THE CURRENT FEE CHARGED TO RESIDENTS IS $10. UM, THE CURRENT COST TO THE CITY TO DISPOSE OF THESE CLIENTS IS THROUGH OUR C-B-W-M-A CONTRACT IS $15. AND THEN THIS FEE IS SET TO INCREASE TO $17. THAT'S OUR COST ON JULY ONE. UM, DOES IT MEAN A WHOLE LOT? WELL, THE LONGER I TALK ABOUT IT, THE LESS IT MEANS BECAUSE THAT'S MORE TIME I SPEND UP HERE. UM, YOU COULD SEE HOW MANY UNITS, TYPICALLY YEAR TO YEAR THAT WE EXPERIENCE COMING THROUGH THE CONVENIENCE CENTER. UH, THERE'S A SLIGHT REVENUE LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH NOT MATCHING THE FEE TO OUR COST TO DISPOSE OF. UM, OUR PROPOSED FEE SCHEDULE DOESN'T CHANGE ANY OF THE OTHER FEES THAT, UH, WERE REVISITED, UM, A FEW YEARS AGO. BUT IT DOES, UH, IT WOULD CHANGE THE CFC FEE TO $17 TO SIMPLY MATCH OUR DISPOSAL COST. UH, SO THE CONVENIENCE CENTER IS STILL CONVENIENT. HOWEVER, THAT COST, UH, WILL MATCH WHAT IT DOES TAKE FOR US TO GET RID OF THOSE APPLIANCES. UH, THIS, UH, PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION IS, UM, MERELY INFORMATIONAL, UH, THE MECHANISM TO AFFECT THIS FEE CHANGE I HAVE TO DISCUSS WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY. BUT, UM, I WANTED TO BRING IT BEFORE COUNSEL TO SEE IF ANYBODY HAD ANY QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO THIS PARTICULAR TOPIC. OKAY. UH, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. CROCKER? OKAY. UM, YEAH, I CAN YOU BRING US SOME NUMBERS FROM AREAS ALL AROUND BECAUSE IT'S QUITE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, I'LL LET YOU STOP. OKAY. THE COUPLE THAT I, A FEW CITIES OR COUNTY RESIDENCES THAT I KNOW OF, AND I'D LIKE TO, ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE CONVENIENCE CENTER IN ITS ENTIRETY OR THE CFC FEES? SPECIFICALLY? THE FEES FOR THE DUMP. LIKE OH, SO ALL OF THEM. YOU'RE RIGHT. OKAY. UM, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO THAT. UM, ANY PARTICULAR TIMELINE? WE'D NO. JUST OKAY. AS SOON AS YOU CAN I MANUAL BECAUSE I SURE. I DO KNOW, UM, SPECIFICALLY FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE, LIVING IN A CITY THAT DOESN'T HAVE A LANDFILL ANYMORE AND DOESN'T HAVE A CONVENIENCE CENTER COST ME $40 TO GET RID OF A MATTRESS. AND WE DON'T CHARGE NEAR THAT. SO THERE'S A FAIR, GIVEN THE COST OF THE CONVENIENCE CENTER, ANECDOTALLY THE, THE COST THAT WE EXPERIENCE VERSUS THE REVENUE WE TAKE IN IS A PRETTY GOOD DEAL. $40 ON IT [00:45:01] TO, FOR ME TO GET RID OF A MATTRESS. NOT IN HOPEWELL, BUT, OH, YEAH. I MEAN, I KNOW I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY, ANY PLACE THAT TIME. I MEAN, I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES THERE. THE, THE THING TO REMEMBER TOO, I THINK IS, UM, RELATIVE TO WHAT WE TAKE IN AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER, THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH HAULING THAT MATERIAL OFF BECAUSE WE DON'T OPERATE A LANDFILL ANYMORE IS SIGNIFICANT. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. IT'S SIGNIFICANT. BUT I'M, YES, WE'RE HAPPY TO DO THAT. I THINK WE WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER IN A MORE, UH, COMPREHENSIVE FASHION TO LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE FEES. UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE FEES, NOT NOT ONLY RELATIVE, MAYBE TO OUR NEIGHBORING LOCALITIES, BUT RELATIVE TO THE COST INCURRED FOR US TO GET RID OF THAT MATERIAL. YES. RIGHT, RIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, ONLY COMMENT THAT I HAVE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, I HAVE NO PROBLEM, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT FEE GOING UP TO, UM, YOU KNOW, $17 IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, COVER COSTS. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, SAME THING, YOU KNOW, THAT, YOU KNOW, I SAID, YOU KNOW, WITH PARKS AND REC AND THE SAME THING WITH MARINA. I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU SHOULD LOOK AT STUDYING THE ISSUE OF, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY THAT'S MADE AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER GOING BACK AND INVESTING IN. SO THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, A BUNCH OF DEQ VIOLATIONS LIKE WE DID IN THE PAST, UM, WHERE WE HAD TO PAY, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, UH, TO REMEDIATE A BUNCH OF ISSUES. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, DOING IT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THIS, JUST LIKE AT THE MARINA, YOU CAN START TACKLING THINGS, YOU KNOW, ONESIES AND TWOSIES TO PREVENT BIG CAPITAL NEEDS. SURE. OKAY. YOU SEEING NO OTHER LIGHTS? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, WE ARE GOING TO ROLL RIGHT INTO OUR REGULAR MEETING. UH, OOPS. I'M GO AHEAD AND CALL THE REGULAR MEETING TO ORDER. UH, CAN I HAVE A ROLL CALL PLEASE? COUNSELOR DAY HERE. COUNSELOR STOKES. COUNSELOR STOKES? YES. COUNSELOR HOLLOWAY. YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER. HERE. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? HERE. MAYOR PARTON. HERE. COUNCILLOR ELLIS HERE. UM, YOU HAVE A QUORUM. . GET IT OUT. SORRY. HELLO. LITTLE RUSTY. LITTLE RUSTY. YEAH, A LITTLE RUSTY. ALRIGHT, UM, WE'LL MOVE INTO, UH, PRAYER BY, LET'S SEE. I DON'T SEE PASTOR COLLIER, UH, IN THE AUDIENCE. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. UM, I'LL DO THE, UH, PRAYER, UH, FOLLOWED BY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. PLEASE RISE. DO HEAVENLY FATHER, WE COME BEFORE YOU TODAY TO CONDUCT THE CITY'S BUSINESS, TO MAKE WISE INVESTMENTS, TO ALSO SET THE DIRECTION FOR THE CITY AND TO MOVE THE CITY FORWARD AND ALONG. LORD, WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE HERE, FILL YOUR, UM, THESE CHAMBERS WITH YOUR SPIRIT AS WE, UH, DISCUSS THE CITY'S BUSINESS AND PRAY THAT YOU GIVE US GOOD WISDOM. IN JESUS' NAME WE PRAY. AMEN. AMEN. WE GET MAD. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAGS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. ALRIGHT, UM, WE ALREADY AMENDED THE AGENDA, UM, BUT THERE WAS ONE ITEM, UM, THAT WAS, UH, SUBMITTED LAST MINUTE. IT'S ONLY FOR DISCUSSION TONIGHT. THE ACTUAL VOTE WILL BE IN, UM, JULY. 'CAUSE WE NEED TWO HEARINGS. UM, BUT DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO AMEND THE AGENDA, UH, TO ADD A RESOLUTION FOR AN ADDITIONAL ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY? AND THIS WILL BE DISCUSSED TONIGHT IF YOU GUYS SAY WHAT MR. MR. MR. MAYOR? YES. THIS IS, THIS IS AN AMENDMENT TO THE BUDGET THAT DOESN'T INCREASE ABOVE 1%. IT CAN, IT CAN BE VOTED ON AND, AND WITHOUT, WITHOUT ADVERTISEMENT. THIS IS RIGHT. THIS IS ONE THAT'S MOSTLY COMING FROM THE FUNDS ARE MOSTLY COMING FROM THE STATE STATE COM BOARD. RIGHT. THAT, BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR FOR PEOPLE TO VOTE ON IT. SURE. I THINK WE SHOULD DO IT JUST LIKE WHAT WE DID, THE OTHER THREE WHERE WE HAD, YOU KNOW, THE, WHERE A FIRST READING AND THEN WE HAD THE SECOND READING. AND THIS IS JUST TO EDUCATE THE COUNCIL ON WHAT IT IS BECAUSE THIS HAS THE ABILITY TO SAVE US A, A BUNCH OF MONEY. SO IS THERE A MOTION, UH, TO ADD THIS ITEM TO THE AGENDA? I THINK WE SHOULD GO FORWARD, UH, ON THE NEXT MEETING. NOT THIS MONTH TO ADD TO THE AGENDA. I DUNNO IF IT'S, YEAH. IS ALL IT, ALL THAT UM, IS ASKING FOR TONIGHT IS JUST TO EDUCATE EVERYONE THAT'S ALL LIKE NO, I UNDERSTAND. BUT THE MEETING'S ALREADY EXTENDED. I'M SAYING I I THINK THAT THIS SHOULD BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA. LET US READ IT OUTSIDE. OKAY. IS THAT THE OKAY. YEAH, I AGREE WITH THAT. YEAH. ALRIGHT. [00:50:05] ALRIGHT. SO WE [CONSENT AGENDA] WILL MOVE RIGHT ON ALONG INTO OUR CONSENT AGENDA. IS THERE A MOTION? OH, WE, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. THAT'S RIGHT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, UH, MOVING [COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS] INTO, UH, COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS. UH, THE FIRST UP IS, UH, DOROTHY FLOWERS. UM, AND MADAM CLERK, CAN YOU READ THE UM, STATEMENT? YES. A COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS PERIOD LIMITED. OH, I'M SORRY. YOU CAN'T HEAR ME. A COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS PERIOD LIMITED IN TOTAL TIME TO 30 MINUTES IS PART OF THE ORDER OF BUSINESS. AT EACH REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, ALL PERSONS ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL SHALL APPROACH THE MICROPHONE, GIVE THEIR NAME, AND IF THEY RESIDE IN HOPEWELL, THEIR AWARD NUMBER AND LIMIT COMMENT TO THREE MINUTES. NO ONE IS PERMITTED TO SPEAK ON ANY ITEM SCHEDULED FOR CONSIDERATION ON THE REGULAR AGENDA OF THE MEETING. ALL REMARKS SHALL BE ADDRESSED TO THE COUNCIL. AS A BODY, ANY QUESTION MUST BE ASKED THROUGH THE PRESIDING OFFICER. ANY PERSON WHO MAKES PERSONAL IMP PERTINENT, ABUSIVE OR SLANDEROUS STATEMENTS OR INCITES DISORDERLY CONDUCT IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS MAY BE BARRED BY THE MAYOR FROM FURTHER AUDIENCE BEFORE COUNCIL AND REMOVED, SUBJECT TO APPEAL TO A MAJORITY OF COUNSEL. ZERO RULES. 