* 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. [00:00:02] I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS [Call to order and roll call] MEETING OF THE, UM, LOCAL CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER, UH, ROLL CALL PLEASE. MAYOR. PARDON? HERE. VICE MAYOR JOINER. HERE. COUNCILOR HARRIS? HERE. COUNCILOR ELLIS? HERE. COUNCILOR DAY HERE. COUNCILOR LEY. HERE. WE HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU. UM, DO I HEAR A MOTION TO ALLOW, UM, MAYOR PARTON TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY? SECOND. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION THAT'S MADE AND SECONDED. UM, MR. PARTON, FOR THE RECORD, CAN YOU TELL US, UM, WHERE YOU ARE AT THIS MOMENT AND WHY YOU ARE MAKING THE REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY? YES. I'M IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA AND I'M ON A FAMILY VACATION. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO WE'VE HAD A, UH, MOTION'S BEEN, UH, PROPERLY MADE AND SECONDED. ROLL CALL PLEASE. VICE MAYOR JOINER. YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. COUNCILLOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR POLLACK? YES. [CLOSED MEETING ] OKAY. ALRIGHT. NEXT. DO I HEAR A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION, PLEASE? I MOVED SECOND. ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. UM, DO I HEAR A, UM, UM, THE MOTION TO LET SEE, I NEED THE FILE. THE RIGHT HERE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YEP. BYE. UM, DO I HEAR A MOTION, UM, TO, UH, TO HOLD A CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE SECTION 2.2 3 7 11 A THREE EIGHT, AND 29 TO DISCUSS THE ACQUISITION OR DISPOSITION OF REAL PROPERTY, WHERE DISCUSSION IN AN OPEN MEETING WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT THE BARGAINING POSITION OR NEGOTIATING STRATEGY OF THE PUBLIC BODY? 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, SUPPORT AGREEMENT WITH EDA SECTION 2.2 DASH 37 11 A ONE TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS INCLUDING APPOINTMENT OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND SECTION 2.2 DASH 37 11 A 29 HEALTH INSURANCE CONTRACT UPDATE. SO, SECOND. OKAY. ROLL CALL PLEASE. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. MAYOR PARTY? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. COUNCILLOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR COLA? YES. MOTION PASSES. SIX ZERO. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. LEMME CLOSE SESSION. MOVED AND SECONDED. UM, ROLL CALL PLEASE. VICE MAYOR. HONOR. YES. COUNCIL HARRIS? YES. MAYOR I PARDON? PART? SHE'S, I DON'T THINK HE SAW HIM. HE'S GONNA TRY TO GET ON CAMERA. MM-HMM. COUNSELOR? YEAH. COUNSELOR DAY. YES. COUNCIL. YEAH. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, COULD YOU READ THE CERTIFICATION PLEASE? CERTIFICATION UNDER VIRGINIA CODE 2.2 DASH 3 7 1 2. WERE ONLY PUBLIC BUSINESS MATTERS. ONE. LAWFULLY EXEMPTED FROM OPEN MEETING REQUIREMENTS AND TO IDENTIFY AN EMPLOYEE'S MEETING MOTION DISCUSSED IN THE CLOSED MEETING. ROLL CALL PLEASE LIKE ME TO JOIN US. YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS. YES. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR ? YES. MOTION PASSES. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UM, I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING OF THE HOPEFUL CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER. UM, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYONE THAT'S HERE AND WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR. UM, [REPORT OF THE CITY MANAGER] WE'LL START THIS OFF WITH THE REPORT TO THE CITY MANAGER. EXCUSE ME. SURE. . THIS FLU HAS BEEN GOING AROUND AND WE'VE ALL BEEN IT A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS. ONE, WE ARE CLOSING IN ON, UM, THE SELECTION OF A NEW DIRECTOR FOR, UH, HOPEWELL WATER RENEWAL. AN OFFER IS OUT AND, UH, BE ABLE TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT, UH, PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE NEXT MEETING AND INTRODUCE THE NEW DIRECTOR. OKAY. SECOND, WITH RESPECT TO PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, WE ARE STILL IN THE HUNT. OKAY. WE'VE HAD, UH, SEVERAL FINALISTS, UH, WHO FOUND OTHER JOBS BEFORE WE COULD GET TO THEM. OH, OKAY. SO WE ARE EXTENDING THAT SEARCH. OKAY. UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE CITY MANAGER, OUR RECRUITER SENT US AN UPDATE. UH, THERE SEEMS TO BE GOOD INTEREST AND, UH, HE, UH, WILL KNOW, I THINK HE SAID BY [00:05:01] NEXT FRIDAY. MM-HMM . UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, WHAT THE POOL LOOKS LIKE. AND SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, WITH, WITH THAT YOU HAVE ON THE SCHEDULE, UM, A JOINT MEETING WITH THE HOPEWELL, UM, HOUSING REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AND THE COUNCIL MM-HMM . UH, FOR THE 20TH, UH, OF THIS MONTH. AND, UH, THERE ARE A COUPLE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THAT, UH, HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY, UH, BY THE COUNCIL FOR DISCUSSION. UH, TONIGHT WE'LL HAVE, UH, UH, THE POLICE CHIEF, UH, DO THE, THE MONSTER CRIME REPORT AND, UH, WE ALSO HAVE OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER WHO WILL DO THE FINANCIAL REPORT. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MM-HMM . ALRIGHT. UM, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, MS. JORDAN FOR THE NOVEMBER OF FINANCIALS IN DECEMBER. FINANCIALS . OKAY. OH, GOOD EVENING. VICE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, THIS IS THE NOVEMBER FINANCIAL MEETING. WE WILL PRESENT DECEMBER 2ND QUARTER AS WELL AS JANUARY AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, AS WELL AS THE A CFR FOR FIFTH FISCAL YEAR 24. AND WE'RE MOVING RIGHT INTO FISCAL YEAR 25 CITYWIDE FOR NOVEMBER. REVENUES WERE TRENDING ONE POINT 16% OR $2.4 MILLION HIGHER FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 VERSUS 25. EXPENSES FOR NOVEMBER ARE TRENDING 1.63% OR $3.5 MILLION HIGHER FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 VERSUS 25. KEY DUE DATES FOR THE CITY OF HOPEWELL WERE DECEMBER, OF COURSE, FOR REAL ESTATE. FEBRUARY FOR PERSONAL PROPERTY, MAY AND JUNE INCREASE IN EXPENSES COMES FROM THE ANNUAL INCREASES THAT WAS GIVEN LAST YEAR THROUGH THE CLASS AND COMP STUDY, AS WELL AS BENEFITS. ANY QUESTIONS ON CITYWIDE? NO. OKAY. GENERAL FUND. GENERAL FUND FROM NOVEMBER WAS TRENDING ONE POINT 71% OR $798,000 HIGHER IN REVENUES FOR 26 VERSUS 25. EXPENSES FOR 26 ARE TRENDING 2.26% OR $24,000 HIGHER IN THAN 25. INCREASE IN EXPENSES STEM FROM THE, AGAIN, THE ANNUAL INCREASES CLASSES, COMP STUDY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE GENERAL ON THE ENTERPRISE FUND? ENTERPRISE FUND FOR NOVEMBER IS TRENDING 9.57% OR 4.6 MILLION HIGHER IN REVENUES FOR 26 VERSUS 25. EXPENSES FOR 26 ARE TRENDING 3.9% OR 1.77 MILLION HIGHER IN EXPENSES THAN 25. INCREASE IN REV REVENUE STEM FROM, AGAIN, TIME ON TIME BILLING AS WELL AS BILLING FOR CAPITAL INCREASE IN EXPENSES STEM FROM WORKING THROUGH THE CAPITAL PROJECTS PIECE. THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF MOVEMENT ON CAPITAL PROJECTS WITHIN HWR FACILITY AS WELL AS NEEDED OPERATIONS AND MEETINGS. ANY QUESTIONS ON OUR ENTERPRISE FUND SCHOOLS? SCHOOLS IS TRENDING 2.96 OR 1.7 MILLION LOWER IN REVENUES FOR 26 VERSUS 25. EXPENSES ARE TRENDING 1.87 OR 1.9 K HIGHER IN 26 VERSUS 25. THE DECREASE IS COMING FROM THE FEDERAL REVENUES FOR ESER GRANT AS WELL AS FOR UM, HEAD START PROGRAM. THEY ARE WAITING TO SUBMIT THEIR REIMBURSEMENTS FOR THE HEAD START PROGRAM FOR THE SCHOOL SO THAT WE CAN GET THE REIMBURSEMENT BACK. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE. WE PAID FOR NOVEMBER, 1000 888 INVOICES FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF 6.8 MILLION AND OUR DEBT SERVICE WAS PAID FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, LEAVING US A REMAINING BUDGET OF 3.2 IN DEBT TO BE PAID. ALL OF OUR DEBT IS PAID ON TIME. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND AS FAR AS THE A CFR FISCAL YEAR 24 WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING AND WE'RE WORKING INTO 25. SO AT THAT POINT THE CITY WILL BE CAUGHT UP FINALLY. OKAY. MS. FOSTER, THANK YOU. UH, ANY QUESTIONS? ASK QUESTION? SURE. UM, SO FOR SOME TIME WE HEARD ON THE SCHOOL SIDE THAT [00:10:01] THEY WERE FILING, UH, THE PAPERWORK FOR THE REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE HEAD START AND SO FORTH. WHEN IS THE ANTICIPATED COMPLETION DATE FOR THAT? I CAN CHECK WITH JANELLE. SHE WAS WORKING ON GETTING CAUGHT UP ON HER REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST. THEY HAD A LOT OF BACKLOG BETWEEN TRYING TO CATCH UP ON THE AFR AND AS WELL AS TRANSITIONING INTO THE MUNI SYSTEM. THEY FINALLY GOT PAYROLL SET UP TO PROCESS THROUGH THE MUNI SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE COUNSELOR. BUT I CAN DOUBLE CHECK WITH JANELLE. CAN, CAN I ASK A QUESTION TOO? SURE. WITH REGARD TO THAT, UM, THE, YOU, THEY, KATHLEEN DO, DO THEY HAVE ENOUGH HUMAN RESOURCES TO ADDRESS ALL THESE THINGS? IS THAT YOUR HONEST OPINION? NO, I DON'T THINK THAT THEY DO. OKAY. UM, WE DID THE CITY GAVE THEM AN ADDITIONAL PERSON FOR THEIR FINANCE DEPARTMENT AS FAR AS THEM HIRING SOMEBODY YET, I'M NOT SURE IF THEY WERE ABLE TO HIRE SOMEBODY, BUT I DO THINK THEY NEED MORE ASSISTANCE TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANKS. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY MORE QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY, NEXT, CHIEF TAYLOR. GOOD EVENING, MADAM VICE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL. GOOD EVENING. I'M BE HERE TO PRESENT THE, UH, DECEMBER, UH, CRIME SUMMARY. UH, I'LL BE BACK AGAIN ON THE 27TH TO GIVE THE UPDATED JANUARY PRESENTATION AND, UH, A CRIME SUMMARY. UH, VALID CRIME TOTAL 2024 WAS 84 AND 2025 IS 88, UH, INCREASE IN FOUR MORE INCIDENTS OF VIOLENT CRIME AND THAT WAS RELATED TO THE, UH, INDIVIDUAL ROBBERIES. WE HAD FOUR IN 2024 AND WE HAD 13 IN 2025, SO WE HAD NINE MORE. THAT WAS THE INCREASE IN THE VIOLENT CRIME TOTAL TO MAKE IT 5%. IT WAS PROPERTY CRIME. UM, WE HAD 453 TOTAL IN 2024 REDUCTION TO 310 IN 2025. SO IT WAS MINUS 143 LESS INCIDENTS. SO WE MINUS 32% IN PROPERTY CRIME. SO TOTAL MAJOR CRIME, UH, 537 IN TWENTY TWENTY FOUR, THREE HUNDRED AND NINETY EIGHT IN 2025 IS MINUS 139 INCIDENTS. SO A TOTAL DECREASE IN TOTAL MAJOR CRIME IS MINUS 26%. NEXT SLIDE. SUSPECTED O OPIATE OVERDOSES. UH, IN 2025 WE HAD THREE FATAL, NON-FATAL WAS 31 AND 34 IS A GRAND TOTAL. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE FIVE YEAR COMPARISON, 2025 HAS BEEN THE LOWEST NUMBER OF INCIDENTS OF OPIATE OVERDOSES. TO WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT CHIEF? NOT TO INTERRUPT YOU, A COMBINATION OF, OF ENFORCEMENT AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND THE STATE LEVEL AND THE LOCAL LEVEL. OKAY, THANKS. UH, VERIFIED, SHOTS FIRED. THIS COMPARISON IS FROM JANUARY THE FIRST OF 2024 TO DECEMBER 1ST, 2024 AND JANUARY THE FIRST, 2025 TO DECEMBER 1ST, 2025. AND IF YOU COMPARE AT THOSE SAME TIME PERIODS, IT WAS 58 IN 2024 AND 51, SO FORTH IN 2025. THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH MEETINGS, UH, LOCATIONS, UH, DATES AND TIMES, NOTHING HAS CHANGED. IT REMAINS THE SAME. AND OUR HIRING RECRUITMENT, UM, JUST, UH, ADDITIONAL, IT HAS FIVE RECRUITS STARTED ACADEMY AND THIS MONTH IN JANUARY, HOWEVER, IT'S INCREASED TO SEVEN. CURRENTLY WE HAVE SEVEN RECRUITS IN THE ACADEMY. UH, TWO POLICE APPLICANTS REMAIN REMAINING BACKGROUND. AND WE HAVE, UH, ONE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS APPLICANT IN THE BACKGROUND PHRASE AND IT SHOWS, UH, NINE POLICE POSITIONS OPENING. BUT CURRENTLY THAT'S BEEN REDUCED. WE HAVE SEVEN CURRENT OPENINGS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WE JUST RECENTLY HAD FOUR RECRUITS THAT GRADUATED FROM THE ACADEMY AND THEY HAVE STARTED THE FTO PROGRAM. OUR COMMUNITY POLICING OFFICER AWARDS HASN'T CHANGED THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. THIS IS THE DECEMBER REPORT. UH, WE PARTICIPATED WITH THE SHOP WITH A COP THAT WAS HELD AT TON IN COLONIAL HEIGHTS AND ALSO WE DID SHOP WITH THE COPS ON DECEMBER 20TH AT WALMART. UH, WE HAD A GOOD OUTING. THE CHILDREN ENVO ENJOYED IT AND THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL WITH, UH, THE GIFTS THAT THEY RECEIVED. MM-HMM [00:15:01] . UH, AND DECEMBER 9TH, THE FIRST, UH, BUSINESS RESOURCE MEETING WERE HELD AT THE WATER CUP AND FIVE 30 AND THE COMMUNITY ENGAGING OFFICER HAD BEEN WORKING WITH RECOVERY HOPE AND I MENTIONED THAT ABOUT, UH, HAVING THE RAFFLE, THE, THE RAFFLE WAS HELD AND WE DID GET SOME WINNERS. SO IT WAS PRODUCTIVE. THE TRAFFIC STUDY, UH, AND TECHNOLOGY, UH, THE TRAFFIC STUDY RESULTS, UH, I HAVE RECEIVED THEM AND I WILL BE PREPARED TO GIVE A PRESENTATION AT THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING AT BROADWAY, BAPTIST CHURCH, WEST BROADWAY AREA, AND THE TRAFFIC STUDY STILL PENDING AT WEST END CHRISTIAN SCHOOL. OKAY. THAT CONCLUDES MY CRIME SUMMARY AND I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS COUNSEL MAY HAVE. I HAVE A QUESTION AND DON'T HESITATE TO, I, I'M LOOKING AT THE LIGHTS, SO YOU'LL HAVE TO BEAR WITH ME. I'M NOT USED TO DOING THIS, SO I'M VICE MAYOR, SO IT'S TAKING OVER MERE PART TONIGHT. UM, BUT, UM, I HAVE A QUESTION WITH REGARD. YOU SAID THERE ARE SEVEN OPENINGS MM-HMM . NOW WILL THAT BE, YOU HAVE FIVE IN THE ACADEMY, SO THAT COULD TECHNICALLY MEAN THAT, THAT THERE COULD BE TWO VACANCIES AFTER THESE PEOPLE. NO, MA'AM. WE HAVE SEVEN THAT'S IN THE ACADEMY NOW. HAVE SEVEN IN THE ACADEMY NOW SEVEN IN THE ACADEMY NOW. AND THE TOTAL POLICE VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE IS SEVEN. IS SEVEN. OKAY. OKAY. SO THAT'S GONNA MEAN NO, THAT POTENTIALLY ZERO. NO, WE HAVE SEVEN MORE POSITIONS TO FILL. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE ACADEMY ARE CONSIDERED FILLED. I'M CON I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED. SO IF YOU'VE GOT THEM IN THE ACADEMY, ARE THOSE, THEY, YOU'RE NOT COUNTING THEM AS HIRED? THEY ARE HIRED, HOWEVER, WE STILL HAVE SEVEN VACANCIES STILL TO FIELD. OKAY. I'M WITH YOU NOW. SO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE ACADEMY ARE CONSIDERED HIRES? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THAT'S, WE STILL HAVE SEVEN VACANCIES THEY'VE WORKING ON. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THAT'S OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH. AND UH, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IN A PREVIOUS MEETING, UH, MAYBE TWO MONTHS AGO ABOUT A GRANT PROGRAM AND SO FORTH. DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE GRANT PROGRAM FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES? YES, MA'AM. UM, MATTER OF FACT, UH, WE ARE WORKING, I HAD RECEIVED A PROPOSAL THAT, UM, AND I'M WORKING ON GETTING A NEW, UH, PROPOSAL AND WE JUST HAD A, A ZOOM MEETING, UH, THROUGH SENATOR KANE'S OFFICE LAST WEEK. AND IT WAS MENTIONED ABOUT THE, THE, UH, EARMARK THAT WAS APPROVED THROUGH COUNSEL AND THAT EARMARK IS OH, IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REVIEWED. WE WON'T GET A DEFINITE ANSWER WHETHER IT IS APPROVED OR NOT UNTIL SOMETIME IN MID-JANUARY. HOWEVER, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND, AND, UH, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, UH, WORKING WITH SOME ALTERNATIVE FOR TRYING TO GET THE FUNDING TO MOVE FORWARD. THANK YOU. OKAY. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? ANYBODY ELSE? NO. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHIEF. WE APPRECIATE IT. OKAY, MOVING ON. UM, NEXT WE'LL HAVE THE PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. UH, THE PRAYER WILL BE LED BY REVEREND TUCKER AND THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE BY MYSELF. OKAY. GOOD EVENING. I WAS ASKED TO OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR OUR DECEASED COUNCIL MEMBER, YOLANDA STOKES. SHALL WE OBSERVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE? THANK YOU. MOST GRACIOUS HEAVENLY FATHER, WE PRAISE YOU AND WE THANK YOU DEAR LORD, FOR THE GIFT OF YOUR HOLY SPIRIT. WE THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR PRESENCE WITHIN OUR CITY LORD. AND WE THANK YOU LORD FOR TOUCHING THE LEADERS OF OUR VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS. THE LORD. WE THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF LEADERSHIP, LORD, AND WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL LEAD AND GUIDE OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS. LORD, GIVE THEM COURAGE, LORD, TO MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS. WISDOM LORD, TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES, LORD AND COMPASSION OF HEART THAT THEY MAY REMEMBER LORD THE LEAST OF OUR CITIZENS. WE PRAISE FATHER, THAT WE PRAY DEAR FATHER, THAT YOU WILL LEAD US AND GUIDE US AND GIVE US THE POWER AND STRENGTH TO MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS. AND LORD, WE PRAY THAT THE WORKS OF OUR HANDS WILL BRING BLESSINGS UNTO YOUR NAME. WE HONOR YOU AND WE PRAISE YOU IN YOUR HOLY NAME. AMEN. AMEN. I TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO, TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE ALL [00:20:05] HEAR. [CONSENT AGENDA] MOTION TO ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. UM, ANY DISCUSSION? ALRIGHT, ROLL CALL PLEASE. MOTION AD JOIN JOINER. YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS. YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS. YES. COUNCILOR DAY. YES. COUNCILOR? YES. MOTION PASSES PASSED. MM-HMM . ALRIGHT. UM, BEFORE THE CLERK READS THE UM, STATEMENT ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS, UM, I WANTED TO UM, NOTE THAT TONIGHT WE'RE CONSIDERING INTERIM APPOINTMENTS TO THE VACANT WARD SIX SEAT ON CITY COUNCIL. UH, THE TWO CANDIDATES PROPOSED BY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL ARE MALIK WHEAT AND MATTHEW MELLON. UH, DURING THIS COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE PERIOD FOR CITIZENS TO SPEAK ON THIS TOPIC. SO PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME DOWN ON THE SIGNUP SHEET NEAR THE ENTRANCE IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK ABOUT THAT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, MADAM CITY CLERK, COULD YOU [COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS] PLEASE READ THE STATEMENT? A COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS PERIOD LIMITED TO A TOTAL 30 MINUTES OCCURS AT EACH RESIDENT COUNCIL MEETING, PERSONS ADDRESSING COUNCIL APPROACH, THE MICROPHONE GIVE THEIR NAME, AND IF THEY RESIDE IN HOPEWELL, THEIR WARD NUMBER, EACH COMMENT IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. NO PERSON IS PERMITTED TO SPEAK ON AN ITEM SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING. ALL REMARKS MUST BE ADDRESSED TO THE COUNCIL. AS A BODY, ANY PERSON WHO MAKES PERSONAL IMPERTINENT ABUSIVE OR SLANDEROUS STATEMENTS OR INCITES DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND COUNCIL CHAMBERS MAY BE BORROWED FROM FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS AND REMOVED. OKAY. OKAY. MADAM CLERK. OKAY, WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING CITIZENS, UM, MARK BROS. OKAY. MARK BURS. WARD THREE. YES, SIR. UM, I SAW ON FACEBOOK, AND I HOPE THAT IT'S FALSE, BUT I SAW ON FACEBOOK THAT OUT OF ALL OF Y'ALL, ONLY ONE SHOWED UP TO MS. STOKES MEMORIAL SERVICE. IF THAT'S IN FACT TRUE, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF Y'ALL SHOULD BE HANGING YOUR HEAD IN SHAME. SHE WAS A COWORKER, SHE WAS A CIVIL, CIVIL SERVANT OF THIS COMMUNITY, AND SHE FOUGHT WITH WHETHER OR NOT YOU AGREED WITH HER OR NOT. SHE FOUGHT FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THIS CITY. I PERSONALLY DIDN'T AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT SHE HAD TO SAY, BUT SHE STILL DESERVED THAT RESPECT AS A SERVANT OF THIS COMMUNITY. AND IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE DECENCY TO SHOW UP, IN MY OPINION, YOU DON'T, DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SIT IN THAT SEAT, IT'S A DISGRACE. SECOND OF ALL, IN MY OPINION, MOVING FORWARD IN THE ELECTIONS OF HOPEWELL, AND I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE OF Y'ALL CAN DO IT, WHAT IT TAKES TO DO IT. AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE PHONE CALLS. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF Y'ALL'S GOT MY NUMBER MOVING FORWARD IN THE ELECTIONS OF CITY COUNCIL FOR HOPEWELL. I BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO GET RID OF THE AWARD SYSTEM. YOU ARE NOT A REPRESENTATIVE OF EXCLUSIVELY YOUR AWARD. YOU SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ALL HOPEWELL CITIZENS WHEN YOU'RE SITTING AT THAT DIOCESE, YOU NEED TO REPRESENT ALL OF US AND BE VOTED ON BY ALL OF US. GET RID OF THE WARD SYSTEM AND JUST HAVE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AS A, AS A GENERAL PERSON FOR HOPEWELL. UM, AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT TAKES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IF ANY OF Y'ALL ARE EVEN INTERESTED IN ENTERTAINING THAT OR IF YOU JUST OPT NOT TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY THE VARIOUS WARDS WITHIN THE CITY AND SIT THERE AND ONLY WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN. SO THAT'S MY POINT. BUT TO THE ONE WHO WAS RECOGNIZED ON FACEBOOK, I KNOW I CAN'T CALL YOU OUT BY NAME TO THE ONE WHO WAS RECOGNIZED ON FACEBOOK FOR SHOWING UP TO THE MEMORIAL SERVICE. THANK YOU FOR DOING SO. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. UM, LAURA GREENWOOD. GOOD EVENING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. I'M LAURA GREENWOOD FROM WARD SIX. MM-HMM . I'M HERE TO SPEAK IN REGARDS TO THE, UM, MONEY THAT WAS ALLOTTED OVER FOUR YEARS AGO TO HAVE COURTHOUSE ROAD, UM, ARLINGTON AND BARRY STREET AND, UM, HAVING A, A CROSSWALK THERE AT THE FIVE FORKS AREA. THE SIDEWALK AND THE SPEED LIMIT. I'VE ADDRESSED YOU ALL, I'VE SENT YOU ALL AN EMAIL IN REGARDS TO THIS. UM, IT WAS APPROVED OVER FOUR YEARS AGO. [00:25:01] JOHNNY HARDIN WAS ON CANCEL AT THE TIME. I DO KNOW THAT THE HIGH SCHOOL IN MANION HILL GOT THEIR MAKEUP. HERE'S AN AREA. UM, I JUST WANNA KNOW WHERE THE MONEY IS BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN DONE. IT WAS ALLOCATED OVER FOUR YEARS AGO. SO SINCE THE MAYOR'S NOT HERE, I GUESS VICE MAYOR MS. R, YOUR ORDER. I'LL CHECK, I'LL CHECK ON IT. PARDON ME. I WILL, I'LL FOLLOW UP. OKAY. I WANNA KNOW WHERE THAT MONEY IS AND WHERE IT WAS UTILIZED. WHY IS IT THE LOW INCOME AREAS ARE IGNORED, IMPOVERISHED PEOPLE? WHY THAT HA THAT ROAD HAS BEEN PHENOMENALLY A SORE SPOT. PEOPLE RACE DOWN THAT ROAD LIKE THEY'RE A RACE CAR DRIVER. I'VE HAD 'EM ACTUALLY PASS ME ON A TWO LANE, SMALL TWO LANE ROAD. THERE'S NOWHERE FOR PEOPLE TO WALK. IT'S DANGEROUS. ONE OF THE WARD MEMBERS HERE, I MEAN, ONE OF THE WARD MEMBERS HERE TOLD ME THAT THEY HAD LIVED ON COURTHOUSE ROAD AND THEIR CHILDREN COULDN'T WALK IT. IT'S UNSAFE. THAT SIDEWALK NEEDS TO BE ON ONE SIDE AT LEAST WHERE S AND N IS. AND YOU GUYS NEED TO LOOK INTO THAT AND GET IT DONE. THAT MONEY WAS ALLOTTED. IT'S BEEN SITTING SOMEWHERE OR THEY'VE BEEN UTILIZED SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT IT WAS ALLOTTED FOR THIS PROJECT. NOW I'M, I'M GETTING A LITTLE AGGRAVATED BECAUSE THE FACT IT IS NOT DONE. I'VE HAD MY NEIGHBORS COMPLAIN ABOUT IT AND I SPEAK FOR ALL MY NEIGHBORS ON MY ROAD. SO I'M NOT HERE JUST TO SPEAK FOR MYSELF. I HAVE TO GO OUT ON THAT ROAD ALL THE TIME. NOW UP TO BERRY STREET, YOU GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A SIDEWALK AND THEN IT STOPS. IT NEEDS TO GO ALL THE WAY DOWN. IT NEEDS TO GO ALL THE WAY DOWN TO WHERE THE, UM, HOTELS ARE. SO THOSE VISITORS THAT ARE COMING AND MOVING AROUND CAN MOVE SAFELY. SOMEBODY'S GONNA GET KILLED OUT THERE OR SERIOUSLY INJURED. IT'S NOT FUNNY. I THINK MY THREE MINUTES IS, WELL, I'M NOT EVER, BUT IT, YOU'RE DONE. YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT AT IT. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT WHERE THAT MONEY IS MA. UM, WE'LL SEE IF I CAN FIND, LET'S SEE IF I CAN FIND OUT. IF YOU CAN EMAIL ME, CALL ME. YEP. I'D APPRECIATE IT. WILL DO. THANK YOU. UM, ED HAUSER. ED HAUSER, WARD FIVE. UM, I'M KIND OF IN QUESTION AS TO WHY WE DIDN'T HAVE A COUNCIL MEETING LAST MONTH. BY CODE, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE ONE MEETING A MONTH. I UNDERSTAND THE MEETING DECEMBER WAS COUNCIL BECAUSE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER, WHICH Y'ALL STILL HAD AMPLE TIME TO HAVE A MEETING BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH. UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF Y'ALL DIDN'T HAVE NOTHING Y'ALL NEEDED TO PUT OUT, Y'ALL ARE STILL SUPPOSED TO HAVE THAT MEETING TO HEAR WHAT THE CITIZENS HAVE TO SAY. YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT RIDICULOUS. AND, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW AN EXPLANATION I THINK OUR CITY MANAGER SHOULD GET WITH EVERY ONE OF Y'ALL. AND Y'ALL GIVE US A EXPLANATION AT THE NEXT MEETING. WHILE WE COULD NOT HAVE A MEETING IN DECEMBER, YOU KNOW, WHEN Y'ALL CAN'T UPHOLD THE CODES Y'ALL ARE SUPPOSED TO ABIDE BY. HOW CAN WE TRUST Y'ALL FOR ANYTHING Y'ALL DO? THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. ALRIGHT, MR. WAYNE PARSONS, GOOD EVENING AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO COUNSEL. THANK YOU. UH, WAYNE PARSONS, WARD ONE. MM-HMM . UH, SEVERAL THINGS I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU. I I, I'D LIKE TO SAY I DON'T THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR COUNCIL TO BE RECOMMENDING PEOPLE TO FILL A VACANCY. UH, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE A SPEC. THERE SHOULD BE A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR THAT, FOR THE PEOPLE FROM THAT WARD TO SELECT SOMEONE. UM, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH BEING A HOMEOWNER IN THE CITY OF HOPEWELL AND HAVING TO APPLY FOR, PAY FOR AND APPLY FOR A PERMIT TO PUT A FENCE AROUND MY BACKYARD SO THAT MY DOGS WILL NOT BARK EXCESSIVELY AT THE FERAL CAT POPULATION THAT IS RUNNING WILD IN THIS CITY. PARTICULARLY IN AREAS LIKE NEXT DOOR TO MY PROPERTY THAT IS OWNED BY THE CITY AND JUST LET BEING OVERGROWN BY THE CITY, THEY'RE NOT MAINTAINING THEIR [00:30:01] PROPERTY. IF I DON'T MAINTAIN MY PROPERTY, CODE ENFORCEMENT WILL BE THERE READY TO CITE ME. UM, IF YOU LIVE IN THE CITY, THEN YOU RIDE AROUND. YOU SHOULDN'T JUST RIDE AROUND YOUR WARD. RIDE AROUND THE WHOLE CITY. THE MAINTENANCE OF THIS CITY RIGHT NOW IS DEPLORABLE CITY. UH, PUBLIC WORKS HAS TWO SWEEPER TRUCKS, TWO LEAF VAC TRUCKS, AND A THIRD SWEEPER MACHINE. YET THE LEAVES ARE FILLED. THE GUTTERS, THEY FILL THE CATCH BASINS GOING TO THE STORM SEWERS THAT GET STOPPED UP. UH, IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE QUALIFIED PEOPLE THERE TO RUN THE MACHINES, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD HIRE SOMEONE. UH, I BELIEVE COUNCIL SHOULD ASK MR. CITY MANAGER ABOUT THE CONDITIONS DOWN AT PUBLIC WORKS, WHAT YOUR SURVEY FOUND, STUFF LIKE THAT, AND MAKE THE NOTE, MAKE THE FINDINGS OF THOSE SURVEYS KNOWN TO THE PUBLIC. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MR. S UM, RITA, WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE CONSTITUTION CALLS FOR WHEN IT COMES TO VACANCIES? I AGREE. IT'S, UH, THAT'S ACTUALLY ON THE AGENDA FOR, I BELIEVE IT'S NEXT ITEM ONE, ITEM ONE. ITEM ONE. YEAH. OKAY. UM, LARRY MCCLUNG. GOOD EVENING. EVENING. MY NAME IS LARRY MCCLUNG. EXCUSE ME. I'M NOT A RESIDENT OF HOPEWELL, BUT I AM A RETIREE OF HOPEWELL AND I RECEIVED A LETTER TALKING ABOUT THE REIMBURSEMENT BEING CUT OFF TO ITS EMPLOYEES. 2006 DONNA LIGHTS BY, UH, THE CITY MANAGER APPROACHED THOSE THAT WERE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT WITH THIS OFFER. AS LONG AS I'M ON MY WIFE'S RETIREMENT, I MEAN INSURANCE, I WOULD BE REIMBURSED IF I WERE TO RETIRE THEN 52 YEARS OLD, I WAS GONNA WORK WITH THE CITY TILL 65. BUT THIS OFFER WAS SO GOOD AND IT WAS GUARANTEED TO ME THAT IT PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE THERE WHEN I REACHED 65. SO I TOOK THAT OFFER AND LEFT THE CITY I LEAVING THAT CITY, SAVE THIS MONEY, SAVE THE CITY OVER A MILLION DOLLARS. 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD'VE MADE IN THE NEXT 13 YEARS WORKING FOR THE CITY. BUT TO GET THIS LETTER THAT MY REIMBURSEMENT IS GONNA BE CANCELED AFTER A PROMISE WAS MADE THAT ENTICED ME TO RETIRE EARLY, I HAD MY 30 YEARS IN WITH THE STATE AND THAT'S WHY I WAS ABLE TO DO IT. I THINK Y'ALL NEED TO READJUST THAT. AND I, I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO THE PEOPLE THAT DEDICATED THEIR LIVES TO THIS CITY TO MAKE SURE. AND I WORKED AT THE WASTEWATER PLANT AND I GUARANTEE YOU WHEN I WAS THERE, IT WASN'T IN THE SHAPE IT'S IN TODAY. THANK YOU. WE APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, NETTE TAYLOR. I, AND I'VE BEEN AT TAYLOR WARD TWO. UM, I COME HERE BECAUSE I SEE A LOT OF BETWEEN THE CITIZENS AND I COUNCIL PEOPLE WHAT I CALL BICKERING. UM, I DID SEE SOMEONE GO LIVE ABOUT MS. STOKES, UM, FUNERAL AND SOME OF THE COUNCIL'S NOT ATTENDING. UM, I HAD QUESTIONS. UM, BASICALLY THIS IS NOT TO THE COUNCILORS WENT TO THE CITIZENS. I PERSONALLY WAS SUMMONED BY A MEMBER OF MS. STOKES FAMILY BECAUSE THERE WAS SOME ISSUES WITH HER EXPENSE FOR BURIAL. THEY ASKED ME TO CONTACT COUNSEL PEOPLE SO PEOPLE ARE POINTING FINGERS AND DON'T REALIZE MAJORITY OF THESE PEOPLE UP HERE, IF NOT ALL, 'CAUSE I ONLY KNOW ONE PERSON THAT I DIDN'T PERSONALLY KNOW ABOUT DONATED SO THAT MS. STOKES COULD HAVE A PROPER BURIAL. PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT PEOPLE GO THROUGH. I'M A MOTHER OF A HOMICIDE VICTIM AND WHEN I QUESTIONED SOME OF THE COUNSEL PEOPLE OF WHY THEY DIDN'T ATTEND HER FUNERAL, SOMEONE TOLD ME THE SAME THING THAT I LIVED BY. ONCE YOU CLOSED A CASKET ON YOUR CHILD, YOU MAY NOT NEVER WANT TO ATTEND ANOTHER FUNERAL. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THESE PEOPLE GO THROUGH. AND I'M HERE BECAUSE WE POINTED FINGERS. YOU DIDN'T GO TO THE FUNERAL, YOU DIDN'T GO TO THE FUNERAL. YOU DIDN'T GO TO THE FUNERAL. BUT HAVE ANYBODY ASKED THEM WHY DID THEY NOT ATTEND THE FUNERAL? AND THE ONES THAT'S POINTING FINGERS, MS. STOKES FAMILY WAS IN NEED FOR BURIAL MONEY. HOW MANY OF YOU DONATED [00:35:01] A DOLLAR? WE ARE ALL ADULTS. THEY DIDN'T WALK UP HERE AND SIT UP HERE. WE VOTED THEM IN MAJORITY, WE HAVE PEOPLE IN HIGHER POSITIONS. WE DON'T APPROVE OF THEM BEING THERE, BUT SOMEBODY VOTED ON IN. WE GOTTA WORK WITH THEM WHEN THEIR TERM IS UP. IF THEY HAVEN'T DONE WHAT WE EXPECT THEM TO DO AND SATISFIED, WE PUT SOMEBODY ELSE THERE. BUT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO WORK WITH THEM. THAT'S WHAT WE GOT. WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT. I LOOK AT THE PAGES, I DON'T AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THEY DO, BUT I HAVE TO WORK WITH 'EM. WHAT CAN WE DO SUMMONS THEM FOR CHANGE OR WE MAKE THE CHANGE. I CAN SAY THE SAME PEOPLE THAT I LOOK AT THE NAME CALLED THESE PEOPLE AND SAID THAT THEY WERE RACIST. AND PREJUDICE PERSONALLY MYSELF IN WARD TWO HAVE CALLED ON THEM AND ASKED THEM ABOUT CONDITIONS IN MY WARD. AND IT WAS THE SAME PEOPLE THAT PEOPLE CALLED RACISTS THAT STEPPED UP AND CAME THROUGH TO HELP PEOPLE IN MY WARD THAT NEEDED HELP. SO MY THING IS ASK PEOPLE WHAT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH BEFORE YOU JUDGE 'EM. SEE WHY THEY DIDN'T. HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU SEEN THAT THEY DIDN'T COME BY? ASK 'EM WHY THEY DIDN'T GO BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT PEOPLE GO THROUGH. I PROBABLY COULDN'T ATTEND MY MOM'S FUNERAL AS SHE DIED BECAUSE ALL I SEE IS MY SON LAID IN ACOT. SO Y'ALL WANNA JUDGE BUT START ASKING PEOPLE. AND I DO, I DON'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT THEM TAKING, TRYING TO TAKE THE RETIREMENT OF THE POLICE OFFICERS, BUT I NOW, ONCE MY SON GOT MURDERED, I SEE ALL THAT YOU GUYS DO AND WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE. AND I HOPE THEY CHANGED THEIR MIND ON THAT BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE DESERVING. YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW WHEN YOU GO LEAVE OUT THE DOOR IF YOU'RE COMING BACK IN. AND IT WASN'T UNTIL I HAD A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO SEE HOW MUCH TIME DID Y'ALL TAKE IN TO TRY TO GET THESE MURDERS SOLVED AND OTHER THINGS SOLVED. WHEN THE CITIZENS DON'T OPEN THEIR MOUTH, YOU OPENING YOUR MOUTH ABOUT THE WRONG THING. YOU'RE CLOSING YOUR DOORS ABOUT THE WRONG THINGS AND WE HAVE TO PULL TOGETHER. IT'S NOT ABOUT BLACK, WHITE, IT'S ABOUT US COMING TOGETHER. WE ALL LIVE IN THE CITY. THIS CITY BELONGS TO US. AND YES, I AGREE WE NEED TO TAKE OUR CITY BACK. I SEEN MR. HUNTER. I CAN REMEMBER AS A YOUNG GIRL, THE GUYS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA SELL YOUR HUNT. BIG HUNT ON BIG HUNT OUT JUST THE NAME. HIS NAME MADE A DIFFERENCE. YOU DON'T HEAR THAT TOO MUCH NOW WHEN THE OFFICERS LIKE THAT. AND THE CHIEF IS DOING GOOD WITH RECRUITING. I'M GLAD. AND THAT'S ALL I CAME TO SAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, DARLENE THOMPSON. DARLENE THOMPSON, WARD SIX. THANK YOU. UM, WHEN I WAS HERE IN NOVEMBER, I HAD BROUGHT UP ABOUT A LEAF PICKUP IN THE CITY. AND I DIDN'T SPECIFY BY WARDS, BUT I HAD BROUGHT THAT UP BEFORE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A LEAF PICKUP AND A CLEANUP IN THIS CITY BY WARDS. AND IT HAD FELT ON, HAS FELT FALLEN ON DEAF EARS. AND SO WHEN I CAME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL IN NOVEMBER, IT WAS BROUGHT UP, WELL YOU ALL ARE ABLE TO CALL. AND WHAT THEY DIDN'T SAY IS THAT IF YOU ARE NOT OVER A SENIOR, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. BUT LIKE THE GUY HAD BROUGHT UP THAT WE HAVE TWO SWEEPERS, WE HAVE, UM, THE STUFF FOR THE LEAF PICKUP. WHY ARE WE NOT UTILIZING THAT? WHY IS THE CITY TORE UP? WE HAVE THE BEAUTIFICATION, UM, COMMITTEES THAT SAID KEEP HOPEWELL BEAUTIFUL, BUT YET WE HAVE STUFF JUST SITTING THERE. YOU DON'T EVEN SEE TRUCKS OUT DOING THIS THE WINTER MONTHS. NO ONE IS NOT MOVING AROUND THE CITY. AND IF THEY ARE, THEY'RE UP THERE BY THE HIGH SCHOOL AND OVER THERE NEAR RIVERS BEEN. SO WE NEED TO START CLEANING UP OUR CITY. AND I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO KEEP COMING HERE BEFORE YOU ALL STRESSING THE SAME THING AND BEING IGNORED. OUR VOICES SHOULD BE HEARD IN THIS CITY. CERTAIN PEOPLE COME AND YOU ALL ARE QUICK TO GIVE THEM FINANCES AND IT'S NO FOLLOW THROUGH AS TO WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING TO IN THIS CITY TO TALK ABOUT TAKING THEIR RETIREMENT. [00:40:01] WHEN YOU ALL NEED TO START COMING TO THESE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS TO SEE WHERE THE MONEY IS. WE SET A BUDGET AND BY THE NEXT MONTH THEY ARE SPENDING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. STACEY GETS GET UP HERE AND SHE'S JUST LIKE, AND UH, LIKE SHE'S A, UM, DOING A A A, A AUCTION SPEAKING SO FAST THAT WE CANNOT FOLLOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS CITY WITH THE FINANCES. THE ONE THING THAT ROBERT BOB SAID, HE SAID, FOR YOU ALL TO BE TRANSPARENT WITH THE CITY'S FINANCES. AND WE GIVE YOU ALL A SEAT THERE AND YOU ALL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO THESE CITIZENS. AND WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO CONTINUE TO COME BEFORE YOU ALL. YES, YOU ALL HAVE TO MAKE HARD DECISIONS, BUT I HAVE BEEN COMING TO THESE MEETINGS SINCE 2018 AND I ONLY CAN TELL THE STORY BECAUSE I HAVE SET HERE AND YOU ALL COME OUT WHEN Y'ALL HAVE IMPORTANT ISSUES TO ADDRESS. BUT YOU ALL NEED TO COME OUT MORE OFTEN TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS CITY AND HOW THIS CITY COUNCIL CONDUCT BUSINESS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, MR. CITY MANAGER, WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO, UM, ADDRESS THE, UM, FOR US TO JUST LET THE CITIZENS KNOW THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, UM, CHANGING THAT RECOMMENDATION ON THE, THE RETIREE THING I THINK IS APPROPRIATE? YEAH. AND, AND WE WILL, UH, HAVE A FULL REPORT AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING. OKAY. THANK YOU. JUST WANNA SAY THAT. YEAH. ALRIGHT. UH, NEXT, UM, IRIS WALKER WORD FOUR. HI, GOOD EVENING HALL. I'M IRIS WALKER AND I LIVE IN WARD FOUR. UH, MY CONCERN ARE THE STREETS OF HOPEWELL CITY. I'VE LIVED HERE ALL OF MY ADULT LIFE AND I'VE NEVER SEEN SO MANY PATCHES AND POTHOLES. UM, AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT SYSTEM THAT PUBLIC WORKS OR WHO WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE STREETS. UM, EVEN COMING DOWN WEST BROADWAY, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR MAIN STREETS, THE BIKE LANES ARE CONFUSING AND IT COULD BE DANGEROUS. THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE ON THAT STREET, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PARK BEYOND THE BIKE LANE, BUT IF THEY DO, SOMEBODY WOULD GET HURT. SO I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THAT WOULD BE REPAIRED OR REDONE SO THAT THE BIKE LANES, I ONLY KNOW OF MAYBE SEEING TWO OR THREE PEOPLE RIDING A BIKE IN HOPEWELL. AND I THINK THAT WAS QUITE A WASTE. BUT, UM, AS A TAXPAYER, I DON'T KNOW WHERE OUR FUNDINGS ARE GOING FOR OUR STREETS. IF WE DRIVE CARS, WE NEED DECENT STREETS TO DRIVE ON. AND MOST OF THE STREETS IN HOPEWELL ARE IN TERRIBLE CONDITION. UM, I SEE SOME THAT ARE COMPLETELY PAVED. THEY'RE THE SHORTER STREETS. UM, I'M LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, DANVILLE, THIS ALL IS TERRIBLE. DANVILLE STREET, CITY POINT 21ST. I DID CALL ABOUT A POTHOLE TWO MONTHS AGO. I HAD TO CALL A SECOND TIME TO GET IT REPAIRED FOR A BIG, A BIG POTHOLE. SO I JUST NEED TO KNOW IF ANYBODY'S KEEPING TRACK OR IF IT'S A SYSTEM THAT PEOPLE CAN SAY, WHEN WAS THIS LAST? WHEN WAS THIS STREET PAVED LAST FULL, FULLY PAID? IF WE HAVE THE FUNDS FOR THAT. UM, I LOOKED AT THE BUDGET AND ON THE OPERATIONAL AND THE CAPITAL, UM, BUDGET, IT WAS SAYING SOMETHING. THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, REPAIRS. AND