4 0 5 AND 4 0 6. OKAY. GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY. GOOD EVENING. UM, I NEED TO, UM, SHOW YOU ALL THIS STUFF. MS. FLOWERS FOR THE, CAN YOU JUST STATE YOUR NAME? UH, YEAH. WHAT, STAY RIGHT HERE? YES. STAY RIGHT. AND SO THAT WAY YOU CAN SPEAK INTO THE MIC SO THAT PEOPLE WATCHING THEM LIKE TO HEAR LIKE THAT. YES. OKAY. MY NAME IS DOROTHY FLOWERS AND I'M A, UM, A LIVE IN HO WAY, PIPER SQUARE DRIVE. SO I, UM, GAVE SOME PAPERS OUT HERE LAST TIME ABOUT MY SICKNESS TO ALL Y'ALL ON THIS COUNCIL THING. SO I'M STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. AND, UM, THE PEOPLE AT HOUSING, THEY NOT DOING WHAT THEY SUPPOSED TO DO. I HAD TO FILE ANOTHER COMPLAINT YESTERDAY AND I CAN, IF IT ALRIGHT IF I SHOW Y'ALL, YEAH. YOU CAN GIVE IT, UH, TO THE CLERK AND THEN SHE'LL PASS THE ALARM. THEN, UM, EVERY TIME I CALL THERE, BUT THEY SPEAK TO ONE OF 'EM, THEY'LL ASK THE PHONE AND HANG UP ON ME, HUNG UP ON ME THIS MORNING. AND THEN YOU CALLED THE HOUSE AND THEY NEVER ANSWERED THE TELEPHONE. HALF OF THE TIME THEY DON'T WANT TO TALK TO PEOPLE, BUT THEN THEY STOPPED THEM FROM CHARGING PEOPLE FOR GAS BILLS. THEN THEY TOOK AND CHARGE, THEY TURNED IT OVER TO OUR RENT SAYING THEY GONNA CREDIT US FOR THE RENT. BUT YOU CAN'T CREDIT THEM IF YOU AIN'T TELLING THE PEOPLE WHAT THE ACTUAL THAT YOU DONE PUT INTO THE GAS BILLS. IT'S A NUMBER SHOULD BE THERE BY THAT. WHAT Y'ALL CAN CHARGE THEM TO CREDIT THEM. 'CAUSE SOME PEOPLE BEEN PAYING GAS BILLS IN PIPER SQUARE FOR A MINUTE AND WE GOT PEOPLE OVER THERE DON'T EVEN PAY LIGHT BILL GAS OR, AND ALL US, WE OVER THERE PAYING AND I MENTIONED THIS, I MEAN, I AIN'T BEING FUNNY. I MEAN, SOMETHING NEED TO BE DONE 'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON. AND THEN WE GOT PEOPLE THAT CAME OVER THERE FOR THE SEE ABOUT THE FILTERS AND PIPER SWELL GOT REMODELED. ALL THE FILTERS OVER THERE HAVE BEEN THERE FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS. THE MAN GOT SOME OF 'EM OUT THERE YESTERDAY. AND PEOPLE HAVE GOT KIDS AND I'M ONE OF THE PEOPLE, I GOT HEALTH ISSUES TOO. WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THAT AS BEING, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SIT, WE CITIZENS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE UP HERE, WE ALL SHOULD BE ABLE TO HELP EACH OTHER. AND IT, IT'S NOTHING GETTING DONE. THEN THEY CALL YOU TALK TO 'EM, THEY HANG THE PHONE UP AND TOLD ME, I'M NOT GONNA TALK TO YOU AND HANG UP IN MY EAR. I HAVE A RIGHT. WE ALL HAVE RIGHTS. IT'S NOTHING BEING DONE. IT, IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING DONE. AND MY DOCTORS DONE SEND DOCTORS ORDERS TO THEM. THEY DONE VIOLATE MY RIGHTS AND I GOT PEOPLE LIVING OVER TOP OF ME STOPPING ALL NIGHT LONG AND OTHER ACTIVITIES GOING ON IN MY CLOTHES AND STUFF IN THE CLOSET. AND I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS SINCE MAY THE EIGHTH. AND WE TAKING CARE OF, AIN'T NOTHING GOT TAKEN CARE OF YET. THEN I FOUND ANOTHER COMPLAINT YESTERDAY, THEN I, THEN I STILL, THEN I THEN I CALLED ONE OF THE PEOPLE ON CITY COUNCIL TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT. AND HE TRIED TO DO THE BEST HE CAN AND HE NOT, YOU KNOW, HE'S NOT IN MY WARD, BUT I STILL TALK TO HIM. BUT HE DOES THE BEST HE CAN, BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS. NOBODY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS. THEY LIVING OVER THERE. THEY NOT DOING NOTHING FOR THE PEOPLE AND THEN THEY HANGING UP ON YOU. THEN HALF OF THE TIME THEY DON'T ANSWER THE TELEPHONES. NOBODY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH NONE OF THIS BEING SICKLY OR NOT SICKLY. IF YOU PAY YOUR BILLS, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS. AND EVER SINCE I'VE BEEN A CITIZEN OF HOPEWELL. I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 1976. I MOVED IN HOUSING IN 1987 [00:55:02] AND I NEVER NOT PAY MY BILLS OR MY RENT. NEVER. SO I'M, I'M LIKE, DANG, SOMEBODY NEED TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE. I DON'T CARE HOW IT GO. WHATEVER THEY NEED TO DO. SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE THAT WORKING THEIR HOUSING, THEY NOT DOING THEIR JOB IF PEOPLE LIVING LIKE THEY LIVING. SO, UM, MS. FLOWERS, IF YOU DON'T MIND. YES SIR. DO YOU MIND JUST GIVING THE LETTERS TO THE CLERK? YES SIR. YES, SIR. BECAUSE THEN, UH, WHAT SHE CAN DO IS MAKE, BUT I NEED THIS BACK. I'M GONNA LET JOHN READ. OKAY. AND THIS IS WHAT WE GOT TODAY. BUT SOME TRASH CAN TAKE A COPY OF IT. DO YOU MIND IF WE MAKE A COPY? YEAH, YOU CAN GET COPIES. CAN YOU? AND I APPRECIATE Y'ALL FOR HEARING ME, Y'ALL, FOR SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE. SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THE MIDST RIGHT NOW OF GETTING A JOINT MEETING TOGETHER WITH THE I UNDERSTAND THAT WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY. I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, I UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT PEOPLE HEALTH PROBLEMS NEED MORE TOO THOUGH. YES, MA'AM. I UNDERSTAND. NO, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SAYING. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. WE WE'RE GETTING A MEETING TOGETHER SO WE CAN ADDRESS A LOT OF THESE, YOU KNOW, ISSUES. YES, I APPRECIATE THAT. AND THEN WE ALSO, YOU'LL HAVE OUR, UH, INTERIM CITY MANAGER MEETING WITH THE, UM, HOUSING DIRECTOR. YES, SIR. YOU KNOW, TO, TO HELP OUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW WHAT'S WHERE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT THAT CAN BE DONE NOW, THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON AT NIGHTTIME. MM-HMM . OVER THE TOP OF MY HEAD. MM-HMM . AND I'M SMELLING THIS STUFF DOWNSTAIRS IN MY CLOTHES. YES, MA'AM. BUT YEAH. UM, BUT YEAH, WE'LL GET YOU, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE COPIES. SHE GONNA BRING IT TO YOU. SHE WENT OUT TO MAKE I I I STAND. YEAH. WE'RE JUST GONNA TELL YOU, YOU JUST SIT THERE ON THE BENCH SO THAT WAY WE CAN ALSO HAVE THE OTHER FOLKS COME UP. ANYWAY, I HOPE SOMETHING BE DONE ABOUT THIS. 'CAUSE THIS IS, I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS SINCE I'VE BEEN OVER THERE. MAY THE EIGHTH. YES, MA'AM. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU. YOU THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, NEXT WE HAVE IS MR. MARK BURROWS. MAY I CALL YOU SET? MARK BURROWS. BURROWS. OKAY. MM-HMM . I'LL GIVE YOU THE SHEET, UM, WHEN WE'RE FINISHED. OKAY. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME'S MARK BURROWS, WARD THREE. UH, FIRST OF ALL, I HOPE THAT ALL Y'ALL ARE WARM ENOUGH. EXCUSE ME. UM, I WAS HOPING THE CITY ATTORNEY WAS HERE. UM, I'D LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR MISCOMMUNICATION ON MY PART WHEN ADDRESSING THE CITY'S ATTORNEY, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S CONDUCT DURING THE PLEDGE LAST MEETING, I HAD STATED THAT HE WAS SITTING THERE AND I MET IN THE SENSE THAT HE WAS PRESENT, NOT NECESSARILY SITTING, I'D LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR IN ACCURATELY DESCRIBING THE CONDUCT. AND I FULLY RECOGNIZED THAT HE WAS STANDING WITH HIS HEAD OVER HAND, OVER HIS HEART. AND I APOLOGIZED TO HIM AND HOPED THAT MY BACKWARDS VOCABULARY CAUSED HIM NO ISSUES. UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO STOOD IN OPPOSITION TO THE WEAPONS BAN. I WISH TO OTHERS. MANY THE CITIZENS THAT SPOKE AGAINST IT WITH SUCH VIGOR WERE HERE AND WILLING TO JOIN ME IN THANKING YOU FOR MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE. MY COMPLAINT FOR THE NIGHT, I UNDERSTAND THAT HOPE WILL NEEDS MONEY, BUT I DON'T FEEL THAT GAMBLING WITH THE TAXPAYER'S MONEY IS THE RIGHT AVENUE. BUYING BUILDINGS AND BUILDING ADDITIONS TO THE MARINA IS JUST THAT GAMBLING. IT IS A GAMBLE IF ANYONE WILL WANT TO PUT THEIR BUSINESS IN THOSE BUILDINGS OR EVEN IN THIS CITY. WHY DON'T WE FOCUS ON THE ONE BUILDING THAT WE'VE ALREADY PURCHASED BEFORE WE COMMIT OUR TAX DOLLARS TO SOMETHING ELSE. IF IT'S BEING PAID FOR BY A GRANT FROM THE STATE OR THE FEDERAL LEVEL, THEN PLEASE PROCEED WITH RECKLESS ABANDON. BUT UNDERSTAND THAT COMPLETE FAILURE IS STILL AN OPTION, AND THAT WE AS THE CITIZEN, WE AS THE CITIZENS, CANNOT SHOULDER THE BURDEN OF THAT FAILURE. LASTLY, I'M HERE BEFORE YOU IN THESE CHAMBERS BEGGING YOU TO PLEASE GET INVOLVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS. IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO HAVE SOME CANDID CONVERSATIONS. THAT BEING SAID, I DO APPRECIATE THE CONTINUED PHONE CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF YOU AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH SOME MORE OF YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. BURROWS. UH, NEXT IS LAURA GREENWOOD. HI, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. NO MA'AM. YOU MET ME LAST TWO WEEKS AGO. MM-HMM . I DIDN'T GET TO FINISH, SO I'M BACK. UM, BUT TODAY I AM NOT GONNA RE GO BACK TO WHAT I WAS DISCUSSING LAST TIME. I'M A LITTLE MORE UPSET IN REGARDS TO, UM, I'M FROM WARD SIX AND MY REPRESENTATIVE, I LEFT HER WITH ALL MY INFORMATION, CONTACT INFORMATION AS I LEFT. A LADY GAVE ME HER, THE, MY REPRESENTATIVE'S PHONE NUMBER, AND I TURNED AROUND AND TEXT HER ALL MY INFORMATION AS WELL. I UNDERSTAND THAT SHE'S BEEN ILL AND I, AND I'M SORRY THAT SHE'S SICK. UH, I HOPE SHE GETS WELL SOON. BUT TO IGNORE, ME'S NOT GONNA WORK. UM, I'M HOLDING YOU ALL ACCOUNTABLE BECAUSE YOU REPRESENT WE THE PEOPLE, RIGHT? WE THE PEOPLE VOTED YOU GUYS IN, WE THE PEOPLE PAY YOU, RIGHT? [01:00:01] AND I UNDERSTAND THAT JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, YOU'RE ONLY GONNA HAVE ONE MEETING A MONTH. SOMEBODY HAS SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THAT. I SAID, WELL, ARE THEY WILLING TO TAKE 50% OF THEIR PAYBACK? YOU NEED TO HAVE TWO PER MONTH AND ALLOW CITIZENS TO COME IN HERE AND TALK TO YOU AND LISTEN TO US. YOU SPENDING $5,000 ON THAT STUPID BANK YET, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET THE COMMUNITY CENTER THE MONEY. THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE GO. WE ARE NOT GONNA GO OVER TO THAT BUILDING. I DON'T CARE IF YOU RENT IT OUT TO SOME FARMER. I DON'T CARE IF THEY GO TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER. YOU GET THE MONEY TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER. I SECOND THIS GENTLEMAN'S COMMENTS. YOU GUYS GOT TO STOP THIS STUFF. YOU REPRESENT US. YOU DON'T CALL US BEFORE YOU MAKE THESE DECISIONS. AND THESE ARE IMPORTANT DECISIONS. WHEN YOU GO SPEND $500,000 ON A FRIGGING BUILDING, YOU DON'T CALL US MS. STOKES, DON'T CALL ME. DOESN'T CALL I, THIS IS WHAT I RECOMMEND AND YOU CAN TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. I AM A MARKETING ANALYST. PROFESSIONALLY, I WILL HELP YOU EACH CONTACT YOUR PEOPLE IN YOUR WARDS AND GET A THING TOGETHER. I DO KNOW PEOPLE MOVING AND STUFF, BUT YOU HAVE A BASELINE OF WHO TO CONTACT. AND I TOLD YOU LAST TIME THAT YOU NEED TO MAIL IT. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE IN, THIS IS IMPOVERISHED CITY. THEY DON'T HAVE THE INTERNET. A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE, THESE SENIORS, THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS. YOU'VE GOT TO REACH 'EM OUT THE WAY YOU BEST YOU CAN, WHICH IS BY MAIL, VERY CHEAP, INEXPENSIVE. SO THAT'S ONE THING. THE OTHER THING IS, IS THAT CALL ME IF YOU NEED SOME ASSISTANCE IN THE MARKETING ANALYSIS AND GETTING THINGS TOGETHER. I LEFT MY PHONE NUMBER AND STUFF AT MS. STOKES DESK. CALL ME. I'LL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU. AND I'M NOT GONNA CHARGE YOU. I'M RETIRED. GIMME SOMETHING TO DO. ALL RIGHT, YOU'VE GOT MY ASSET TO, I'M GIVING YOU MY ASSETS TO HELP YOU. AND THIS WAY, THE NEXT PERSON WHO ENDS UP RUNNING FOR YOUR WARD, YOU CAN PASS THAT INFORMATION OFF TO THEM AND VICE VERSA. YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST THE WAY TO DO YOU REPRESENT US GUYS. AND I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU SIT HERE AND MAKE THESE JUDGMENT CALLS WITHOUT TALKING TO YOU. AT LEAST THE MAJORITY OF YOUR WARD. MS. GREENWOOD IS MY THREE MINUTES UP. THREE MINUTES. GO FIGURE. YEAH, THAT'S ANOTHER THING. IT NEEDS TO BE FIVE AND YOU GUYS, ON THOSE DAYS, JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, I RECOMMEND YOU HAVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS AND GIVE PEOPLE 10 MINUTES. THANK YOU. THAT WAS THE LAST PERSON THAT I HAVE SIGNED UP FOR THIS EVENING. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? DARLENE THOMPSON WARD SIX. UM, I CAME TONIGHT, A LITTLE AFTER SEVEN. I LOOKED ON CITY COUNCIL LIVE AND I SEE WHERE YOU ALL WERE SUPPOSED TO BE STARTING THE MEETINGS AT SEVEN 30. I KNEW KNOW YOU ALL HAD TALKED ABOUT CHANGING THE TIME, BUT YOU ALL, EVEN ON, UM, ON TELEVISION, ON CHANNEL THREE, THEY STILL HAVE LIKE EIGHT O'CLOCK. SO THIS INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE UPDATED AS TO WHAT TIME CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE GOING TO START. BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN HAPPENING IS LIKE SOMETIMES SEVEN O'CLOCK, SOMETIMES SEVEN 30. AND ALSO I NOTICED THAT WE HAVE BEEN HAVING MEETINGS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY DOCUMENTATION BACK THERE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW SUIT AS TO WHAT'S GOING ON. ESPECIALLY WITH OUR BUDGET, OUR NUMBERS, THEY CAN GET UP HERE AND TALK FAST AND GIVE NUMBERS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. YOU CAN BARELY SEE THAT MONITOR UP THERE WHILE THEY ARE PRESENTING. SO WHEN THEY COME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO VOTE TO BRING, DO A PRESENTATION, THEY NEED TO BE BRINGING INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE DOCUMENTATION TO BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THROUGH. WE DON'T HAVE THAT. AND IF NOTHING ELSE, THE NUMBERS I, I KNOW THE WAY THAT THEY DO THE, UM, FINANCES IS POTS AND POOLS OF MONEY HERE AND THERE. UM, SO YOU CAN'T REALLY KEEP TRACK OF WHAT IS GOING ON INTENTIONALLY. BUT AT LEAST WHEN THEY COME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL, [01:05:01] WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION. THE ONE THING THAT BOB AND THEM SAID IS FOR YOU ALL TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH THE CITIZENS, AND YOU ALL KNOW THAT Y'ALL ARE NOT BEING TRANSPARENT AND EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON FROM THE DAS DOWN TO YOUR CFO THAT IS PRESENTING AND YOUR CITY MANAGER, THEY KNOW WHERE THOSE NUMBERS ARE. OKAY. $5 MILLION COLLECTED FOR OVER ASSESSMENT. I'M GONNA KEEP SAYING IT BECAUSE I WANT THE PEOPLE TO KNOW $5 MILLION FOR THE OVER ASSESSMENT AND THEN ANOTHER TWO POINT WHATEVER MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE RATES GOING UP. AND YOU ALL DON'T SEE FIT TO HAVE WARD MEETINGS. I UNDERSTAND THAT Y'ALL ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GIVING BACK TO EACH ONE OF YOU ALL THE $98,000 THAT WAS BUDGETED FOR LAST YEAR, THAT Y'ALL CAN BE ABLE TO GIVE THAT MONEY TO DONATE IT TO DIFFERENT, UM, ORGANIZATIONS. YOU ALL ARE BROKE. NO WAY CAN YOU BE DOING THAT. Y'ALL KEEP SHOWING YOUR HANDS AND SIT THERE AND ACT LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. LIES, LIES, LIES. AND THEN CHARLES BENNETT COME HERE. $500,000 FOR THE MARINA. YES, YES, YES. CHARLES BENNETT COME $500,000 FOR THE BANK OF AMERICA. YES. YES, YES, YES. OKAY. WE GOT, WE HAVE SHALLOW LODGE GOING ON. I'M SORRY. YOU'RE THREE MINUTES, SIR. OKAY, THANK YOU. YES, WE DO NEED TO INCREASE THAT THREE MINUTES. CAN YOU PASS THAT DOWN? ALRIGHT, WE'RE MOVING ON NOW TO THE CITY MANAGER COMMENTS. MR. ROGERS. OKAY. THIS IS MM-HMM . YEAH, WE CAN, ONCE WE CAN GET THOSE NUMBERS AND WE CAN, YOU KNOW, LET PEOPLE KNOW. UH, GO AHEAD, MR. COUNSEL. UH, LAST WEEK, UH, WE WERE, UH, HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A TUSSLE IN GETTING, UH, THE LATEST UPDATE ON, UH, INFORMATION, UH, FOR, FOR, UH, FOR THE AUDIT, UH, SO THAT WE COULD DO THE TRIAL BALANCE MM-HMM . AND WE PUSHED, WE GOT THE INFORMATION IT'S BEEN HANDED OVER TO, TO, UH, UH, ROBINSON, FORMER COX. AND, AND WE SHOULD STILL MAKE OUR DEADLINE, UH, FOR THE END OF THE MONTH. MS. STACY, END OF THE MONTH I WAIT FOR A RESPONSE FROM MR. FOLEY, BUT WE STILL PLAN ON PRESENTING FOR COUNSEL IN JULY 22. YEAH. GREAT. FANTASTIC. SO, AND WE'LL KEEP A FOCUS ON THAT 'CAUSE WE, UH, UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT, UH, IMPORTANT IT IS. UH, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT MEETING WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY. MM-HMM . UM, AND I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT, UH, EVERY BIT OF INFORMATION I GET FROM A, FROM A CITIZEN, YOU KNOW, I FEED IT TO THEM AND, YOU KNOW, PUSHING THEM TO, TO ADDRESS IT. AND THERE ARE SOME ACTIVITIES, UH, HAPPENING, UH, IN THE CASE OF, UH, UH, MS. FLOWER'S CASE, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED, JUST NOT ABLE TO DISCUSS IT. MM-HMM . UH, YOU KNOW, PUBLICLY AT THIS, AT THIS TIME. BUT, UH, WE WILL NOT TURN A DEAF EAR TO CITIZEN CONCERNS. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO US, UH, WE WILL BE RESPONSIVE AND WE WILL WORK WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OR ANY OTHER AGENCY THAT IS CITIZEN FACING, UH, TO TRY TO ACHIEVE THE ACCOUNTABILITY THAT, UH, THE CITY EXPECTS IN TERMS OF, UH, SERVING SERVING CITIZENS. UH, I ASKED MS, UH, MS. STACY, UH, JORDAN TO KIND OF REPORT TO YOU, UH, HER PARTICIPATION IN A SEMINAR, A WEBINAR TODAY, UH, FROM THE VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, UH, ON LEGISLATIVE, UH, SERVICES. AND THIS IS A PRECURSOR TO OUR JULY MEETING WHERE I WILL ASK OUR, UM, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS CONSULTANT TO COME AND MAKE A PRESENTATION. STACY? AFTERNOON. GOOD EVENING. COUNCIL MEMBERS, . TODAY WE HAD OUR VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING TODAY, AND SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT WAS DISCUSSED, OF COURSE, WERE FEDERAL ISSUES WITH FUNDING. UM, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT SKI RATE COME DOWN THE PIKE IS THE REDUCTION IN THE MEDICAID FUNDING, WHICH WOULD ALSO, UM, IT WOULD CAUSE AN ISSUE WITH EMS BILLING BECAUSE A LOT OF THEIR BILLING COMES THROUGH MEDICAID. SO THEY'RE GONNA BE LOSING SOME OF THAT FUNDING SNAP BENEFITS AS WELL AS SOME K UM, K THROUGH [01:10:01] 12 FUNDING. SEE, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE POSSIBILITY OF THE STATE GETTING RID OF BPOL TAXES OR REDUCING THOSE, THAT WOULD BE A LOSS TO THE CITY, OF COURSE. 'CAUSE WE USE REVENUE FOR BUSINESS LICENSE AS WELL AS PERSONAL PROPERTY, WHICH WOULD BE $8.2 MILLION LOSS TO US. IF THE STATE DECIDES TO GET RID OF OUR PERSONAL PROPERTY, THAT WOULD BE A HUGE HIT TO THE CITY OF HOPEVILLE. THEY STILL HAVE NOT CAME, CAME UP WITH AN AGREEMENT TO, UM, TAX, GAMING SKILL, THE GAME OF SKILLS, YOU KNOW, THE SLOT MACHINES AND THE CONVENIENCE STORES. THEY STILL HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT OF ON THAT, OF BRINGING THE REVENUE INTO THE LOCALITY. RIGHT NOW IT'S ON THE STATE LEVEL, BUT THE LOCALITIES HAVE BEEN FIGHTING TO GET SOME OF THAT REVENUE INTO THE LOCALITY, WHICH WILL BE A GREAT HELP. AND THEN WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT. ONE OF THE GENTLEMEN ON THE CALL TODAY WAS A MAYOR FROM HAMPTON. THEY JUST GOT A $20 MILLION GRANT PULLED FROM THEM FOR IMPROVEMENTS FOR THEIR SEWER SYSTEM FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WOW. YEAH. THAT'S THE UPDATE WE HAVE TODAY. AND THE REASON, UH, I WANTED HER TO REPORT THAT IS THAT, UH, THE VIRGINIA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE IS A VERY IMPORTANT ENTITY TO US. UH, AND, UH, WE WOULD ENCOURAGE COUNSEL TO, UM, UP YOUR PARTICIPATION AND BE PRESENT, UH, SO THAT, UH, HOPEWELL HAS A VOICE IN THOSE DISCUSSIONS. UH, WITH THE MANAGEMENT LEVEL, WE WILL BE PRESENT. UH, BUT I THINK IT'S, UH, ALSO IMPORTANT TO HAVE REPRESENTATION AT THE, AT THE LEGISLATIVE LEVEL AS WELL. SO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND, LIKE, UM, APPOINTING LIKE MAYBE LIKE A, A PRIMARY AND AN ALTERNATE TO TRY TO ATTEND MEETINGS? YES. OKAY. THAT WOULD BE IDEAL. OKAY. UM, WE'LL PUT THAT ON THE, UM, MS. BEST, CAN YOU MAKE A NOTE, UM, OF THAT TO, UH, INCLUDE IN WITH OUR, UM, CLOSED SESSION, CLOSED SESSION AGENDA FOR APPOINTMENTS FOR IN JULY? IN JULY? MM-HMM . AND THAT, THAT CONCLUDES, UM, MY OBSERVATIONS FOR TONIGHT. OKAY. THANK, THANK YOU. MR. ROGERS. THANK, AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU. UM, YOU KNOW, ONE FOR BOTH OF THOSE REPORTS, BUT ALSO, UM, IT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE, YOU KNOW, AS MS. FLOWERS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WITH THE HOPE REDEVELOPMENT HOUSING AUTHORITY, AND, UM, YOUR ENGAGEMENT OVER THERE I THINK HAS REALLY BEEN A POSITIVE INFLUENCE. UM, BECAUSE I'M STARTING TO GET, JUST LIKE, IT'S A COUPLE CALLS, IT'S NOT A LOT, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE THAN ZERO, UM, OF THINGS GETTING ADDRESSED IN A MORE TIMELY FASHION. UM, SO I, I THINK YOU'VE BEEN A VERY GOOD POSITIVE INFLUENCE, UM, IN STARTING UP THAT RELATIONSHIP. AND THEN HOPEFULLY, AND WE HAVE THIS JOINT MEETING WITH THEIR BOARD, UM, WE CAN TRY TO, YOU KNOW, GET THINGS MOVING A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND TRY TO GET SOME MORE IMPROVEMENTS DONE OVER THERE FOR THE, FOR THE RESIDENTS. THAT'S RIGHT. MAYOR. UM, ALRIGHT. I THINK HE SAID, DID HE SAY QUESTION MR. MAYOR? IS THAT WHAT HE SAID? DID YOU SAY SOMETHING? MR. HARRIS, CITY, CITY MANAGER, CITY MANAGER. MR. HARRIS, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR US? YES. FOR THE CITY MANAGER? YES. OKAY, GO AHEAD. I, I WAS WONDERING HAD HE GOT ANY KIND OF, UH, UH, RESPONSE BACK IN REGARDS TO HIS INVESTIGATION OVER AT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC BASED ON A COMMENT THAT WE RECEIVED FROM, UH, WAYNE PARSONS, UH, IN A MEETING BEFORE. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S ANYTHING TO REPORT ON THAT HUMAN RESOURCES IS LOOKING INTO THAT MATTER AND THAT'S ALL I WILL, UH, I'M ABLE TO SAY PUBLICLY, BUT, UH, WE ARE VERY ATTENTIVE TO IT AND WE WILL REPORT WHEN THERE IS SOMETHING TO REPORT. OKAY. THANK YOU SIR. OKAY. ALRIGHT. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO [PUBLIC HEARING] OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS. UH, THE FIRST PUBLIC HEARING THAT WE HAVE IS MR. WARD, AND AS HE IS COMING UP AND GETTING READY, UM, MS. BEST, DO YOU MIND JUST READING THE STATEMENT FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING? NO. IT'S THE SAME AS THE COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS. THE, THAT ONE. THE COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS. YES. OKAY. A COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS PERIOD LIMITED IN TOTAL TIME TO 30 MINUTES IS PART OF THE ORDER OF BUSINESS. AT REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS, ALL PERSONS ADDRESSING THE COUNCIL SHALL APPROACH THE MICROPHONE, GIVE THEIR NAME, AND IF THEY RESIDE IN HOPEWELL, THEIR WARD NUMBER AND LIMIT COMMENTS TO THREE MINUTES. NO ONE IS PERMITTED TO SPEAK ON ANY ITEM SCHEDULED FOR CONSIDERATION ON THE REGULAR AGENDA [01:15:01] OF THE MEETING. ALL REMARKS SHALL BE ADDRESSED TO THE COUNCIL AS A BODY, ANY QUESTIONS MUST BE ASKED THROUGH THE PRESIDING OFFICER. ANY PERSON WHO MAKES PERSONAL AND PERTINENT ABUSIVE OR STATEMENTS OR INCITES DISORDERLY CONDUCT IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS MAY BE BARRED BY THE MAYOR. FOR FURTHER AUDIENCE BEFORE COUNCIL AND REMOVED, SUBJECT TO APPEAL TO A MAJORITY OF COUNCIL, COUNCIL 4 0 5 AND 4 0 6. OKAY. GO AHEAD, MR. BOARD. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. I AM BACK HERE TONIGHT WITH A, UH, PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING THE CITY'S COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING PROGRAM. UH, JUST TO, UH, GIVE SOME QUICK BACKGROUND, THIS IS MONEY THAT IS PROVIDED TO THE CITY. THIS IS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MONEY. IT COMES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT. WE SEE, WE RECEIVE AN ANNUAL ALLOTMENT EVERY YEAR. WE DON'T HAVE TO ASK FOR IT. IT IS JUST PROVIDED TO THE CITY. UH, SINCE WE ARE IN THE ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITY, UM, HUD'S MISSION IS TO CREATE STRONG, SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES AND QUALITY AFFORDABLE HOMES. AND THE EXPENDITURE OF THESE FUNDS, UH, HAS A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS TIED TO IT. BUT THE THREE PRIMARY ONES ARE THAT THE EXPENDITURE OF THE FUNDS HAS TO, UH, MEET ONE OF THREE NATIONAL OBJECTIVES. UH, NUMBER ONE BEING BENEFIT TO LOW TO MODERATE INCOME PERSONS OR HOUSEHOLDS, UH, THE PREVENTION OR ELIMINATION OF SLUMS AND BLIGHT OR, UH, LASTLY, URGENT NEED. SO WE'VE RECEIVED ABOUT, UH, A LITTLE OVER ONE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, UH, SINCE 2019 FROM HUD FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. UH, WE, WHEN I WAS HERE LAST TIME, WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT OUR ANNUAL AWARD WAS FOR THIS YEAR. WE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY HUD THAT THIS YEAR WE ARE RECEIVING A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN LAST YEAR. IT'S $239,391 TOTAL. SO, UM, STAFF HAS REVIEWED ALL THE APPLICATIONS THAT WERE SOLICITED. UM, STAFF HAS MET WITH THE CDBG COMMITTEE, UH, WHICH IS COMPRISED OF, UH, CITY, UH, SUBGROUP OF CITY COUNCIL. AND, UH, WE'VE COME, UM, WE'RE COMING BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING WITH THE FOLLOWING PROPOSAL THAT FUNDS WILL BE COMING FROM THREE DIFFERENT FUNDING STREAMS ALL UNDERNEATH THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. AND I'LL GET INTO THAT, UM, IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IN JUST, JUST A MINUTE. SO, UH, WE'LL JUST MOVE INTO WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE. UH, FIRST OFF, HUD ALLOWS THE CITY TO, UM, 20% OF THE FUNDING THAT GOES STRAIGHT TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM. AND THEN WE ARE ABLE TO FUND, UH, SOME PUBLIC SERVICE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CITY. HUD PLACES A CAP OF 15% MAXIMUM OF THE ALLOCATION THAT WE RECEIVE. SO THIS YEAR WE RECEIVED FOUR APPLICATIONS, UM, HEBRON HEALTHY FAMILIES, THE JAMES HOUSE, AND PRETTY PURPOSED. UM, TWO OF THEM ARE YOUTH PROVIDE YOUTH SERVICES, UH, AT THE SCHOOLS. EXCUSE ME. YEAH. YEAH, THEY DO. AND, UH, HEALTHY FAMILIES PROVIDES YOUTH AND CHILDCARE SERVICES IN THE CITY. ARE YOU DRIVING OR AM I DRIVING? I'M DRIVING. OKAY. NO, YOU'RE NOT , NOW YOU ARE. YEAH, I THINK IT WAS SHOWING ON THE WATER. I WAS FOLLOWING YOU AS BEST I COULD 'CAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU WERE DRIVING. OKAY. SORRY TO TELL YOU. UH, AND LASTLY, UM, THE JAMES HOUSE, UH, IS ANOTHER APPLICANT. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, BETWEEN STAFF AND CDBG COMMITTEE'S, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, WE'RE RECOMMENDING FUNDING HE ON $5,000. IT'S AN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM, UH, HEALTHY FAMILIES 10,908 FOR CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION, THE JAMES HOUSE, $15,000 FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTERVENTION. AND, UH, PRETTY PURPOSED $5,000 AGAIN AFTER SCHOOL YOUTH SERVICES, THAT TOTAL IS 35,908. SO WE'RE RIGHT AT OUR $15,000 CAP. UH, THE BALANCE OF THE MONEY, UH, WOULD GO TO HOUSING REHABILITATION. UH, THE CITY'S HOUSING REHAB PROGRAM IS, UM, A LARGE CHUNK OF OUR ANNUAL ALLOCATION. THESE FUNDS ARE USED TO BENEFIT LOW TO MODERATE INCOME OWNER OCCUPANTS. AND WE HAD TWO APPLICANTS THIS YEAR. UH, PROJECT HOMES AND REBUILDING TOGETHER, PRETTY MUCH ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS APPLY FOR THIS MONEY YEAR AFTER YEAR. AND OUR FUNDING LOOKS PRETTY SIMILAR EVERY YEAR. THAT TOTAL IS 140,000. UH, IN ADDITION, UH, HOPEWELL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM DEPARTMENT HAS APPLIED FOR FUNDS, UH, TO CONSTRUCT, UH, [01:20:01] AN A DA COMPLIANT, UH, CONNECTION RAMP FROM THE LAND TO THE RIVERWALK. UH, THIS QUALIFIES UNDER A, UH, BENEFIT TO LMI PERSONS JUST BASED OFF OF WHAT'S CALLED A PRESUMED BENEFIT. THAT'S, UH, THAT'S BASICALLY THE QUICK OVERVIEW OF THIS YEAR'S FUNDING ALLOCATION OF THE 200 AND APPROXIMATELY $239,000. MOVING ON. UH, WE STILL HAVE SOME UNSPENT FUNDS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS. THERE IS A POTENTIAL RISK OF HUD RECAPTURING THAT MONEY IF WE DON'T ALLOCATE IT AND SPEND IT. SO, UM, AGAIN, THE RIVER WALK CONNECTION, UM, THE DEPARTMENT HAS ASKED FOR $258,000, UH, FOR THAT A DA ACCESSIBLE CONNECTION. THESE WOULD BE FUNDS THAT, UH, REMAIN UNSPENT DATING BACK TO 2018. LASTLY, WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, C-D-B-G-C-O MONEY THAT REMAINED UNSPENT. UH, THIS MONEY WILL BE TAKEN FROM THE CITY IF IT IS NOT ALLOCATED AND SPENT, UH, PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER OF NEXT YEAR. SO WE ARE PROPOSING, AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UM, ONE OF THE PROVIDERS THAT WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH DURING COVID, AND THAT IS COMMONWEALTH CATHOLIC CHARITIES TO FUND THEM, THE REMAINING 31,202 FOR HOMELESS OUTREACH SERVICES, WHICH IS ONE OF THE SERVICES THEY'VE PROVIDED TO THE CITY ON AND OFF FOR, UH, QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS. SO IN TOTAL, THIS IS THE DRAFT, UH, BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL ACTION PLAN. UH, AGAIN, THIS FIRST SLIDE IS SHOWING YOU, UM, THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL ALLOCATION, AND THEN THE REST OF IT IS THE UNSPENT FUNDS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS. AND THE UNSPENT, UH, COVID RELATED MONEY FOR A TOTAL OF 5 28 5 9 3 27. THIS IS ALSO A CONSOLIDATED PLAN YEAR. SO WE ARE REQUIRED BY HUD TO DRAFT A FIVE YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THESE ARE OUR PRIORITY, PRIORITY NEEDS AND GOALS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. THEY PRETTY MUCH REMAIN THE SAME AS THEY WERE IN THE PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY PUBLIC COMMENT WHATSOEVER. UH, UP TO THIS POINT. WE'VE, WE'VE HAD TWO, UH, EXCUSE ME, ONE PUBLIC HEARING. UH, THIS IS TONIGHT IS THE SECOND. UM, ALL THE DOCUMENTS AND BUDGETS HAVE BEEN PLACED ONLINE AND DISTRIBUTED IN PAPER TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER, HRHA OFFICES AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AS WELL AS AVAILABLE IN OUR DEPARTMENT. UM, I AM ASKING FOR ACTION THIS EVENING TO APPROVE THIS PROPOSED BUDGET BECAUSE I DO HAVE TO GET EVERYTHING SUBMITTED TO HUD BY AUGUST 16TH. I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY. ABSOLUTELY. UH, COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY, THEN COUNCILOR DAY, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ASKING FOR THE APPROVAL OF THOSE FUNDINGS AS PRESENTED TONIGHT, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING? YES, SIR. AND REMEMBER, THIS IS ALL HUD MONEY. THIS IS NOT CITY MONEY, RIGHT. THIS IS OUR ANNUAL ALLOCATION PLUS THE TWO OTHER, THE UNSPENT COVID MONEY AND THE UNSPENT FUNDS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS. I I, I WOULD, I WOULD, IS THERE AN ISSUE IF WE HOLD THIS UNTIL NEXT, UH, MEETING ASKING, BECAUSE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WAS LISTED ON HERE, UM, I I, I THINK WE, THE CITY ALREADY HAS, UH, LIKE, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, SOCIAL SERVICE FOR EXAMPLE, SOME OF THESE FUNDINGS CAN GO TO, UH, I THINK OTHER THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK INTO BEFORE I, I WASN'T AWARE THAT THIS WAS GONNA BE REQUESTED FOR A VOTE TONIGHT. UH, YEAH, I APOLOGIZE. I MEAN, I PRESENTED THIS AS A WORK SESSION, UH, AT THE LAST MEETING MM-HMM . AND WE ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT OUR PLANS TO HUD. WE CANNOT BE LATER THAN AUGUST 16TH OR ELSE WE WILL NOT RECEIVE THIS MONEY AT ALL. YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S WHY I ASKED FOR THE, THE NEXT MEETING. THAT'LL BE WHERE BEFORE, IF THIS IS ALREADY SPECIFICS, BECAUSE WHEN ARE YOU PLANNING ON SUBMITTING IT? HUH? I WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE HUD HAS TO TAKE 30 DAYS TO REVIEW IT. MM-HMM . AND THEN THEY HAVE TO GET US A CONTRACT. IT JUST DELAYS US IN GETTING STARTED FOR THE YEAR. SO I COULD BRING IT, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE ACTION TONIGHT. AND I THINK I COULD STILL MEET THE DEADLINE OF THE AUGUST 16TH IF WE BRING IT BACK AT THE JULY MEETING. UM, I JUST WOULD PREFER FOR ACTION TONIGHT IF, IF AT ALL [01:25:01] POSSIBLE, IT JUST MOVES THINGS ALONG A LOT QUICKER. UM, I WOULD SAY COUNCILOR HOLLOW, UM, I MIGHT MAKE A RECOMMENDATION. I THINK YOU JUST LIKE THE, UH, EXAMPLE THAT STACEY GAVE US ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL, YOU KNOW, YANKING, YOU KNOW, MONEY BACK REAL QUICKLY. I THINK IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, CAN GET THE MONEY AND THEN WE CAN PO IT AND CONTRACT IT AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE. BUT WITH, YOU KNOW, YOUR IDEAS THAT YOU HAVE FOR SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, GO AND TRY TO CONSOLIDATE THOSE FOR, YOU KNOW, MORE. 'CAUSE WE STILL ARE GOING TO HAVE PROBABLY END UP HAVING SOME UNSPENT MONEY. WELL, I'M TALKING AND I AIN'T TALKING ABOUT, UH, DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAN I SEE LISTED. MM-HMM. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT, I, I, I THINK, I THINK A BETTER SERVED, LIKE FOR INSTANCE, I LOOKED INTO THE CATHOLIC CHARITIES BEFORE MM-HMM. WHEN THEY WERE RUNNING THE, UH, WHAT WAS IT, THE, UH, SHELTER, WHATEVER THEY USED TO RUN OUR SHELTER. CORRECT. AND, UM, SOME OF THE COMPLAINTS THAT WERE COMING IN AT THE TIME AND SO FORTH. AND SO I, I'M, I'M KIND OF PARTIAL FROM THAT INFORMATION. I THINK THAT YOU, THAT WAS PRESENTED FROM THAT WITH THAT ORGANIZATION, UM, PARTICULARLY AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WAS COMING IN FROM THE CITY VERSUS SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I, THAT'S, THAT'S MY CONCERN, UH, PARTICULARLY WITH THAT ORGANIZATION, ESPECIALLY WITH THE INFORMATION THAT THEY HAD BROUGHT IN TO US. UH, I BELIEVE THAT WAS YEAR BEFORE LAST, UH, WITH THAT ORGANIZATION. SO THAT, THAT'S WHERE MY CONCERN LIES. IF, IF THAT'S WHERE YOUR CONCERN LIES, COULD I POTENTIALLY ASK THAT YOU, UM, TAKE ACTION ON JUST OUR ANNUAL ALLOCATION FUNDING? ABSOLUTELY. AND IF YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CV FUNDS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WOULD BE USED TO PAY, RIGHT. PAY CATHOLIC CHARITIES, WE CAN DEAL WITH THAT AT A DIFFERENT TIME. UM, THAT'S NOT THE CRITICAL PART. RIGHT. THE CRITICAL PART IS THE 239 TOTAL OF THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL ALLOCATION. WELL, NO, NO, NO. I AGREE WITH THAT MM-HMM . AND, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO COME BACK AT A LATER TIME ON THE CV MONEY IF, IF THAT'S ACCEPTABLE TO YOU. YES. THAT'S THAT'S GOOD. SO LET ME ASK YOU, IF THE, IF THE ONLY ISSUES ON THE CATHOLIC CHARITY, CAN WE JUST PARSE THAT ONE OUT AND THEN APPROVE THE OTHERS? ABSOLUTELY. AND, AND I COME BACK. THAT'S WHAT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OKAY. I CAN COME BACK LATER ABOUT THE CV MONEY IF, AND WE, WE CAN WELL, I MEAN, DON'T WANNA HOLD UP COMMITTEE AGAIN TOO. I MEAN, I ALSO, THAT WILL, THAT WILL NOT AFFECT OUR AUGUST 16TH DEADLINE. OKAY. IT'S THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL ALLOCATION, WHICH I'LL BACK UP TO. IT'S THIS ONE HERE ON THE SCREEN. YEAH. WITH THE, YOU YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AND THE, UM, AND, AND YEAH, IT'S RIGHT HERE ON THE SCREEN. THESE ARE ALL THE PROPOSED, UH, FUNDING LEVELS AND, UM, ORGANIZATIONS TO RECEIVE FUNDING IN THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL ALLOCATION. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE UNDER THE GUN FOR. RIGHT. UH, ON A, FROM A TIMELINE STANDPOINT. YEAH. I MEAN, I JUST, I I DON'T WANNA MAY HOLD UP MAY. YEAH. UH, JUST YEAH, JUST, UH, ONE QUICK SECOND. UM, I JUST DON'T WANT TO, YOU KNOW, HOLD UP THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, PROJECT HOMES REBUILDING TOGETHER AND, YOU KNOW, THE RIVERWALK EXTENSION, BECAUSE THOSE ARE ALL POSITIVES THAT WILL END UP, YOU KNOW, AFFECTING, YOU KNOW, OUR BOND RATING. RIGHT. SO IF, IF THE CV FUNDS AND CATHOLIC CHARITIES ARE THE ONLY CONCERN AT THIS POINT, RIGHT. THAT CAN BE PULLED OUT AND THE REST OF IT CAN STILL, YOU CAN STILL TAKE ACTION ON THE REST OF IT THIS EVENING AND WE'LL MEET ALL OF OUR TIMELINES AND EVERYTHING. OKAY. OKAY. DOES, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HOLD UP THE, THE RIVER WALK. WE DON'T HOLD UP PROJECT HOMES REBUILDING TOGETHER BECAUSE THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, VERY, THE QUICKER WE GET, YOU KNOW, THOSE TYPES OF IMPROVEMENTS DONE, THE MORE POSITIVE BENEFIT THAT WE CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY GIVE US THAT DIAGNOSTIC READING, YOU KNOW, THE TOTAL CITY'S, UM, YOU KNOW, ASSET WORTH. I I AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT. OKAY. AND, AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ACTION ON EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE CV MONEY THIS EVENING. YEAH. OKAY. SO WE PULLED THAT. UM, SO, UH, SORRY, COUNSELOR, UH, DAY. AND THEN, UH, COUNCILOR STOKES, I GET, UM, QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW, WHY THESE CERTAIN THINGS. I KNOW YOU KIND OF TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT IN THE BEGINNING, BUT I WAS AT THIS CBDG MEETING, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU EXPLAINED A LOT OF THIS, LIKE FOR THE RIVER WALK FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, WHY PUT THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO THAT? AND I KNOW IT'S BECAUSE IT HAS TO BE USED FOR CERTAIN THINGS AND THAT KIND OF FALLS UNDER THAT COVID CRITERIA RIGHT. AT THE TIME, UM, IS HOW, I THINK YOU EXPLAINED IT TO US BEFORE, BUT I THINK IT'S JUST GOOD TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS MONEY HAS TO BE USED FOR PARTICULAR THINGS. IT CAN'T JUST BE PUT, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE. THAT'S CORRECT. WE, WE HAVE, HUD HAS VERY STRICT, UH, FUNDING CALCULATIONS THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE CAPS ON CERTAIN ACTIVITIES. RIGHT. AND, UH, IT GETS REALLY TRICKY. I DON'T WANT TO, I MEAN, THIS STUFF'S KIND OF DRY ALREADY. I DON'T WANT TO PUT PEOPLE TO SLEEVE. RIGHT. BUT IF YOU DO HAVE PARTICULAR QUESTIONS, YOU CAN ALWAYS EITHER ASK TONIGHT OR GIMME A CALL AND YEAH. CAN, [01:30:01] AND AS COUNCILOR DID SAY, CAN YOU STATE THE, I THINK THEY WERE ALREADY LISTED, BUT CAN YOU JUST REITERATE, SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THOSE THREE, WHAT WAS IT, THREE CATEGORIES OF THINGS THAT THOSE FUNDING? RIGHT. SO, SO THERE'S THE ANNUAL ALLOCATION THAT WE RECEIVE EVERY YEAR, AND THAT'S APPROXIMATELY 239,000 AND CHANGE. IT, IT VARIES EVERY YEAR. LAST YEAR WAS 2 42. UM, THAT'S WHAT HAS TO BE HOPEFULLY DEALT WITH THIS EVENING SO THAT I CAN DO WHAT I NEED TO DO TO GET IT UP TO HUD BY AUGUST 16TH. EXCUSE ME. YEAH. UM, THE SECOND ONE WOULD BE WHAT, WHAT I JUST CALL UNSPENT FUNDS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS. AND THAT'S BASICALLY THE ANNUAL ALLOCATIONS THAT WE GET. BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON, NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FUNDS WERE EXPENDED EITHER, YOU KNOW, PROJECTS CAME IN CHEAPER OR SOMEONE DIDN'T PERFORM AT THE LEVEL THAT THEY TOLD US THEY WOULD, SO THEREFORE THEY WEREN'T ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE MONEY. AND WE HAVE MONEY DATING BACK TO 2018 THAT IS UNSPENT. ALL OF THAT. THERE, THERE IS A POTENTIAL RISK, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ACTUALLY IS A MOVEMENT IN CONGRESS RIGHT NOW TO DEFUND THIS PROGRAM A HUNDRED PERCENT ACROSS THE BOARD NATIONWIDE. SO THE THINKING WAS WE HAVE TO SPEND THAT MONEY EVENTUALLY, WHY RISK LOSING IT ALTOGETHER AND JUST APPLY IT TO A PROJECT NOW THAT QUALIFIES, WHICH THE RIVERWALK PROJECT WOULD QUALIFY FOR THIS. UM, AND JUST SPEND IT BEFORE CONGRESS TAKES IT BACK, ESSENTIALLY. YEAH. AND THEN LASTLY, THE THIRD FUNDING STREAM IS THAT LEFTOVER COVID MONEY. THE CV MONEY, WHICH WE HAD ALLOCATED TOWARDS, WE'RE PROPOSING TO ALLOCATE TOWARDS, UH, CATHOLIC CHARITIES. AND THAT HAS, AGAIN, HAS TO BE SPENT ON SOMETHING VERY SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO COVID. AND AT THIS POINT, THE ONLY THING THAT STILL EXISTS THAT WE COULD COME UP WITH THAT'S FUNDABLE IS HOMELESS OUTREACH SERVICES. WOULD MENTAL HEALTH BE ONE MENTAL HEALTH? I I MENTAL HEALTH, NO, I DON'T THINK WOULD QUALIFY UNDER COVID. IT HAS TO BE FOR THE PREVENTION OR THE ELIMINATION OF EXPOSURE TO THE COVID VIRUS. OKAY. SO HOMELESS OUTREACH SERVICES IS JUST ONE OF THOSE FEW THINGS THAT WE DO HERE THAT WOULD QUALIFY. OKAY. AND I, I'M SORRY. AND I LIKE TO, UH, JUST REITERATE TO CITIZENS THAT IT WASN'T THAT LEADERS LIKE YOU WEREN'T DOING YOUR JOB AS TO THE REASON WHY THIS, UH, FUNDING WASN'T SPENT. THINGS LIKE AT THAT TIME, DURING THOSE YEARS, THE CITY DID NOT HAVE. UM, I REMEMBER, UH, AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M, UH, SAYING THIS INCORRECTLY, BUT, UM, PREVIOUS YEARS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY DID NOT HAVE THE PROPER ENGINEERING PLACE ENGINEER, UM, IN PLACE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE AND SPECIFICS, UM, BY THE STATE'S STATE WAS GIVEN, UM, IN ORDER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SPEND THOSE FUNDING, JUST IN CASE THE CITIZENS WAS LIKE, WELL, WHY DIDN'T Y'ALL USE 'EM? YOU KNOW, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. UM, BUT I'M GLAD FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GO FORWARD WITH THESE THINGS. NOW I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION. WE GONNA DO A PUBLIC HEARING FIRST? OH, I FORGOT. IT'S ALL RIGHT. I HAD A QUESTION. I MEAN, BUT I'M STILL WAITING TO SPEAK. OH, I, I KNOW. JUST, JUST HOLD ON. UM, COUNCILOR STOKES AND THEN, UH, VICE MAYOR JOINER, UM, TO DOMINIQUE, WE, WE SAT ON THE COMMITTEE AND IT WAS A LONG DRAWN OUT MEETING ON WHAT THE FUNDING WOULD BE FUNDED FOR IT. UM, AND I MADE AND RAISED THE SAME SENTIMENTS YOU DID ABOUT CATHOLIC CHARITIES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, CITIZENS COMPLAINED ABOUT THE DELIVERY OF SERVICE. SO WE DID ADDRESS THAT. AND, UH, THE GENTLEMAN JUST ANSWERED THAT THEY WERE THE ONES THAT WERE QUALIFIED THAT HAD APPLIED, UM, FOR THE FUNDING. I HAD THE SAME CONCERNS ON THE BOARD AS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD. THAT'S MY COMMENT. OKAY. UH, VICE MAYOR JOIN. I GUESS MY QUESTION IS WITH REGARD TO WHAT YOU WANT US TO VOTE ON TONIGHT. YOU DO, YOU, DO WE PULL OUT THE 31 2 0 2 27 OUT OF THAT 2 39 3 9 1? NO, IT WOULD ACTUALLY COME OUT OF THE 5 28 5 93 27 MM-HMM. CHAIR. THAT'S A DIFFERENT, OKAY. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO PULL IT OUTTA THAT TOTAL THEN. YEAH. AND I DON'T DO MATH REAL WELL ON THE FLY. YEAH. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE PULLING OUTTA THE RIGHT, RIGHT AREA. YEAH, I MEAN, THE MOTION THAT YI WAS GONNA READ OUT IS JUST GONNA BE TO APPROVE, YOU KNOW, THE PLAN AND EVERYTHING WITH THE PULLOUT OF THE, THAT'S THE POLICY, THE CV FUNDS. OKAY. GOT IT. I THINK THAT'S ACCEPTABLE. OKAY. YEP. ALRIGHT, BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY COM, THAT'S THE ONLY CATHOLIC CHARITIES? THAT'S CORRECT. CORRECT. OKAY. JUST, YEAH. 31,000 2 0 2 27. MAKE SURE YOU COVER CHRIS. THAT'S ALL . YEAH, WE'RE ALL GOOD. IT GETS TRICKY. UM, OKAY. UH, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND LET'S OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING. UH, [01:35:01] WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TONIGHT. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS TOPIC? YES, SIR. AS I'VE STATED BEFORE, I'M NOT A BUDGET GURU. I'M NOT A NUMBERS GUY. I'M A HAMMERING NAILS. MR. BUR, MR. COULD JUST STATE YOUR NAME IT. OH, SORRY. FOR THE RECORD. THAT'S ALL. MARK BURS, WARD THREE. EVERYBODY KNOWS ME. . OKAY. I'M NOT A BUDGET GUY. I'M A HAMMERING NAILS RUN TO THE WOODS SWING LIKE TARZAN TYPE GUY. THAT BEING SAID, UM, I WOULD, I'M CURIOUS AS TO HOW MANY PROJECTS WE HAVE GOING ON IN THE CITY, UM, GIVEN MS. JORDAN'S REPORT, UM, THAT FALL UNDER GRANT MONEY THAT WE ARE POTENTIALLY GOING TO BE LOSING IF THE GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO WITHDRAW GRANT FUNDING. AND ARE WE AS A CITY PREPARED TO LOSE THAT FUNDING AND STILL OPERATE AND HAVE CITIZENS TAKEN CARE OF? UM, DUE TO THAT, I'M CURIOUS IF THINGS LIKE THE RIVER WALK ARE THE BEST USE OF THIS MONEY, OR SHOULD IT BE ALLOCATED TO SOMETHING THAT MAY HAVE BEEN COVERED BY A GRANT LATER ON THAT WE POTENTIALLY WILL LOSE IN THE FUTURE? UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW ALL THAT WORKS. LIKE I SAID, I'M NOT A BUDGET GUY. I JUST SEE RIVER WALK AFTER HEARING MS. FLOWERS TALK. AND IF THAT MONEY COULD BE REALLOCATED TO MAKE A HOUSE BETTER OR A HOUSING UNIT BETTER, I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE A BETTER USE OF THAT MONEY. I DON'T KNOW IF IT CAN BE OR NOT, BUT THANKS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, OH, UH, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? I WOULD, DARLENE THOMPSON WARD SIX. UM, I'M, I'M HEARING ABOUT THIS MONEY, BUT I REMEMBER THE LAST YEAR OR TWO, WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH A HOMELESS CRISIS CRISIS HERE IN HOPEWELL WHERE THERE SEEMED TO BE NO FUNDING. WE COULD HAVE KEPT THE HOMELESS SHELTER OPEN ALL SUMMER FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE SOMEWHERE TO GO. SO NOW THE MONEY IS ALWAYS AT THE LAST MINUTE THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING. IF THE MONEY WAS SITTING, PEOPLE CAME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL ADDRESSED IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THAT WE HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE HOMELESS. NOW WE ARE PLANNING TO USE A BUILDING THAT WE DONE PAID $500,000 FOR TO HOME THE HOMELESS FOR EIGHT OR 10 HOURS A DAY. IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER. THIS CITY COUNCIL CONTINUES TO DISAPPOINT, CONTINUES TO DISAPPOINT, AND EACH TIME WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING BEFORE US, LIKE I SAID, POOLS OF MONEY HERE, POOLS OF MONEY THERE, MONEY THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED. NOW WE GOT TO TAKE ACTION WHEN CITY COUNCIL DON'T SEEM TO BE PREPARED, BUT THEY WILL FI FINISH THAT RIVER WALK. OKAY? THAT RIVER WALK IS GOING TO BE FINISHED, $258,000. BUT WE HAVE THE HOMELESS HERE. YOU ALL DO NOT DISAPPOINT. I JUST HOPE THAT THE PEOPLE, THE CITIZENS OF HOPEWELL CONTINUE TO LISTEN IN. THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS Y'ALL DON'T WANT NEWSLETTERS TO GO OUT, BECAUSE YOU, YOU DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHO YOU ALL ARE AND WHO THEY ARE VOTING FOR, BUT I KEEP STRESSING TO THEM. COME TO YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT GOES ON HERE. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALRIGHT. PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. UM, AT THIS TIME, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ANNUAL ACTION PLAN IN THE FIVE YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN AND TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO SUBMIT BOTH PLANS, UH, TO HUD WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE, UH, COVID FUNDS? SECOND. SECOND. ALRIGHT. MOTION HAS BEEN MADE BY COUNCILOR DAY AND SECONDED BY VICE MAYOR JOINER. UH, DISCUSSION COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY, UH, BEFORE WE, UH, VOTE ON THIS MATTER TONIGHT, I KIND OF WANNA, IF I CAN, UH, SPEAK ON THIS. I, I AM, AM IN AGREEMENT, UH, TO THE SIMPLE TO, TO THE SPACE OF THE CITIZEN'S CONCERNS. I JUST WANNA SAY, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT IS, UM, THE DIRECTORS OR THE CITY COUNCIL'S, UM, STANCE TO SPEND THIS PARTICULAR MONEY IN A WAY, UM, THAT IS NOT NECESSARY [01:40:01] FOR THE CITY. THERE'S A, THERE'S A, I I WOULD, I WOULD SAY, UM, JUST LIKE YOUR, YOUR LAST NAME, PRONUNCIATION, I BELIEVE IS BE, UH, MR. BARROWS HAD CAME UP HERE AND SAID, UM, GET WITH, UM, GET WITH YOUR COUNSELORS ON TIMES THAT YOU CAN JUST LIKE HE SUBMITTED THAT HE WAS DOING. AND ALSO, UM, HAVE A SEAT WITH THE CITY MANAGER AS HE HAS INVITED THE PUBLIC TO MAKE APPOINTMENTS, UM, TO DISCUSS THESE THINGS. BECAUSE IN THESE MEETINGS, THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSS IN CLOSED SESSION THAT AREN'T, THAT WE CAN'T NECESSARILY JUST BLAB OUT TO THE PUBLIC. UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE CONTRACTS AND THINGS THAT ARE INVOLVED THAT ARE IN THIS CITY'S BEST INTEREST. NOT TO PUT THOSE THINGS IN PLACE. BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU FOR SOME OF THESE CONCERNS THAT YOU HAVE, UM, THERE ARE PROJECTS AND THINGS THAT ARE IN PLACE, UM, THAT ARE COMING FORTH. UH, THIS ISN'T JUST A SPENDING OF THESE FUNDS TOWARDS SOMETHING, UM, LIKE THE, LIKE THE, I WANTED TO CALL IT THING, THE BOARDWALK, WHAT'S HIS PROPER NAME? THE RIVER WALK. THE RIVER ROCK, RIVER WALK. AND THEN COMPARING THAT TO, UH, A ELDERLY CITIZEN WHO IS AT HOME, WHO GOT A, UH, ROOF LEAK, UH, TYPE OF THING. UH, EVEN THOUGH IT APPEARS THAT WAY TONIGHT, THAT IS NOT EXACTLY, UH, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE. UH, WHEN IT COMES TO FUNDING, AS THE DIRECTOR HAD SAID, CERTAIN THINGS HAVE OBLIGATIONS THERE, UM, AND MEETINGS ARE TAKING PLACE TO ADDRESS THOSE THINGS. BUT SAY FOR EXAMPLE, AND YOU CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, MR. DIRECTOR, UM, SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT WE MAY HAVE WANTED TO PUSH MONEY TO TOWARDS, UM, AND SAY, HEY, THEN WE HAVE TO GO AND LET DEPARTMENTS LOOK AT STATE LAWS AND CODE TO SEE HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE US TO ROLL OUT THOSE PROJECTS. AND THEN BY THE TIME THOSE PROJECTS ARE ROLLED OUT, IT, IT, IT WON'T WORK. SO WE HAVE, WE, WE HAVE SPECIFIC STIPULATIONS THAT ARE PUT ON, PUT IN PLACE ON US, UM, THAT THE COMMON CITIZEN WON'T KNOW IN A TWO OR THREE HOUR MEETING. UM, BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK THOSE QUESTIONS, UM, AND GET THOSE ANSWERS. AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH THE CITIZENS TONIGHT. 'CAUSE I CAN, YOU CAN REST ASSURE, UM, COMING FROM THE BACKGROUND THAT I HAVE, UM, THAT I WOULD NOT ABSOLUTELY SAY SUPPORT A RIVER ROCK. AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, UM, THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS THAT YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT BONDING IS. IF I ASKED YOU RIGHT NOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THE BOND IS AND WHAT THE MAYOR WAS SPEAKING ON, YOU PROBABLY WON'T KNOW IT. BUT IF YOU SIT DOWN WITH THE MAYOR, SIT DOWN WITH THE CITY MANAGER, THEY CAN KINDA EXPLAIN TO YOU MORE WHY IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, FOR US TO COMPLETE THIS, UH, RIVER WALK WHEN THE CITIZENS GET UP AND TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE, UH, SPENDING TAXPAYER DOLLARS AND SO FORTH AND SO ON. WELL, THE CITY CAN GO OUT AND GET ALL THE GRANTS AND SO FORTH, BUT IN RECEIVING SOME OF THOSE GRANTS, WE HAVE TO HAVE CERTAIN RATINGS. UM, AND, AND LIKE A CREDIT SCORE SO FORTH THAT THE CITY CAN GO OUT AND QUALIFY, UH, IF YOU WOULD, UM, FOR, FOR THESE GRANTS. FOR THE OTHER GRANTS, SO THAT WE WON'T PUT THE WEIGHT ON THE CITIZENS', UH, TAX DOLLARS. AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS GETTING THOSE THINGS STRAIGHT. SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THAT TONIGHT. OKAY. SEEING NO OTHER LIGHTS ROLL CALL PLEASE. SECOND. OH, I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD, MR. HARRIS. UM, I, I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THIS BEFORE WE VOTED ON THIS BECAUSE, UH, WHAT IT WAS, THE COMMENT THAT COUNCIL STOKES MADE IN REGARDS TO THE MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH, UH, UH, MR. WARD AND, AND, UH, HE COMMITTED THAT I'VE BEEN ON SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL AND, AND THE THINGS, AND THE WAY, WHAT WE DISCUSSED IS HOW WE GOING TO SPEND THIS MONEY. THIS IS NOT A LOT OF MONEY, BUT IT, WE GET IT BECAUSE IT'S ENTITLEMENT. WE ARE ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITY AND WE HAVE TO PUT OUR BEST, OUR BEST USE FOR THE COMMUNITY. AND WE DO HAVE A, A, YOU KNOW, A A A HOMELESS OUTREACH PART THAT SOME OF THIS MONEY GOES TO, UH, SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED IN OUR MEETING THAT EVERYBODY WAS NOT AVAILABLE FOR BEFORE WE, YOU KNOW, WOULD, WOULD SEEK TO USE THE MONEY THAT'S PROVIDED TO US FOR VARIOUS REASONS. SO I, YOU KNOW, I, I, IT WAS LIKE I SAID, LIKE, UH, COUNCIL SO SAID IT WAS A MEETING THAT TOOK US A WHILE TO GET SOME RESOLVE ABOUT WHAT WE WOULD DO WITH THIS, THIS MONEY. AND [01:45:01] WE, AND, UH, WE, WE CAME UP WITH THAT AND I THOUGHT THAT WE HAD COVERED A LOT OF THINGS, BUT, YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK THAT, UM, WE NEED TO GET A CLOSER LOOK OR UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE, WHERE THIS MONEY IS INTENDED TO GO AND HOW IT'S TO GO. SO I, YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS TOUGH BECAUSE WHAT IT IS THAT WE DO HAVE TO BE, IS CAREFUL ABOUT OUR SPENDING IN REGARDS TO INDIVIDUALS LIKE, UH, MS. FLOWERS WHO CAME FORWARD WITH WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HER SITUATION. AND THERE'S OTHERS. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS I HEAR FROM HER EVERY DAY. SO, UH, WHAT IT IS THAT WE CHOOSE TO DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT MYSELF BEFORE I VOTED ON THIS. AND I THINK THAT WE CAME UP WITH, IN THE MEETING THAT WE HAD, WE CAME UP WITH A WAY TO GO AND, UH, I THINK IT'S THE RIGHT WAY. SO THAT'S WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED IN OUR MEETING. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNSELOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES. COUNSELOR STOKES. IS SHE STILL THERE? SHE'S MUTED. OKAY. OH, SHE'S MUTED. COUNCILOR STOKES, COULD YOU UN WELL, YOU CAN'T HEAR ME TO UNMUTE. I GUESS I TEXT HER. HOLD. YES. THANK YOU. COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOYNER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON? YES. COUNCILLOR S YES. MOTION PASSES SEVEN TO ZERO. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, ONE QUICK QUESTION. WOULD YOU LIKE FOR CATHOLIC CHARITIES TO COME PRESENT TO YOU AS TO THE SERVICES THEY COULD OFFER FOR THAT FUNDING? I, I KNOW I'M, I'M PERSONALLY AWARE OF IF WE REPORT THIS INFORMATION, THE TERMS I HAVE WAS THINGS THAT WE REPORT WITH THE PAST ADMINISTRATION AND, AND SO FORTH. AND SO I, I, I JUST PERSONALLY AM THE ACTUAL, I THINK WE HAVE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY LISTED, ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS ON HERE ALREADY THAT CAN COVER, UH, EVEN, EVEN CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT, THAT, THOSE FINDINGS CAN GO TO THAT, UH, I WOULDN'T PERSONALLY DO. WHY DON'T YOU GUYS, UM, AS A-C-D-B-G COMMITTEE, HAVE A MEETING AND TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OPTIONS, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THESE, YOU KNOW, COVID, YOU KNOW, DOLLARS COULD GO TOWARDS YEAH, IT'S, IT'S COVID MONEY, SO WE ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED AS TO WHAT WE CAN SPEND IT ON. AND I KNOW IT'S, WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT ONE WAS AS UNDER A TIME CONSTRAINT. THAT WAS SEPTEMBER OF NEXT YEAR. YEAH. UH, THE TREASURY WILL TAKE IT BACK IF WE OKAY. BUT YEAH, I, I, I THINK IF YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW, PUT YOUR, ALL YOUR HEADS TOGETHER AND YOU'RE THINKING, LOOK AND EVALUATE SOME ORGANIZATIONS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOW THEY'RE THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TO DO, BUT, YOU KNOW, TO, YOU KNOW, EXPLORE SOME OTHER OPTIONS. WE WILL DO THAT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. UM, ALRIGHT. MOVING ON [REGULAR BUSINESS] TO, UH, REGULAR BUSINESS. UH, MS. JORDAN, YOU GOT ALL THREE LIGHTNING ROUND . GOOD EVENING AGAIN, COUNSEL. UM, R ONE IS THE CSA BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FOR OTHER PURCHASE SERVICES FOR FISCAL YEAR 25. AN INCREASE OF 1.5, WHICH WILL BE ONLY A CITY COST OF $360,000. THIS IS TWO TO SUMMER PROGRAMS AND ADDITIONAL KIDS BEING IN THE PROGRAM AS WELL AS THE CAP THAT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TOOK OFF OF SOME OF THE VENDORS FOR CSA SERVICES. ALRIGHT, AT THIS TIME IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CREATION OF THE DEPUTY CLERK FOR POSITION APPROVED FOR FUNDING BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AS PRESENTED TONIGHT? SEVEN. SO THE FIRST ONE WAS THE CSA. WAS THE CS A NOT THE, I'M SORRY, I GOT THE WRONG, I GOT THE WRONG ACTION FORM IN FRONT, FRONT OF ME. MY BAD. SEE, YOU CAN TELL THAT I'M, I'M, I'M LIGHTNING ROUNDING RIGHT NOW. YEAH. ALRIGHT. SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. TO APPROVE THE INCREASE IN THE BUDGET APPROPRIATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 FOR THE CSA FUND. 0 1 5. SO MOVED SECOND. ALRIGHT. MOTIONS BEEN MADE BY COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY, SECONDED BY VICE MAYOR JOINER. SEEING NO LIGHTS FOR DISCUSSION. ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. ALRIGHT, NOW NUMBER TWO, R TWO IS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY HAS PROVIDED A NEW DEPUTY CLERK POSITION TO THE CIRCUIT CLERK COURT'S OFFICE OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. THE POSITION WILL BE AVAILABLE JULY 1ST, 2025. MAJORITY OF THIS FUND, THE MONEY IS BEING PROVIDED BY THE STATE, SO IT'S REALLY A SMALL COST TO THE CITY, WHICH HAS BEEN ATTACHED TO THE CS UM, THE CALF. SORRY. ANGER CITY. YES. SO MOVED. WOULD I LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CREATION OF THE DEPUTY FOUR CLERK POSITION APPROVED, UH, FOR THE [01:50:01] APPROVED BY THE FUNDING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AS PRESENTED TONIGHT? YES. SO MOVED. ALRIGHT, I'LL SECOND IT. MOTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE BY COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY AND SECONDED BY MYSELF SEEING THE LIGHTS FOR DISCUSSION. ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. COUNCILOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS. MAYOR. PARDON? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN TO ZERO. OKAY. UH, R THREE. R THREE IS THE ORDINANCE TO BE ADOPTED FOR DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. THE STATE HAS PROVIDED THEM 1.5% BONUSES. HOWEVER, THEY WILL NOT PROVIDE THE LOCALITY, THE MONEY UNLESS THIS WE HAVE AN ORDINANCE IN PLACE. SO THIS IS MONEY THAT COMES FROM THE STATE. ALRIGHT. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE? UH, AUTHORIZING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UH, BONUS FOR THE, UH, SOCIAL SERVICES EMPLOYEES AS PRESENTED. UH, MOTION TO MADE. I'LL SECOND IT. UH, MOTIONS HAS BEEN MADE BY COUNCILLOR HARRIS, SECONDED BY MYSELF. ANY DISCUSSION? SEEING NO LIGHTS? ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR STOKES? YES. COUNCILLOR HOLLOWAY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTON? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. MOTION PASSES. SEVEN ZERO. THANK YOU COUNSEL. AND, UM, AFTER A GOOD MEETING, UM, I'M GONNA CLOSE OUT ON A POSITIVE NOTE. I'M SURE MANY OF YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN, UM, ON THE NEWS. UH, BUT WE HAD A, UM, A LOCAL, UH, HOPE IAN, UH, OVER THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS, UH, WIN A TONY, UH, FOR, UH, BEST DIRECTOR OF A, UM, OF A PLAY. AND SO, UH, WE WANT TO CONGRATULATE AND EXTEND OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, BIGGEST KUDOS AND, UH, CONGRATULATIONS TO SAM PINKERTON. AND, UM, HOPEFULLY, UH, SOON WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO A, UH, A SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR HIM. SO, UH, WITH THAT, THE SOCCER, THE SOCCER TEAM TOO. THE SOCCER TEAM. OH, THAT'S RIGHT. YES. YES. BOTH. ONE MINUTE. I MEAN, YEAH. THANK YOU GIRLS. AND, UM, ALSO, UM, CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LOCAL, UH, SOCCER TEAM. UH, THAT I THINK THEY GOT, UH, SECOND PLACE REGIONAL. I DON'T SECOND. YEAH. OH, OKAY. I THINK THEY WERE, THEY ALMOST MADE IT, UM, ALMOST MADE STATE CHAMPION. OKAY. YEAH. AND I, I, I THINK IT WAS GIRLS AND FORD. WAS IT GIRLS AND BOYS? I THINK SO. 'CAUSE I ENDED UP SEEING THE OTHER I KNOW, I SAW, UH, I KNOW I SAW THE BOYS AND, AND CONGRATULATIONS ALSO, UH, TO THOSE IN THE, UM, TRACK AND FIELD AND SHOUT MY SON OUT, KAMAR HOLLOWAY WHO GRADUATED THIS YEAR, HE UM, ENDED UP GOING TO REGIONALS AND STATE AND THEN NATIONALS IN NORTH CAROLINA. OH, THAT'S AWESOME. HE PLACED, PLACED 10TH PLACE NATIONALLY. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO HIM. AWESOME. ALRIGHT. LOCAL HOME TALENT GOING PLACES. ALRIGHT, WITH THAT WE WILL CLOSE THE MEETING. MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.