I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT HOPEWELL CITY CAN GET THEIR STREETS TAKEN CARE OF, YOU KNOW, LITTLE BY LITTLE MAYBE, BUT THEY NEED TO BE DONE COMPLETELY RATHER THAN PUTTING PATCHES ON THEM. AND IT'S KIND OF SHAMEFUL FOR OUR CITY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OURS. ALRIGHT. RIGHT. [REGULAR BUSINESS] OKAY. UM, WE WILL BEGIN, UM, CONSIDERATION OF REGULAR BUSINESS UNDER R ONE CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTMENTS AND CANDIDATES FOR WARD SIX, MR. BISSETTE. SURE. SO, UH, ON DECEMBER 23RD, UH, COUNSELOR STOKES PASSED, LEAVING THE COUNCIL SEAT FOR WARD SIX OPEN. UH, THE RELEVANT LAWS THAT APPLY HERE, THE HOPEWELL CITY CHARTER, UH, ARTICLE THREE AND [00:45:01] THEN, UH, PARTS OF, UH, TITLE 24.2 OF THE VIRGINIA CODE, UM, UNDER OUR CHARTER VACANCIES ARE FILLED BY THE REMAINING MEMBERS OF COUNCIL WITHIN 30 DAYS. UM, THAT, THAT, UH, APPOINTMENT LASTS THROUGH THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. SO IT WOULD, IT WOULD LAST UNTIL DECEMBER 31ST, 2026. UM, A SPECIAL ELECTION IS REQUIRED. UH, I I HAVE ALREADY PETITIONED THE CIRCUIT COURT AND GOTTEN A WRIT OF ELECTION FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT, UH, UNDER THE STATUTE THAT HAS TO BE ON THE NEXT ON, UH, AT THE SAME DATE AS THE NEXT REGULAR GENERAL ELECTION. SO AT THE NOVEMBER 3RD GENERAL ELECTION, UH, THERE WILL BE ON THE BALLOT, UH, A SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL THE WARD SIX SEAT FOR THE REMAINING TWO YEARS OF THAT TERM. SO CITY COUNCIL IS REQUIRED TO NAME THE, THE, THE, UH, COUNSELOR FOR THE BALANCE OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR. AND THEN ON NOVEMBER 3RD, UH, THE VOTERS IN WARD SIX WILL VOTE FOR SOMEBODY TO TAKE OVER THE REMAINING TWO YEARS OF, OF THAT TERM. UM, BEYOND THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT COUNSEL MAY HAVE. AND, UH, ONE, ONE OTHER, SORRY, ONE OTHER DETAIL. UH, SO WHAT THE, WHAT THE STATUTE REQUIRES IS THAT TO TONIGHT, AS CITY COUNCIL HAS DONE, UM, TO PUBLISH THE NAMES AND THE RESUMES OF, OF FOLKS WHO ARE BEING CONSIDERED FOR APPOINTMENT FOR THAT POSITION, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENED ALREADY. AND THEN SEVEN DAYS FROM NOW, UH, SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE, UH, SPECIAL JOINT MEETING WITH THE HOPEWELL REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AUTHORITY, BEFORE BOTH BODIES SIT TOGETHER, UH, THIS COUNCIL WILL BE CALLED UPON TO, TO VOTE ON ONE OF THOSE NOMINEES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. BASSETT. UM, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO, SCHOOL HVAC FUNDING UPDATE. MR. TAYLOR AND MR. SANDERSON. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. THANK Y'ALL FOR HAVING ME. I'M RT TAYLOR WITH CRUZ AND ASSOCIATES. I THINK JIMMY IS, UH, HAD A CONFLICT THIS EVENING. HE'S FROM DAVENPORT AT THE CITY'S ADVISOR. SO I'M ON THE FINANCING SIDE JUST LIKE, UH, WHEN I WAS HERE FOR Y ALL OVER THE SUMMER. UH, AND THEN WE SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED ON THE, THE GEO BOND FUNDING IN, UM, THE NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME. I BELIEVE IT IS NOVEMBER 19TH. SO MM-HMM . UH, JUST I THINK TONIGHT IS SIMPLY AN UPDATE. LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SCHOOLS. IN FACT, I WAS AT THE BOARD MEETING LAST MONTH WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD. UH, WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION. UM, WE ARE LOOKING, AGAIN, VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID WITH THE CITY. UM, LOOKING AT MULTIPLE OPTIONS JUST LIKE WE DID WITH Y'ALL. UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT PUBLIC SALE OF BONDS TO ACCESS THE PUBLIC MARKETS, WHICH AT TIMES ARE LOWER INTEREST RATES THAN WHAT YOU CAN GET FROM BANKS. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT BANKS THROUGH A DIRECT BANK LOAN OR PRIVATE PLACEMENT APPROACH. UH, ONE DISTINCTION HERE, YOU, YOU ALL MAY RECALL WHEN WE DID THE CITY PROJECTS FINANCING, UM, LAST YEAR, WE DID IT THROUGH YOUR GENERAL OBLIGATION PLEDGE, WHICH IS THE FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF THE CITY BACKED BY YOUR, BASICALLY YOUR A TAXES. AND THIS PARTICULAR CASE, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT AN OPTION WHERE WE CAN DO AN APPROPRIATION BACK THAT'S THE ANNUAL PROMISE TO BUDGET FOR THE DEBT SERVICE ON A FINANCING, AS WELL AS SECURE THAT WITH OTHER COLLATERAL BEING THE EQUIPMENT THAT IS BEING PURCHASED FOR THE HVAC SYSTEM. UM, OR A SUBSTITUTE PIECE OF COLLATERAL THAT THE CITY OR THE SCHOOLS MAY WANT TO PUT UP. SO ALL THAT IS BEING BAKED IN TO KEEP ALL THE VIABLE OPTIONS ON THE TABLE AND WE'LL BE ASSESSING WHAT THE INTEREST RATES FOR THOSE PARTICULAR OPTIONS COULD BE SO THAT AT SOME GIVEN POINT IN TIME, COORDINATING WITH STAFF, COORDINATING WITH YOUR ADVISOR, UH, WILL COME BACK TO COUNSEL HERE AS WELL AS THE SCHOOL BOARD, UM, TO MAKE A FINAL DETERMINATION WHEN, WHEN THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD, SO TO SPEAK. OKAY. I'M HAPPY TO AN ANSWER. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FINANCING? I THINK THE ONE KEY ITEM TO RELATED TO WHY WE'RE EVALUATING THE GENERAL OBLIGATION PLEDGE VERSUS THE LEASE IS BECAUSE UNDER [00:50:01] VIRGINIA CODE, AS YOU ARE PROBABLY WELL AWARE, CITIES ARE LIMITED TO WHAT THEY CALL THE LEGAL DEBT LIMIT. SO 10% OF JUST YOUR REAL ESTATE ASSESSED VALUES WOULD BE YOUR LEGAL DEBT LIMIT. AND THEN YOU BACK OUT ANY POTENTIAL GEO DEBT WHICH YOU HAVE OUTSTANDING TO GET TO YOUR LEGAL DEBT MARGIN. OKAY. SO IF YOU BORROW AND ISSUE ADDITIONAL GEO BONDS FOR THE SCHOOL SIDE WHEN IT'S EQUIPMENT BASED, UM, YOU COULD P POTENTIALLY BE TAKING, UH, ANOTHER NOTCH OUT OF YOUR GEO LEGAL DEBT LIMIT. RIGHT? SO WE WANT TO BE COGNIZANT OF THAT BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT LONG TERM THE CITY DOES HAVE PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON. YES. OUR PROJECTS FOR INSTANCE, WE DON'T WANT TO NECESSARILY, UM, DIVERT YOUR LEGAL DEBT CAPACITY FROM THE GO SIDE FOR CITY PROJECTS TO OTHER PLACES. AND THAT COULD BE EASILY FINANCED THROUGH SOMETHING THAT'S APPROPRIATION BACKED AND A COLLATERAL BACKED. OKAY. MAKES SENSE. OKAY. SO ALL THAT'S GONNA BE BROUGHT BACK TO YOU AT SOME POINT SOON. I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE TIME WOULD BE. I KNOW THAT, UM, THE SCHOOLS, I THINK THEY'RE, EVERYBODY'S BEING COMMUNICATIVE, WHICH IS A GREAT, GREAT SIGN MM-HMM . UM, BUT I THINK SOMETIME IN THE, CALL IT LATE, LATE WINTER, EARLY SPRING TIME PERIOD. SO FEBRUARY, MARCH TIMEFRAME, I THINK THE SPRING WILL BE. AND I WOULD LOOK TO MR. ROGERS OR MS. JORDAN TO FINE TUNE THAT FOR YOU IF YOU NEED TO. ALRIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS, COUNSEL QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. WE APPRECIATE YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. EXCUSE ME, CANDIDATE. YEAH. OKAY. YEAH, YEAH. YES SIR. SOMEBODY, UH, NOT TO BE COULDN'T GO RIGHT NOW, BUT I HAD SIGNED THE CITIZEN'S COMMENT SHEET. I DIDN'T HAVE, UH, MY NAME WAS MISSING, THE ONE TOOK THE DETAIL. I WAS AT THE VERY END BEHIND, UH, SOMEONE BY NAME IS WALKER. MY NAME IS DO OH, I SEE IT. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY. I APOLOGIZE. I SEE IT NOW. PLEASE. BY ALL MEANS, COME RIGHT UP, SIR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I SEE IT RIGHT NOW. GOOD EVENING AGAIN. SORRY. ITS AT THE VERY BOTTOM IN A LITTLE WRITING. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS LARRY DOEY. I'M FROM WARD FOUR. OKAY. AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK ON THE, UH, POPWELL SCHOOL SYSTEM. OKAY. UH, WE ARE PRESENTLY UNDER THE, UH, BALANCE CALENDAR, WHICH SOME IS KNOWN AS THE YEAR ROUND SCHOOL SYSTEM. AND FOR THE PAST, I GUESS FIVE YEARS, I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT DATA SINCE 2021 WHEN THIS, UH, PROGRAM WAS IMPLEMENTED HERE IN ALL WHEEL. AND, UH, WE HAVE DEFINITELY BEEN FAILING. OUR SCORES ARE WELL BELOW IN THE, UH, STATE STANDARD SCORES AND IT'S LIKE WE JUST HAVEN'T SERIOUSLY LOOKED AT THE MATTER OF MAYBE TRYING TO REVERSE COURSE, TRYING TO GO BACK TO THE STANDARD WAY OF, UH, DOING OUR SCHOOL BUSINESS UP IN OUR TRADITIONAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. WE ARE THE ONLY ONE IN THIS AREA THAT'S GOT ALL OUR SCHOOLS UP INTO THIS SYSTEM. AND ALL OUR SCHOOLS ARE FAILING EVERY ONE OF 'EM. ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL. UM, THE STATE HAD JUST COME OUT WITH A NEW, UH, FOR THE SCHOOLS, UH, GOVERNOR GLENN YOUNG. MM-HMM . UH, AND THIS BROKE DOWN IN ABOUT FOUR DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. AND OUT OF THOSE FOUR CATEGORIES, OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS ROCK BOTTOM, ROCK BOTTOM. AND I JUST WANT YOU TO, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, SIR, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE ARE FAILING OUR KIDS. YOU KNOW, WE THINK EVERYTHING IS GOING GOOD, BUT IT'S NOT, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE KIDS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, GRANDKIDS OR WHATEVER, BUT IT IS A VERY BIG CONCERN RIGHT NOW. AND I THINK WE ALL NEED TO LOOK AT IT, WHAT'S SUPPOSED TO BEEN THE MODEL FOR THIS PROGRAM. BUT I DON'T SEE NO ONE FOLLOWING US. 'CAUSE I THINK THEY LOOKING AT US AND SAYING, HEY, NO, WE DON'T WANNA TAKE THAT ROUTE. MM-HMM . SO I THINK THAT WE JUST NEED TO LOOK AT THAT. AND I GO OUT ON THE INTERNET AND I CAN LOOK AT THINGS AND I SEE THINGS WHERE CITIZENS, I MEAN WHERE PEOPLE ARE MAKING COMMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, BASED ON OUR GRADES, UH, SCHOOL GRADES OR THE NO, THE, UH, ASSESSMENT, UH, LEVELS HERE IN HOPEWELL, THEY'RE CHOOSING TO GO TO OTHER JURISDICTIONS, CHESTERFIELD AND RECO, EVEN PETERSBURG. NOW, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 30 YEARS. I HAD KIDS THAT GRADUATED THROUGH THE HOPE WHEEL SCHOOL SYSTEM, RETIRED MILITARY. AND THAT WAS ONE OF MY MAJOR REASONS WHEN I CAME OUT OF THE MILITARY AND MOVED INTO A JURIS UH, UH, LOCALITY, I PICKED HOPEWELL BECAUSE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM WAS EXCELLENT. MM-HMM . WE, AND WE WAS ABOVE STANDARDS AND NOT DEFINITELY RIGHT THERE WITH THE, WITH THE, WITH THE STANDARDS THAT'S BEING HAD MET. BUT TO FAIL FOR FIVE YEARS, THAT'S NOT GOOD, IS NOT LOOKING AT THIS. AND I BEG AND [00:55:01] I ASK THAT YOU PEOPLE LOOK INTO THIS AND I WANT TO QUOTE DR. HACKLEY, SHE SAID THAT WHEN THEY VOTED FOR THIS, THAT SHE BELIEVED WITH NO CON WITH NO DOUBT IN HER MIND THAT THIS WOULD BE THE RIGHT SYSTEM FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THAT SHE WOULD NOT LET IT FAIL. BUT FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE'VE BEEN FAILING AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO FAIL. WE'RE FALLING DEEP IN TROUBLE. AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT FOR THE GRACE OF OUR KIDS. I GOT A GRANDSON THAT'S GETTING READY TO HOPEFULLY PROBABLY COME INTO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN, UH, ABOUT A YEAR FROM NOW. BUT I'M, LIKE I SAY, GIVE A DEEP CONSIDERATION NOW TO MAYBE PUT 'EM IN A PRIVATE SCHOOL. 'CAUSE I WANT THE BEST FOR 'EM. AND I THINK ALL OF US ARE CITIZEN WITH THE BEST FOR OUR KIDS. AND I JUST ASK THAT YOU LOOK INTO THAT GET WITH WHOEVER IT IS, WE MAY NEED TO GO FROM TOP TO BOTTOM TO CHANGE THIS. WE MAY NEED TO PUT IN A NEW DIRECTOR. I MEAN A NEW SUPERINTENDENT OR SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW. BUT WE NEED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. AND IT IS JUST LIKE US LOOKING AT TV EVERY DAY. WE GET TIRED OF LOOKING AT RERUNS. IT'S LIKE WHY THEY PAYING CABLE? WE KEEP LOOKING AT ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, RERUNS. SO I, I LOOK AT THIS AS THE SAME. OKAY. FOR FIVE YEARS WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT RERUNS AND WE ARE NOT MOVING UP. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE'RE MOVING DOWN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO I ASKED IF WE LOOK AT THIS AND HOPEFULLY IN THE 26TH, 27TH SCHOOL YEAR, YEAR THAT THERE'LL BE A CHANGE. OKAY. THAT WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR TRADITIONAL SCHOOL SYSTEM, LIKE OTHER LOCALITIES ARE. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND NOT ONLY ARE THERE A SEAT STANDARDS, A LOT OF 'EM ARE SEEN ABOVE STANDARDS. RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. JOHNSON. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT SENIOR NAME, SORRY ABOUT THAT. OKAY. UM, ALRIGHT. WE HAVE A LOT OF PUBLIC HEARINGS TONIGHT. UM, STARTING OFF WITH, UM, R THREE SEWER RATE INCREASE AND STACY JORDAN, OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, WILL BE PRESENTING EVENING AGAIN VICE MAYOR. MEMBERS OF COUNCIL CHALLENGES FACING THE UTILITIES ARE AGE INFRASTRUCTURE, LARGE CAPITAL NEEDS A DECLINE IN CAPITAL USAGE, HIGH INFLATION. LAST SEWER USER CHARGE INCREASE WAS IN 2017 AND THERE ARE INSUFFICIENT REVENUES TO COVER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT NEEDS. THIS WAS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED BY RALPH TILLIS, THE OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS THAT PERFORMED THE RATE STUDY FOR THE CITY OF HOPEWELL BACK IN AUGUST. AND IT WAS BROUGHT BEFORE COUNSEL THEN. UM, AND A SECOND READING WAS DONE THE FOLLOWING MONTH. THIS IS JUST, UH, PUTTING IT BACK ON THE CALENDAR TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PUBLIC HEARING PIECE OF IT. THE BIGGEST THING WHEN IT COMES TO THE SEWER RATE STUDY IS THE FACT THAT, AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, I CAN TURN AROUND TO THE POLICE. YOU TALKED TO THE PLEASE. YOU DO IT. SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS IS AS YOU GO THROUGHOUT, YOU HAVE YOUR REVENUES AND EXPENSES, EXPENSES CONTINUE TO GO THIS WAY AND YOUR REVENUES HAVE BEEN STAYING THE SAME. SO AT SOME POINT IN TIME THEY'RE GONNA COME TO A HEAD. AND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY OF HOPEWELL. THERE ARE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS WITHIN THE CITY AND ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE SEWER. WE HAVE ABOUT, I THINK IT'S 19 PUMP STATIONS. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF 'EM THAT WE, UM, ARE GONNA TAKE CARE OF ON OUR GEO BONDS THAT WE JUST GOT. BUT WE STILL HAVE TRADI A TREMENDOUS NEED FOR IMPROVEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS FAR AS THE PUMP STATIONS ARE CONCERNED. SO THIS, THIS INCREASE OF $5 AND 20 CENTS TO YOUR BILL IS TO PUSH THROUGH THE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED WITHIN THE CITY OF HOPE FOR THE STUDENT. OKAY. OKAY. UM, COUNSELORS, DO YOU HAVE ANY, BEFORE I OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? YES. COULD YOU ESTIMATE FOR THE INCREASE IN REVENUE AS A RESULT OF THE CHANGE? LET'S SEE. I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE IT ON THIS PRESENTATION, BUT I CAN SURE ENOUGH BRING IT BACK. UM, MAJORITY OF THE INCREASE OF THE REVENUE WILL GO SPECIFICALLY TO CAPITAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE. IT'S NOT GOING FOR SALARIES OR BENEFITS OR ANYTHING LIKE IT'S SPECIFICALLY GOING TO CAPITAL. THE NEEDS IN THE CITY OF COCO ARE, BUT I WILL BRING THAT INFORMATION BACK. MS. JORDAN, CAN YOU PLEASE WHAT I THINK SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE ADDITIONAL IMPACT ANNUALLY ON THE AVERAGE CONSUMER'S? I DON'T HAVE THE ANNUAL NUMBER, BUT AGAIN, MONTHLY, MONTHLY, MONTHLY, MONTHLY IS $5 AND 20 CENTS. ADDITIONAL. FIVE AND 20 CENTS, YOU'RE YES. THE THE LOWEST BILL IS $13. AND SOME CHANGE, IT'LL BE $18 SOME CHANGE. NOW, WHEN THIS ORIGINALLY WAS PRESENTED BEFORE THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL BACK IN AUGUST, IF IT WAS A SHEET THAT SHOWED ACROSS THE LOCALITIES IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, HOPEWELL WAS THE LOWEST FOR SEWER RATES. WE [01:00:01] WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST FOR SEWER RATE CHARGES. AND AGAIN, THE CITY HASN'T INCREASED ANY RATES SINCE 2017. THE POPULATION'S ONLY 25, 29. BUT COMPARED TO OUR COUNTERPARTS LIKE COLONIAL HEIGHTS AND PETERSBURG, WE, WE ARE THE LOWEST. THEY COMPARED US AGAINST LOCALITIES SIMILAR TO OURS. AND WE WERE AT THE BOTTOM. AS FAR AS RATES YOUR POPULATION HIGHER, THEY ARE A LITTLE HIGHER. HOWEVER, OURS WAS STILL THE LOWEST. SO IT SIMILARITIES IN LOCALITIES. SO MAKE MAKE SURE, SO THE ANNUAL, SO THE IMPACT TO THE AVERAGE, SO THE PEOPLE, THE CITIZENS IN THIS CITY CAN, EXCUSE ME FOR ONE SECOND. VICE MAYOR, CAN YOU GO UP A SLIDE? YES. AND CAN YOU INCREASE THAT AT ALL? DOES IT SHOW IT ON THIS ONE OR IS IT THAT NEXT? LEMME SEE. OKAY. YES IT DOES. SCROLL OVER SOME. SO YOU SEE THE AVERAGE BILL FOR 2200 USAGE IS $13 AND 14 CENTS. THE PROPOSED IS 1840. OKAY? MM-HMM . THE PROPOSED RATE IS GONNA BE $18 AND 47, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF $5 AND 46 CENTS. OKAY? OKAY. OKAY. AND YOU GO DOWN, YOU SEE THE, THE, THE INCREASE IS GOING DOWN. YES. SO YES MA'AM. YOU'RE LOOKING AT LESS THAN $10 PER MONTH? YES. I MEAN, IN SOME CASES, YEAH. ROUGHLY HALF, $6. MM-HMM . ABOUT $5. OKAY. YES. ALL RIGHT. ANYBODY ELSE? ANY COUNSELORS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. I'M GONNA OPEN UP A PUBLIC HEARING AND WE DO HAVE SOME PEOPLE HERE TO SPEAK. UM, FIRST IS MARK BURROWS, SAME AS BEFORE. MARK BOROUGHS. WARD THREE. YES SIR. UM, I'M NOT A FINANCE GUY. I DON'T KNOW DEPUTY SQUAT ABOUT HOW BUDGETS WORK AND MONEY WORKS AND ALL THAT STUFF. I KNOW I MAKE THE MONEY, I GIVE IT TO MY WIFE. SHE, SHE, SHE TELLS ME HOW MUCH OF IT I CAN HAVE BACK. WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS FOR YEARS THE CITIZENS OF HOPEWELL HAVE BEEN PAYING THESE FEES AND TAXES AND SO FORTH AND SO ON. AND THIS MONEY HAS BEEN MISAPPROPRIATED, MISUSED, NOT USED PROPERLY TO MAINTAIN THESE SYSTEMS, THESE ROADWAYS, THESE SCHOOL SYSTEMS. AND NOW THE CITY OF HOPEWELL WANTS TO LOOK AT THE CITIZENS AND SAY, OH, WE NEED A REDO. BUT IN ORDER TO DO DO A REDO, WE NEED TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE TAKING FROM YOU. I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT IT'S ONLY $5, BUT IT'S $5 THROUGH THIS, THIS FEE AND $5 THROUGH A STORM WATER FEE AND $5 THROUGH A TRASH FEE AND POINT WHATEVER PERCENT THROUGH A A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE. AND BY THE TIME IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, WE'VE BEEN NICKELED AND DYING TO DEATH AS THE CITIZENRY OF HOPEWELL. AND WE STILL AIN'T SEEING NOTHING FOR IT. Y'ALL KEEP PROMISING US THE WORLD, BUT WE AIN'T SEEING NOTHING OTHER THAN PROJECTS, SOME MUNICIPAL PROJECTS BEING COMPLETED. BUT THE BIG STUFF'S BEING KICKED DOWN THE ROAD. Y'ALL JUST TALKED ABOUT A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, SOME $15 MILLION BOND. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS TALKED ABOUT FOR THAT WAS TO FIX THE SCHOOL HVAC SYSTEM. BUT NOW THIS GENTLEMAN'S TALKING ABOUT SOME, USING SOME GEO BOND FOR THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE SAME OR NOT. 'CAUSE I'M NOT A FINANCE GUY. BUT IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE TAKING A BOND FOR 15 MILLION, PUTTING US IN DEBT AS A CITY AND TELLING US IT'S FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS, THE RULES AND THE HVAC, BUT THEN YOU'RE TAKING ANOTHER BOND TO FIX THE HVAC, THERE'S A PROBLEM THERE. AND THAT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THIS IS. Y'ALL PROMISED US 20 YEARS AGO, 15 YEARS AGO, HOWEVER MANY YEARS AGO, YOU'RE GOING TO FIX THE SEWER SYSTEM. NOW YOU'RE TELLING US YOU NEED MORE MONEY TO DO IT. PEOPLE IN HOPEWELL AIN'T GOT THAT MUCH MONEY SITTING AROUND $5, $6. I UNDERSTAND THAT. IT'S A PACK OF CIGARETTES. IT'S, IT'S CHEAPER THAN A SIX PACK OF BEER THAT HALF THE FOLKS IN THIS ROOM'S GOING TO GO HOME AND DRINK THIS EVENING. I APPRECIATE THAT FACT. BUT $5 HERE, $10 THERE, $12 THERE. IT ALL ADDS UP. AND PEOPLE'S GOING TO BE OUT OF THEIR HOMES AND OUT ON THE STREET. AND THEN Y'ALL GOING TO SIT THERE WONDERING HOW YOU'RE GOING TO DEAL WITH THE DESOLATE FOLKS PROBLEM. PICK YOUR PRIORITIES. STOP ROBBING THE PEOPLE, STOP WASTING MONEY ON STUPID THINGS LIKE A TREASURER INCREASE, SALARY INCREASE WHEN HE CAMPAIGNED FOR THE DAMN POSITION AT THE SALARY IT WAS AT. HE ASKED FOR IT. HE ASKED US TO HIRE HIM AT THAT RATE. SO STOP GIVING OUR MONEY AWAY TO ALL THESE OTHER FRIVOLOUS THINGS AND FOCUS ON WHAT WE HIRED Y'ALL TO FOCUS ON. PLEASE. THANK YOU. UH, LAURA GREENWOOD. [01:05:03] OKAY. LAURA GREENWOOD FROM WARD SIX. YES MA'AM. I'M HERE TO SPEAK IN REGARDS TO THE UTILITY INCREASE AS WELL. MM-HMM . AND I SECOND MARK AND I SECOND THAT GENTLEMAN BACK THERE IN REGARDS TO THE WARD DEAL. WE'LL GET TO THAT LATER. UM, BUT YOU'VE GOT TWO 22,529 POPULATION IN HOPEWELL. THAT WAS UH, 2025. YOU GOT RESIDENTIAL HOMES 9,418. A NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS UNITS IS 10,434. AND YOU MULTIPLY THAT BY THE UTILITY BILL, WHICH IS 44.05 PER MONTH. THAT'S $30 91 CENTS BECAUSE WE CONTRACT THAT UP AND 1314 FOR THE SEWER, WHICH YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT $5 MORE ON THAT. YOU WENT UP $8 ON THE TRASH BECAUSE YOU WENT WITH A NEW COMPANY. YOU ALSO HAVE DONE THIS IS NOW YOU'RE NOT DOING THIS BILLING IN HOUSE. AND WE HAVE OVER 201 EMPLOYEES, CITY EMPLOYEES THAT WE ALREADY PAY THEIR SALARY AND THEIR, AND THEIR BENEFITS. NOW WE GOTTA SEND OUR MONEY OUT TO TEXAS. SO YOU CONTRACTED THIS BILL OUT TO CON TO TO TEXAS NOW. SO THAT'S AN INCREASE BECAUSE THEY GOTTA MAKE SOME MONEY AND YOU CONTRACT OUT OF THE CITY. THAT'S MONEY FOR SOMEBODY ELSE. THAT'S TAXPAYER'S MONEY. SO I TOLD Y'ALL LAST TIME, DON'T MAKE ME GO THERE 'CAUSE I WILL. AND I'M NOT APPRECIATIVE OF THIS. 414 TO WAIT A MINUTE. 414, 400 14,863 AND 459,618. THAT IS JUST FOR ONE MONTH. OKAY. ADD IT UP TIMES IT BY 12. DO WHAT YOU WANT. I'M NOT GONNA DO YOUR MATH FOR YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CAN I JUST SOMETHING REAL QUICK. THE CITY OF OAKWELL NEVER DID UTILITY BILLING AS FAR AS I'M AWARE IN-HOUSE IT WAS ALREADY ALWAYS OUTSOURCED TO A OUTSIDE VENDOR. WE JUST CHANGED REPRESENTATIVES DUE TO SOME ISSUES WITH THEM SERVICES. I UNDERSTAND THAT STACY. BUT THE THING IS, IS YOU GOT 201 APPROXIMATELY IF NOT MORE. 'CAUSE I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A , UM, EMPLOYEES ADDED IN THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS, BUT THAT'S APPROXIMATE AND THERE'S SURELY TWO PEOPLE THAT WERE ALREADY PAYING FOR THAT CAN PROCESS THESE BILLS. SO WHEN IT COMES TO UTILITY BILLING WITHOUT, WITHOUT SENDING IT OUTSIDE IN THE CONTRACT WHEN IT COMES TO UTILITY BILLING, IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS JUST CALCULATING THE BILLING. YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMEBODY TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO CALCULATE OUT THE CONSUMPTIONS AS WELL AS METER READING. OUR METERS ARE OWNED BY VIRGINIA AMERICAN BORDER, SO WE WOULD HAVE TO GET THE INFORMATION FROM THEM AND THEN REP PROCESS THE BILLING. BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY AND COUNCIL HAS WANTS TO DO MOVING FORWARD. BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO BUILD IT OUT WITHIN A SYSTEM, CURRENTLY USE UNITS, AND THAT IS A SIX MONTH TO A YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO IT IN HOUSE. WELL, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU OUGHT TO REALLY CONSIDER DOING BECAUSE WE'RE ALREADY PAYING OUR TAXPAYERS MONEY ARE ALREADY GOING TO THIS POINT. WE UNDERSTAND. SO NOW YOU HAVE, WE'RE HAVING TO TAKE OUR TAXPAYERS MONEY AND PAY A CONTRACTOR TO DO THE JOB. IT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS BEING PAID BEFORE. THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL, UM, THERE'S GOTTA BE A DIFFERENCE BECAUSE THEY GOTTA MAKE A PROFIT. WELL, THE OTHER COMPANY WAS MAKING A PROFIT AS WELL. WELL, THEY ALL ARE. AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE DONE IN HOUSE. UM, VICE MAYOR, IT SHOULD BE DONE IN HOUSE. WE GOT THE EMPLOYEES TO DO IT. SHE'S SAYING WE'RE LOOKING UNTIL WE'RE LOOKING AT IT. HIRE MORE EMPLOYEES IN ORDER TO DO UTILITY BILLING. THERE IS NOBODY IN THE CITY THAT CAN DO THE CONSUMPTION OR THE CALCULATIONS FOR THE UTILITY BILLING. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS RUNNING BEFORE I BOUGHT, I USED TO BRING MY BILL HERE TO CITY HALL TO PAY THE PAYMENT, TO MAKE THE PAYMENT, AND IT WAS DONE RIGHT THERE. WELL, YOU TOOK, THE PAYMENTS ARE ACCEPTED IN HOUSE, BUT AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL BILLING, IT'S NOT GONNA CORRECT. BUT THE PAYMENTS ARE ACCEPTED IN. THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. OKAY. STACY, IT'S, IS THIS OKAY, JUST CAN YOU ALSO CLARIFY WHICH AIR CONDITIONING UNIT WAS BEING FIXED WITH THE, WITH THE BOMB? THE HVAC? YEAH, SO THE HVAC, THE 15 MILLION WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR PROJECTS WITHIN THE CITY OF HOPEWELL. WHAT RT WAS UP TALKING ABOUT TODAY WAS HVAC PROJECTS FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. THE MONIES THAT THE CITY BORROWED, THE 15 MILLION WAS PARTICULARLY FOR HAC UNITS HERE WITHIN THE CITY OF THE COURTHOUSE, CITY HALL, AND A COUPLE OF OTHER BUILDINGS. IT WAS NOT FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AT ALL. WELL, AND I'M SORRY IF I'M SPEAKING OUT OF TURN MY, MY APOLOGIES, [01:10:01] BUT IF Y'ALL WERE GONNA RESPOND, I, I'D LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO AS WELL, IN MY HONEST OPINION, ELECTED OFFICIALS, CITY OFFICIALS, WHETHER WELL, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, UM, WHETHER IT'S CITY LEVEL, STATE, FEDERAL, YOU DESERVE NOTHING THAT THE AVERAGE CITIZEN OF THE CITY IN WHICH YOU WORK, OR THE MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH YOU WORK DOESN'T PROCEED. SO, LESS THAN 50% OF THE CITIZENS IN THIS CITY CAN AFFORD TO PUT A NEW AC UNIT IN THEIR BEDROOM. THIS, THIS SUMMER. Y'ALL SHOULDN'T GET ANY NEW AC UNIT WORK FOR US. IF YOU WANTED A NEW AC UNIT, REALISTICALLY DO BETTER AT YOUR JOBS, YOU'LL REALLY DO AC UNIT. IT TOOK THE WHOLE CITY TO GROW. EVERYBODY GOING ENJOY. I SEE WHERE THEY, OKAY, SO THERE'S A LOT OF EQUIPMENT WITHIN THE CITY THAT IF THEY DON'T KEEP IT CLEAN OR HEATED TO SPECIFIC TEMPERATURE, IT, THEY DAMAGE IT. AND THAT COST THE CITY MORE. I, I UNDERSTAND THAT. I'M NOT TRYING TO BE, I PROMISE YOU I'M NOT. WE OUTSOURCE 90% OF WHAT THE CITY DOES TO PRIVATE CONTRACTORS AND WE PAY THEM TO DO IT. I DUNNO IF WE PAY THEM MORE, BUT WE PAY THEM TO DO IT. THANK YOU MR. BUR, TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT. NOT SUPPOSED TO PAY MORE, BECAUSE OUR, WE HAVE TO CHOOSE THE THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. THANKS. I APPRECIATE THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE YOUR, THAT'S, WE'VE GOTTEN, YEAH. IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO FINANCE CITY, MY EXTENSION IS 1 7 3. PLEASE, BY ALL MEANS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ME ONE SEVEN THREE. MM-HMM . YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, STACY. YEAH. AND IT, AND WE ARE STRIVING, WE DO, WE ARE STRIVING FOR TRANSPARENCY. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THESE OPEN FINANCE, SO-CALLED FINANCE COMMITTEE. IT'S THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. AND FOR MANY YEARS THERE WAS NO, THERE WAS NO TRANSPARENCY. AND, UH, SO WE ARE COMMITTED TO THAT AND WE ARE MAKING TREMENDOUS STRIDES. AND I WILL SPEAK THAT FOR THOSE THINGS PEOPLE ARE QUESTIONING, WHY HAVEN'T CERTAIN THINGS BEEN DONE WAS BECAUSE THE FINANCES WERE NOT, THERE WAS NO TRANSPARENCY AND THERE WERE THINGS BEING DONE THAT PERHAPS WEREN'T BEING MONITORED AS CLOSELY AS THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN. AND THAT'S NOT WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW. SO MOVING RIGHT ALONG, UH, MR. HOUSER, UM, HEAD HOUSER, WARD FIVE, I'M NOT GONNA GO ALL BACK THROUGH THE THINGS THAT MR. BURROWS JUST SAID TO Y'ALL, BECAUSE A LOT OF WHAT I HAD TO SAY WILL MATCH UP DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR OR WHAT HE HAD TO SAY. I BENEFIT A LOT OF MY TIME HERE IN THE CITY HELPING ORGANIZATIONS WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE ISSUES WITH, UH, FOOD INSECURITIES AND SO FORTH. AND I'VE NOTICED HERE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE GROUPS ARE GETTING BIGGER AND BIGGER. WELL, A LOT OF IT'S GOT TO DO WITH WHAT WE GOT GOING ON HERE. WHAT MR. BURROWS JUST SAID, THIS NICKEL AND DIME STUFF. WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVING ON THE MEANS AND BELOW THE MEANS, NICKEL AND DIME MIGHT NOT SOUND LIKE MUCH TO YOU. DOES THAT HURT? THAT $5 HURT YOU WITH WHAT YOU BRING IN A MONTH? NO, BUT THAT $5 IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOME PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO HAVE MEDICATIONS, BEING ABLE TO AFFORD FOOD, YOU KNOW, BAD PLANNING, BAD BUDGETING OF MONEY HAS PUT US WHERE WE'RE AT. YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO CUT THE FAT AND SPEND MONEY ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE SPENT. QUIT GIVING MONEY TO EVERYBODY WHO WALKS IN HERE WITH THEIR HANDOUT WANTING SOMETHING. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THEM, THEY DON'T DESERVE WHAT THEY GET. AND THEN SOME OF THEM, YEAH, YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S OUTLANDISH THE MONEY. Y'ALL PAY PEOPLE FOR MISCELLANEOUS STUFF, YOU KNOW, AND YOU CAN'T KEEP TAKING THESE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE IT TO GIVE AND KEEP NICKEL AND DIAMOND THE MONEY OUT OF THEIR POCKETS WHEN MORTGAGE RATES WENT UP, GUESS WHAT? HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE WENT UP WITH THAT TOO. THAT WAS A SNOWBALL. A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE ARE HURTING. Y'ALL NEED TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. EVERY TIME YOU RAISE A BILL AROUND HERE, A LOT OF PEOPLE CAN'T TAKE IT. THANK YOU, MR. HOUSER. OKAY. DARLENE THOMPSON. DARLENE THOMPSON BOARD SIX. UM, WHAT THEY FAILED TO TELL YOU ALL IS THAT YEAR BEFORE LAST, THIS CITY COUNCIL CAME BEFORE US AND THEY SAID THAT THEY WERE BROKE. THEY INFLATED. THE ROB OR BOB GROUP INFLATED THE BUDGET BY $7.2 MILLION OF $7.1 MILLION. THEY HAVE GOTTEN THAT $7.1 MILLION THE LAST THREE YEARS. BUT WHAT THEY DID IS INCREASED SALARIES, UM, BROUGHT ASSISTANCE. [01:15:01] CHARLES BENNETT GOT AN ASSISTANT. YOUR CITY MAN, CITY ATTORNEY GOT AN ASSISTANT AND A PARALEGAL. ALL OF OUR MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT RECKLESSLY. THE ROBERT BOB GROUP WALKED OUT OF HERE WITH ONE YEAR OF SERVING AND WITH $3.3 MILLION. THAT'S WHY I TELL YOU ALL TO COME TO YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS. MR. ROGERS IS MAKING $21,000 A MONTH. OKAY? NOT A YEAR, NOT EVERY THREE MONTHS. HE GETS THAT A MONTH UP TO $250,000 A YEAR. AND NOW THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A CITY MANAGER. THEY DON'T STOP SPENDING OUR MONEY RECKLESSLY. AND I ONLY KEEP TELLING Y'ALL THE STORY BECAUSE I HAVE SAT HERE AND I HAVE SEEN HOW THEY SPEND OUR MONEY. THEY SET A BUDGET, AND RIGHT AFTER THE BUDGET IS SET, NOT EVEN THE NEXT MONTH, THEY ONLY HAVE ONE MEETING IN JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER. BUT EVERY MONTH THEY ARE INCREASING. PEOPLE ARE WALKING IN HERE AND THEY'RE GIVING THEM THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. EVEN WHEN THE CITIZENS CALL THEM AND SAY, WE, Y'ALL SHOULDN'T BE DOING THAT. OUR VOICES ARE NOT BEING HEARD HERE. THEY INCREASED OUR TAX RATE FROM ONE 13 TO ONE 17. THEN THEY INCREASED WHAT WE HAD TO PAY FOR OUR TAXES, OUR REAL ESTATE TAXES. THEN THEY TURNED AROUND AND INCREASED THE RATE. OKAY? FOR OUR SEWAGE, OUR TRASH PICKUP. THEY DON'T STOP COMING AFTER US, BUT THEY TELL US WHAT WE HAVE TO PAY, AND WE CONTINUE TO SEAT THEM EVERY FOUR YEARS. YOU ALL NEED TO COME OUT AND STAY ABREAST OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THIS CITY. SO WHEN YOU GOT TO CAST THE VOTERS FOR THEM UP FOR REELECTION THIS YEAR, KNOW WHO YOU ARE VOTING FOR AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING FOR US. BECAUSE ALL OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TO DO IS COME IN HERE AND ASK AND THEY GIVE IT TO THEM. BUT THEY TELL US THAT WE HAVE TO PAY EVERY TIME WE SAY WE DON'T HAVE IT. THEY SAY, YES, YOU DO. YOU ARE GOING TO PAY IT. THEY HAVE ALREADY MADE UP THEIR MINDS THAT WE ARE GOING TO PAY THIS TAX RATE INCREASE, MS. THOMPSON. BUT YOU ALL KNOW WHO IS WHO. MS. THOMPSON. YOUR YOUR TIME'S UP. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. I'M GONNA CLOSE THIS PUBLIC HEARING. UM, COUNSELORS, DO I HEAR A MOTION TO, UM, APPROVE THE ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 31 OF THE HOPE WILL SEE CODE OF ORDINANCES AS PRESENTED. JUST DO HER MOTION. MM-HMM. DID YOU DO IT? YES, I MOVED. YOU DID? OH, YOU DID? OH, OKAY. JUST SECOND. ALRIGHT. WAIT. CAN WE TELL IF YOU SAID IT OR ANY MORE DISCUSSION? ANY DISCUSSION? MM-HMM. YOU READY? ROLL CALL. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ALI? YES. COUNCILLOR DAY? YES. COUNCILLOR REP FOLEY? YES. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. MOTION PASSES. FIVE THIRD. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT. UH, NEXT ITEM IS, UM, UM, R FOUR. UM, MR. BASSETT IS, HAS THE LAMB CENTER FOR ARTS AND HEALING RESOLUTION FOR TAX EXEMPTION PUBLIC HEARING. YEAH, OF COURSE. UH, SO THE LAM CENTER OVER THE ARTS AND HEALING HAS REQUESTED, UH, A TAX EXEMPTION ON THEIR REAL ESTATE. UH, UNDER VIRGINIA, UNDER THE VIRGINIA CODE, A SELECT NUMBER OF NON-PROFIT ENTITIES ARE SPECIFICALLY MADE EXEMPT FROM LOCAL REAL ESTATE TAXES. BUT BEYOND THOSE, IT TAKES AN ACTION OF COUNSEL TO GRANT A REAL ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION. UM, UNDER CODE SECTION 58.1 DASH 36 51. REAL PROPERTY IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE EXEMPTION IF IT IS USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR RELIGIOUS, CHARITABLE, PATRIOTIC, HISTORICAL, BENEVOLENT CULTURAL, OR PARK PURPOSES. THE LAMB CENTER FOR THE ARTS IS SEEKING THAT EXEMPTION FROM COUNCIL ELIZA LAMB, WHO IS HERE TONIGHT, AS WELL AS I ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY OF COUNCIL'S QUESTIONS. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT IN TIME? UM, I'M GONNA OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING. IS THERE ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, UM, ON THIS PARTICULAR MATTER? NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP. OKAY. I'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. UM, DO I HEAR MOTION TO, UM, UH, GRANT [01:20:01] THE ORDINANCE, UM, THAT WOULD EXEMPT, UH, THE LAMB CENTER FOR ARTS FROM, UM, REAL ESTATE TAX? I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ACCEPT THEM. OKAY. I SECOND. ALRIGHT. UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? UM, YEAH, I GOT SOMETHING. OKAY. ALRIGHT. YES, SIR. SO, AT THE BOTTOM HERE, IT SHOWS 2019, 2021 AND 23. IS THAT WHAT THEY PAID? I BELIEVE THAT'S, THAT'S ROUGHLY THEIR, THEIR ANNUAL REAL ESTATE TAX BURDEN. 114,000, 94,000. YEAH. THE, THE TAX BURDEN, I BELIEVE IS SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF 2 2120 $200 A YEAR. MM-HMM . BECAUSE THAT WAS THAT BUILDING. THEY IMPROVE THAT BUILDING SIGNIFICANTLY. OKAY. MM-HMM . WELL, JUST THIS PAST YEAR WE USED THE, UM, UH, REAL ESTATE RATES TO HELP FUND THE, THE, UM, RAISES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY MM-HMM . SO I, I DON'T SEE WHERE GIVEN A, A REBATE OR, OR GIVEN THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST SHOOTING US IN THE FOOT, AIN'T IT? OKAY. I MEAN, WE USED IT, WE RELIED ON IT TO GIVE THE RAISES AND I KNOW WE GOTTA COME BACK THIS YEAR. MM-HMM . SO. OKAY. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ANY OTHER IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE IMPACT. DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? OKAY. UM, IS THERE A MOTION TO CONSIDER THIS? UM, SO YOU'VE, IT IS ON THE FLOOR. IT'S ON THE FLOOR. NOW WE NEED TO JUST CALL FOR THE VOTE. UM, SO, UM, ROLL CALL. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? NO. COUNCILLOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR LEY. YES. VICE MAYOR. JOIN. YES. SO THIS IS ON A FIRST READING, SO IT WOULD'VE TAKEN FIVE VOTES TO PASS. IT'LL JUST GO FOR, UH, ANOTHER VOTE AT THE NEXT MEETING. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD. ALRIGHT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ITEM NUMBER FIVE. R FIVE. THIS IS THE TREASURER'S SALARY SUPPLEMENT PUBLIC HEARING. MR. BISSETTE. UH, SO IN APRIL OF LAST YEAR, THE CITY ADVERTISED THAT IT WOULD PAY A SUPPLEMENTAL SALARY TO THE HOPEWELL TREASURER IF THEY ACHIEVED CERTAIN QUALIFICATIONS. THIS ORDINANCE SIMPLY MAKES GOOD ON THAT ADVERTISED SUPPLEMENT WHERE APPROPRIATE. CURRENTLY THE TREASURER DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR ANY OF THESE SUPPLEMENTS, SO THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE, UH, A FINANCIAL IMPACT TO PASSING THIS ORDINANCE RIGHT NOW. UH, BEYOND THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT COUNSEL MAY HAVE. UM, I JUST, I MEAN, THAT'S JUST A GOOD CLARIFICATION THAT IT'S THAT OUR TREASURER WAS NOT ASKING FOR A RAISE IS NOT PART OF WHAT THIS WAS. NO, THIS WAS JUST, THIS WAS JUST THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE CAMPAIGN. THAT'S RIGHT. BACK IN, BACK IN APRIL. THE CITY PUT OUT AN ADVERTISEMENT IN, IN ORDER TO, IN ORDER TO, TO ENTICE GOOD CANDIDATES TO CONSIDER THE ROLE, UH, THAT, THAT WE WOULD, WE WOULD OFFER SUPPLEMENTS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. MM-HMM . YEAH, I THINK, I MEAN, THESE ARE CERTAINLY, HAVING A QUALIFIED TREASURER IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF A COMMUNITY. AND THAT'S WHAT THIS WAS INTENDED TO BE, TO BE A, AN INCENTIVE FOR SOMEONE WITH THOSE TYPES OF QUALIFICATIONS TO RUN FOR THE OFFICE OF TREASURY. UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE I PUT OUT TO HEARING? I'VE GOT A QUESTION. YES, SIR. I HAD A QUESTION BEFORE. MM-HMM . IF THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY FEEL THAT THEY ARE ONLY HAVE TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS FOR, TO PUT THEM ON THE BALLOT RIGHT. FOR TREASURER. OKAY. WHY IS IT THAT THERE IS NOT OTHER STANDARDS SET FOR THE TREASURY'S OFFICE OTHER THAN TO BE ELECTED BY THE CITIZENS WHO MAY NOT EVEN KNOW IF THEY EVEN EDUCATED OR NOT? MM-HMM . CHARTER. THAT'S, THAT'S TRUE. AND FOR, FOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES THEMSELVES, I, I BELIEVE THAT THAT'S EXACTLY THE CASE. BUT, BUT FOR THE ASSISTANT, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEYS, UH, THE STATE, THE STATE PAYS THEM BEYOND THE BASE RATE DEPENDING [01:25:01] ON WHAT QUALIFICATIONS THEY HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE. THAT'S, THAT'S THROUGH THE STATE COMPENSATION BOARD. BUT I, I, I DON'T THINK THAT'S ANSWERING HIS QUESTION. NO. HIS QUESTION IS, WHY IS IT THAT OUR CHARTER DOES NOT, UM, INSIST ON SOME OF THESE QUALIFICATIONS FOR, UM, THE OFFICE OF TREASURER? WHY IS THAT? INDEED, UH, OUR, OUR, UM, OUR CHARTER AND VIRGINIA LAW IN GENERAL DOESN'T PLACE ANY QUALIFICATIONS ON ANY OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES. EXCEPT FOR, EXCEPT FOR THE COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY WHO HAS TO HOLD A LAW DEGREE. OTHERWISE, NONE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES, LEGALLY SPEAKING, HAS STATE TO HAVE ANY PARTICULAR QUALIFICATION. THIS IS STATE, THIS IS STATEWIDE. YEAH. I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED TO GET. WE WANTED TO GET THE CLARIFICATION THAT THAT WAS THE CASE. SO, SO THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE IT'S STATEWIDE, BECAUSE OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION. AND THIS WOULD BE, THIS WOULD BE, UH, THIS WOULD BE OUR CITY'S EFFORT TO SUPPLE TO CHANGE THAT. RIGHT. AND SO AND SO I APOLOGIZE FOR, FOR INTERRUPTING. NO. UM, AND SO THE, THE CITY WOULD NOT BE AUTHORIZED TO SET REQUIREMENTS FOR, FOR RUNNING FOR THE TREASURER'S OFFICE, BUT WE CAN INCENTIVIZE, UH, CERTAIN QUALIFICATIONS, BUT WE, WE COULD NOT, WE COULD NOT AS A CITY SAY, YOU MUST HAVE A CPA IN ORDER TO RUN FOR TREASURER. OKAY. LET ME ASK YOU THIS. IF THIS, IF THIS GENTLEMAN WHO IS IN THE CURRENT SEAT NOW, THE, OUR CURRENT TREASURER, UM, WHAT SIGNIFICANCE DOES THIS PARTICULAR ORDINANCE HAVE TO HIM NOW? UH, IF HE WERE TO ACHIEVE ONE OF THE QUALIFICATIONS THAT ARE NAMED, AND AGAIN, THE QUALIFICATIONS NAMED IN THE ORDINANCE ARE EXACTLY THE ONES THAT WERE ADVERTISED BACK IN APRIL. IF HE WERE TO ACHIEVE ONE OF THEM, THEN, THEN HE WOULD BE, UH, HE WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT SUPPLEMENT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE I OPEN UP THE PUBLIC PUBLIC HEARING? MM-HMM. DO WE JUST EXTEND THE MEETING? WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT ANYMORE. OKAY. OH, THAT'S FINE. YEAH. DO YOU HAVE ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO SPEAK ON THIS PARTICULAR PUBLIC HEARING? OKAY. ED, HOW WARD? FIVE. I TALKED IN DEPTH WITH JASON BEFORE HE RUN FOR TREASURER, AND I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT QUALIFICATIONS HE HAD TO RUN FOR TREASURER. HIS QUALIFICATIONS WAS, HE TOLD ME HE HELPED A COMPANY THAT DID PENCIL AND PAPER PAPERWORK, KEEPING THEIR BOOKS TO TURN OVER TO QUICKBOOKS. THAT WAS THE QUALIFICATION HE HAD. I SAID, SO IF YOU GET ELECTED, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING HERE? WELL, I'M PLANNING ON PROBABLY TAKING SOME CLASSES AND FINANCES AND STUFF TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I NEED TO DO. SO THAT'S WHAT WE GOT FOR HOPEWELL TREASURER RIGHT NOW. MM-HMM. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OH, OH, I'M SORRY. SHE OFFERED TO SPEAK AS WELL AS MYSELF. UM, THERE WAS A PIECE OF PAPER UP HERE. YEAH, YEAH. YES. NOBODY SIGNED UP FOR THAT. NOBODY'S FINE. NOBODY SIGNED UP. I DO. I DON'T THINK I SEE IT. OH, YET I HAVE TWO. YES, I DID. I SEE TWO OF 'EM. SO SORRY ABOUT THAT. NO PROBLEM. OKAY. MS. GREENWOOD? NO, GO AHEAD. MR. BAR. GO AHEAD. MS. GREENWOOD. LAURA GREENWOOD, WARD SIX. THANK YOU. I HAD TO LOOK THIS UP 'CAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS. UH, SALARY SUPPLEMENT. SO HEARING YOU, UM, MR. BASSETT AND HOW YOU BASICALLY, SINCE THIS GENTLEMAN THAT IS NOW OUR TREASURER, SUPPLEMENTAL PAY IS PAYMENTS MADE TO EMPLOYEES IN ADDITION TO THEIR NORMAL PAY. SUPPLEMENTAL WAGES ARE GIVEN OUTSIDE THE REGULAR WAGES INCLUDE BONUSES, COMMISSIONS, OVERTIME, PAY SEVERANCE PACKAGES, SICK LEAVE PAYMENTS, AWARDS AND TIPS. THE ADDITIONAL PAY IS NOT PART OF THE EMPLOYEE'S REGULAR SALARY. AND IS PLAYS A KEY INCENTIVE TO ROLE BY ENABLING. SO IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IS ENABLE THIS GENTLEMAN TO GET EDUCATED TO BE OUR TREASURER? YES, SIR. TO GIVE HIM THE EDUCATION THAT HE NEEDS. IS THAT WHAT THIS SUPPLEMENTAL SALARY IS? MADAM VICE MAYOR, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO PLEASE IF YOU COULD ADDRESS THAT? SURE. SO THIS, THIS IS NOT, NONE OF THESE ARE PAYMENTS IN ADVANCE OF, OF WHOEVER, WHOEVER OCCUPIES THE TREASURER RECEIPT. WHETHER IT'S NOW, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PERMANENT ORDINANCE. IT WOULD GO ON, UH, BEYOND THE CURRENT TERM OF THIS TREASURER. [01:30:01] UM, IT'S PAYMENT AFTER THE FACT. THEY, THEY HAVE TO, THEY HAVE TO GET THE QUALIFICATION. AND ONCE THEY GET THE QUALIFICATION, THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR SUPPLEMENTAL SALARY. SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO GET A CPA, FOR EXAMPLE, TO, TO, UH, SO AT THAT TIME YOU WOULD INCREASE HIS PAY. I MEAN, HE HAS A BASE PAY NOW. THAT'S CORRECT. IS THAT CORRECT? SO THERE WAS, UM, 'CAUSE THERE'S SEVERAL DEFINITIONS FOR THIS SPECIFIC LINE OF, UM, SALARY SUPPLEMENT. SO I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT SPECIFIC, 'CAUSE THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT BENEFITS OF THE OFFICE EMPLOYEE FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED OVER THREE MONTHS. WHAT IS THAT? HMM. WHAT? I DON'T BELIEVE THAT'S PART OF THE ORDINANCE. NO, HERE'S THE ORDINANCE. THIS IS DEFINITIONS. THIS IS, THIS IS THE ORDINANCE THOUGH. UM, NOT 29. DELL POINT CI DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT SQUIGGLEY THING IS. 5, 9, 3, 3 AND 29. DELL POINT C POINT SQUI THING 5 8 1 2. MA'AM, MA'AM, ARE YOU, ARE YOU SAYING DELL, LIKE DEL? YEAH. DEL. YOU MAY BE READING A DELAWARE ORDINANCE, OR SORRY, A DELAWARE STATUTE. EXCUSE ME. YOU THINK IT'S DELAWARE? I BELIEVE SO. THIS IS UNDER, UM, LAW. NO, I, I I BELIEVE YOU MIGHT BE READING A A, A STATUTE OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE. DELAWARE STATUTE OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE MIGHT BE. 'CAUSE IT DIDN'T SPECIFY THAT. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. THE, THE ORDINANCE ALL, ALL THE, YOU HAVE TO, WE'RE JUST, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DENIAL ORDINANCE, SECURITY ACT, THE AMOUNT OF THE COMPENSATION, DISABILITY, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. GAVE ONE. YEAH. WE'RE JUST VOTING ON THIS, THIS ORDINANCE TO, TO POTENTIALLY SUPPLEMENT THE HOPEFUL CITY TREASURER'S STATE PROVIDED SALARY. SO I JUST WAS KIND OF CLEAR TRYING TO CLARIFY. SO THIS SUPPLEMENT SALARY SUPPLEMENT WOULD BE ONCE THIS GENTLEMAN, THIS PARTICULAR GENERAL THAT WAS ELECTED. IF HE ACCOMPLISHES CERTAIN THINGS, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE HIM HIS PINK JELLY BEAN AND MONEY, SO TO SPEAK. IT'S, IT'S NOT UNHEARD OF LIKE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, IT'S SORT OF LIKE A CAREER DEVELOPMENT. YOU TAKE A CLASS, YOU GET THIS, YOU GET 2% MORE BECAUSE YOU FINISH THIS CLASS. OKAY. WE, WE DO THAT AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. MM-HMM . AND I BELIEVE, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS CAREER DEVELOPMENT TOO. MM-HMM . SO UNTIL YOU ACHIEVE THAT PARTICULAR, THEN YOU GET REASSESSED. IT'S LIKE OUR PARAMEDICS. OKAY. YOU CAN BE HIRED AS A BLS GUY IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. ONCE YOU ACHIEVE AND DECIDE TO GO TO SCHOOL FOR TWO YEARS AND YOU GET THAT PARAMEDIC STATUS, YOU GET THE PERCENTAGE THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. WELL, I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION TONIGHT WITH THE COUNCIL IS, IS A REALLY NICE ADDITIVE TO OKAY. BONUS TO, UM, IN THE PAST. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANKS MADAM VICE MAYOR, IF I MAY ADD. YES SIR. JUST FOR CONTEXT, UM, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY, UH, CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICER WHOSE SALARY THE CITY SUPPLEMENTS THE CITY HAS FOR A LONG TIME SUPPLEMENTED THE SALARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY. YES, YES. YES. I UNDERSTAND THAT. YES, MR. BURROWS, I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT SEEING Y'ALL. NO, NO, IT'S, IT'S FINE. I'LL BE VOCAL ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE I GET HURT. . OKAY. UM, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A FAIR WAGE FOR, UH, A PROFESSIONAL WHO'S PROVIDING A SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SOMEBODY WHO WAS ELECTED UNDER WEEK ONE PRETENSE TO THE PUBLIC, AND THEN, UH, CHOOSES TO CHANGE THOSE PRETENSES EITHER THROUGH ADVANCEMENT OR HINDRANCE. YOU CHOOSE TO CHANGE THOSE PRETENSES. THE CITY OF HOPEWELL'S PEOPLE ELECTED THEIR TREASURER TO SERVE AT THIS CERTAIN PAY RATE. UM, WHATEVER THAT PAY RATE IS. AGAIN, I'M NOT A MONEY GUY. UM, IF THAT TREASURER SERVES IN HIS POSITION WELL OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS AND GETS HIM, RE GETS HIMSELF REELECTED, THEN AT THAT POINT, I WOULD ARGUE HE'S EARNED A PAY RAISE. UH, SIMPLY EQUIPPING YOURSELF TO DO YOUR JOB DOES, AND MEETING THE BARE MINIMUM STANDARD TO DO YOUR JOB DOES NOT EQUATE TO A PAY RAISE. YOU NEED TO EXCEL IN YOUR JOB TO ADVANCING YOUR JOB. YOU NEED TO DO BETTER THAN YOUR PREDECESSORS TO GET PAID MORE THAN THEM. UM, [01:35:02] I UNDERSTAND WHAT Y'ALL ARE SAYING AND THAT IT, IT SEEMS REASONABLE THAT IF HE GOES OUT AND GETS MORE EDUCATED, THAT HE GETS MORE MONEY. BUT BY BEING EDUCATED THAT ONLY BY EDUCATING HIMSELF IN THAT ROLE, IT ONLY ENABLES HIM TO FULFILL THAT ROLE. UM, AFTER FOUR YEARS, IF HE GETS REELECTED AND HE PRESENTS THESE CERTIFICATES TO THE CITIZEN OF HOPEWELL AND HE GETS REELECTED BASED OFF OF THAT EDUCATION AND THOSE CERTIFICATES AND THAT APTITUDE AND SO FORTH AND SO ON, THEN, THEN AT THAT POINT, I WOULD ARGUE THAT THOSE SUPPLEMENTAL THINGS SHOULD BE PAID OUT BECAUSE THE CITY OF HOPEWELL HIRED HIM AS HE CAME AT THIS RATE FOR THESE QUOTE UNQUOTE SKILLS THAT HE PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF HOPEWELL AT THE TIME OF HIS ELECTION. IF HE HAS MORE TO PRESENT, THAT SHOULD BE PRESENTED AT THE NEXT ELECTION. AND HIS PAY SHOULD BE COMMENSURATE AT THAT POINT. UM, NOT AT THIS POINT AND NOT HALFWAY THROUGH HIS TERM, WHEN THE CITIZENS OF HOPEWELL WILL PROMISE ONE THING FOR THIS MUCH MONEY. THAT'S JUST MY OPINION. OKAY. THAT BEING SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT IF I COULD, AND THANK THE ENTIRE ROW OF RETIRED HOPEWELL POLICE OFFICERS THAT HAVE COME OUT TONIGHT FOR THEIR PAST SERVICE, BOTH TO OUR COUNTRY AND TO OUR COMMUNITY HERE. SO, THANK Y'ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MR. BUR. LEMME LET, LEMME JUST LET ME CLOSE THE HOLD. NO, FOR CAN I CLOSE? I NEED YOU TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING SO THEN WE CAN TALK. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. GO AHEAD AND CLOSE 'CAUSE THERE'S NOBODY ELSE. OKAY. ALRIGHT, LET'S GO AHEAD. AND THIS, THIS, UM, THIS SUGGESTION RIGHT HERE, WHEN I SAW IT, I SAW IT AS A BENEFIT TO US BY ENCOURAGING MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WITH THIS, THESE QUALIFICATIONS YEP. TO RUN FOR OFFICE. BECAUSE IF INDIVIDUALS HAVE A GROUP OF FOLLOWING THAT CAN ELECT THEM. RIGHT. YOU CAN ELECT ALMOST ANYBODY THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE OFFICE OF TREASURER. NOW I THINK THAT WE WOULD MISS OUT ON A LOT IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THIS INCENTIVE. BUT FOR INDIVIDUALS IN THE CITY WHO DON'T HAVE IT, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH IT COSTS NOW TO GET A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ACCOUNTING OR A MASTER'S DEGREE IN A COUNTY? I MEAN, IT COSTS A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN WHAT'S ON THIS PAPER RIGHT HERE. MM-HMM . SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT THIS PAPER RIGHT HERE CAN ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS TO TAKE PART IN THEIR CITY'S DOING BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE HAVE WHAT WE HAVE OR WHO PUT WHOEVER WE HAVE UP TO DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING. SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY THOUGHT ON THIS RIGHT HERE. MM-HMM . THIS IS NOT BAD FOR US. NOT GONNA HURT US, EXCEPT IF NOBODY COMES UP WITH A DEGREE. RIGHT. IF I WAS MOVING BACK TO HOPEWELL MYSELF, IF I WAS 20 YEARS YOUNGER, YOU KNOW, I WOULD RUN FOR TREASURER WELL THAN ANYTHING ELSE. 'CAUSE I GOT A BA DEGREE, A BS DEGREE IN ACCOUNTING AND I COULD START OFF PRETTY GOOD, BUT I, YOU KNOW, BUT I AM NOT ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS THAT NEED TO BE PURSUING THESE. I'M JUST SAYING THIS BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS NOT BAD FOR US. IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I HOPE FOR, GET INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED, WHAT WE ARE DOING, EDUCATE THEMSELVES ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT NEED TO BE DONE RIGHT. SO THAT WE CAN MOVE OUR CITY ALONG. OKAY. I LIKE THAT. JUST TO ECHO THAT, UM, WHAT COUNCILOR HARRIS IS SAYING, YOU KNOW, IT WAS TO INCENTIVIZE BECAUSE WE CAN'T SAY WHAT QUALIFICATIONS THAT THEY HAVE TO HAVE. THEY DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ANY AT ALL. UM, SO THIS WAS A WAY TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE THAT DID HAVE A, A BA, YOU KNOW, OR CPA TO APPLY TO RUN FOR TREASURY. AND NOW THAT WE HAVE SOMEBODY IN THE OFFICE, AND WE'VE ALREADY HEARD CONCERNS THAT, THAT THIS PERSON, THEY DIDN'T FEEL HAD ENOUGH QUALIFICATIONS, THIS INCENTIVIZES THEM TO PAY A LOT OF MONEY FOR THEIR OWN EDUCATION TO THEN MAYBE UP THEIR SALARY. WHEN WE HAVE TREASURERS THAT DON'T TRY TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES, THEY DON'T TRY TO MOVE PAST WHERE THEY START. UM, AND SO THIS IS TO INCENTIVIZE THAT SO THAT WE WOULD HAVE A MORE INFORMED TREASURER IN THERE. SOMEBODY THAT WAS EDUCATED FOR THAT POSITION WHEN WE CAN'T SAY WHAT THEIR QUALIFICATIONS HAVE TO BE. THIS WAS KIND OF A WAY AROUND THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT TO HAPPEN. WELL, I WOULD [01:40:01] ECHO THOSE COMMENTS. THIS WAS AN INCENTIVE. YEAH. ALRIGHT. DO I HEAR A MOTION TO, UH, UM, APPROVE THE ORDINANCE TO SUPPLEMENT THE HOPEFUL CITY TREASURER'S STATE PROVIDED SALARY UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES? I SO MOVE SECOND. ALL RIGHT. UM, ANY MORE DISCUSSION? ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNSEL HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ALICE? YES. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR FOLEY. YES. VICE? YES. WE'RE GOOD TO HAVE THIS TIME. OKAY. WE'RE GOOD. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. MOVING ALONG. UM, A LOT OF, LOT OF PUBLIC HEARINGS, UM, UH, STACY JORDAN WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THE RETIREE HEALTH BENEFIT UPDATE. GOOD EVENING. AGAIN, WE HAVE OUR RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE UPDATE. SO IT WAS PREVIOUSLY DETERMINED THAT THE RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT WOULD'VE BEEN PHASED OUT OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD. BEGINNING OF FISCAL YEAR 27. THE FISCAL YEAR 26 BUDGET WAS DEVELOPED TO INCLUDE FULL FUNDING FOR THE RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS THROUGH THE END OF THAT FISCAL YEAR IN PREPARATION FOR A PLAN PHASE OUT. HOWEVER, FOLLOWING THE RECENT DISCUSSIONS IN ALIGNMENT WITH COUNCIL'S PRIORITIES, WE UNDERSTAND THAT COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO REINSTATE THE RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT BENEFITS BEGINNING IN 27 AND CONTINUING THEREAFTER. THIS DECISION REFLECTS THE COUNCIL'S ONGOING ONGOING COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING OUR RETIREES AND RECOGNIZING THEIR YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE. AS A RESULT, THE UPCOMING BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WILL INCORPORATE FULL FUNDING TO SUSTAIN THESE BENEFITS BEYOND FISCAL YEAR 26. TERRIFIC. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, RAY. UM, OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, MOVING ON TO, UM, ITEM NUMBER, UM, R SEVEN RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ESTABLISHMENT SOUTH CENTRAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, ANTHONY? SURE. THIS RESOLUTION BEGAN WITH A REQUEST FROM THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE OF THE CRATER PLANNING DISTRICT COMMISSION. UH, THE CPDC RECOMMENDS THAT A TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY SERVING THE SAME AREA THAT'S SERVED BY THE CPDC ITSELF WOULD HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BRING MORE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS TO THE REGION AND ULTIMATELY TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION WITHIN HOPEWELL. OTHER LOCALITIES, INCLUDING PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, HAVE ALREADY SIGNED ON TO THIS INITIATIVE. UM, WE ARE EXPECTING A BILL TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, UH, THAT FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S CONSIDERATION OF CREATING THIS AUTHORITY. MM-HMM . OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, COUNSELOR, AND, UH, MR. J ELLINGTON IS HERE. IF THERE ARE ANY DETAILED QUESTIONS FROM MR. ELLINGTON, DID YOU WANNA SPEAK ON IT? JUST KIND OF TELL FOLKS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT. YOU, VICE MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING. SURE. I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF THINGS. UH, I, YOU SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE HANDOUT. SO ONE, SOME TALKING POINTS, AND THE OTHER ONE WAS A LITTLE SPREADSHEET THAT HAD, UH, THE PROPOSAL, IT HAD THE CURRENT TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITIES IN THE, IN THE STATE, AND THEN A PROPOSED TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FOR OUR REGION. UM, SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE A LOGISTICS HUB IN, IN THIS AREA, SO WE MOVE LOTS OF STUFF, UH, AND OUR ROADS NEED IMPROVEMENT EVERY DAY. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE SPREADSHEET I HAVE IN THERE WAS WE HAD NOT DETERMINED THE NEW REVENUES THAT WOULD BE CREATED BY THE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY AND TRYING TO DIVIDE THOSE UP BETWEEN REGIONAL PROJECTS AND LOCAL PROJECTS. SO WE WILL BRING FORWARD A, A CHANGE IN, UH, THAT PORTION OF THE BILL AS IT COMES FORWARD. RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE IT MAY NOT MAKE OUR, UH, 26 AGENDA, BUT MAY MAKE OUR 27 AGENDA. SO WE, WE ARE TRYING TO WORK WITH ALL OUR JURISDICTIONS, ALL 11 OF, OF Y'ALL. SO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN, UH, MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD TO ENHANCE THE REGION, MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, UM, BENEFIT TO, TO ALL OF OUR PROJECTS THAT WILL, WILL HELP US MOVE FREELY. AND, Y'ALL KNOW, WE MOVE FREELY ACROSS THE REGION, YOU KNOW, WE'LL DRIVE 30, 45 MINUTES IN ONE DIRECTION TO GET SOMEWHERE. UH, SO, UH, ALL WE CAN IMPROVE THE WAYS WE CAN IMPROVE THAT, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO, IN THE FUTURE, MAKE SURE WE PAY OUR FAIR SHARE AS PART OF THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO, I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. QUESTION. HOW YOU DOING? HAPPY NEW YEAR, SIR. SAME TO YOU, MR. HARRIS? UH, HOW MANY DIFFERENT LOCALITIES IS INCLUDED IN THIS AUTHORITY? SO THERE'S 11 DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS AS PART OF THE AUTHORITY. UH, WE COULD NOT AS PART OF THE [01:45:01] CRATER DISTRICT PICK UP CHESTERFIELD OR CHARLES CITY. THEY'RE IN THE CVTA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, SO THE CENTRAL VIRGINIA AUTHORITY. BUT WE DID GO DOWN AND LOOK AT IN OUR, AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH BRUNSWICK AND MECKLENBURG COUNTY TO ADD THEM TO, TO TAKE THE 85 CARTER ALL THE WAY TO THE STATE LINE. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE? YOU HAVE ANY OTHER, OKAY. UM, DO I HEAR A MOTION TO, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. ELLINGTON. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, MAKE A MOTION. OKAY. WE SUPPORT THE CREATION OF SOUTH CENTRAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY. I HEAR A SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. MR. HARRIS, UM, ANY MORE DISCUSSION? NO. ALL THIS IN FAVOR. OH, WAIT, ROLL CALL. SORRY. SO I'M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS. YES. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR LEY. YES. MAYOR, JOIN? YES. MOTION PASSES. FIVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. R EIGHT. OKAY. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FROM ONTARIO BROWN OF KIDS WITH GOALS UNLIMITED LLC TO OPERATE A PRIVATE SCHOOL ON PARCEL NUMBER 80, ALSO IDENTIFIED AS CAUTION. AND THIS IS FOR A DISTRICT PUBLIC HEARING. FIRST WARD. GOOD EVENING, VICE MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF THESE TONIGHT, SO I WILL JUST GET STARTED. UH, OUR FIRST ONE THIS EVENING IS A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST. QUEST RELATES TO 2 47 EAST COSTA STREET, WHICH IS PARCEL 0 8 0 0 9 2 1. THE APPLICANT IS, UH, MS. BROWN WITH KIDS WITH GOALS UNLIMITED. UM, SHE'S ALSO THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY. UH, THIS SPECIFIC PROPERTY IS LOCATED IN WARD ONE. IT'S IN OUR, IT'S IN OUR DOWNTOWN. AND, UH, ZONE B ONE. SO YOU CAN SEE THE MAP HERE ON THE LEFT IS THE, UH, UH, CLOSER IN VIEW OF THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY. IT'S BASICALLY, UM, DOWN THE STREET FROM THE CITY LIBRARY. MM-HMM . IT'S RIGHT ACROSS FROM FREEMAN POINT, CORRECT? PARDON? RIGHT ACROSS FROM FREEMAN POINT. CORRECT. IT'S, UH, DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM FREEMAN POINT. MM-HMM . AND, UM, ON THE RIGHT IS JUST A, UH, A DOWNTOWN LOCATION MAP. MM-HMM . UH, MS. BROWN CURRENTLY OPERATES A, UH, CHILDREN'S DAYCARE AT THIS PROPERTY. UM, AND SHE HAS ALSO OPERATED A DAYCARE AT A, AT A DIFFERENT PROPERTY, WHICH WAS AT 3 33 EAST HURST, WHICH WAS LOCATED IN OUR DOWNTOWN AS WELL. ACROSS FROM H RHAS. YEAH. UM, OFFICES. AND, UH, THIS PARTICULAR AREA IN THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP, IT'S DE DESIGNATED AS DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL MIXED USE. AND, UH, ESSENTIALLY FROM A, A USE AND AN IMPACT STANDPOINT, STAFF BELIEVES THAT A PRIVATE DAY SCHOOL HAS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME IMPACTS AS A DAYCARE DOES. NOW, JUST FOR CLARIFICATION'S SAKE, THIS IS NOT A, THIS IS NOT A NON-CONFORMING PROPERTY OR A NON-CONFORMING USE. IT'S JUST OUR B ONE ORDINANCE REQUIRED TO CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR US, FOR THE SCHOOL USE IN THE DISTRICT. UM, SO GETTING A LITTLE AHEAD OF MYSELF THERE, BUT THAT'S THAT FIRST COMMENT. UM, AND IMPACTS FROM THIS USE ARE NOMINAL AND ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS THE DAYCARE, UH, WHICH IS BUYRIGHT USE. SO WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY COMMENTS, UH, AT ALL FROM THE PUBLIC, EITHER WRITTEN OR AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION, PUBLIC HEARING. AND STAFF DOES RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THIS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, UH, FROM MS. BROWN, WITH KIDS WITH GOALS TO OPERATE A PRIVATE DAY SCHOOL ON PARCEL 0 8 0 0 9 2 1. FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS, THE USE DOES ALIGN WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND THE IMPACTS ARE NOMINAL. UH, PLAINTIFF COMMISSION ALSO RECOMMENDS APPROVAL. THEY HAD HELD THEIR PUBLIC HEARING ON NOVEMBER 6TH AND VOTED FIVE TO ZERO TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO YOU ALL. AND MS. BROWN IS HERE THIS EVENING. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR HER, I'M ALSO AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. UH, NO ONE SIGNED UP, BUT I DO NEED TO OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS THEY NEED TO SPEAK ON THE PUBLIC HEARING? OKAY. CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. UM, THERE A MOTION, UM, TO, UM, APPROVE THIS. UM, I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE USE. OKAY. ANY MORE DISCUSSION? ROLL CALL PLEASE. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? YES. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR OLI? YES. VICE MAYOR, JOIN? YES. MOTION PASSES. ALRIGHT, THANKS. [01:50:01] THANKS. THANK YOU. GOOD LUCK. UM, WE WILL MOVE ON. ALL RIGHT. TO TO THE NEXT ONE. MAR NINE. MM-HMM . SO THIS EVENING, OUR, UH, SECOND PUBLIC HEARING, UH, FROM A LAND USE STANDPOINT, IS ALSO ANOTHER CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST. THIS ONE, UH, IS FOR A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING ON NON-CONFORMING. LOT PARCEL IS 0 7 5 0 1 2, LOCATED ON MARYVILLE AVENUE. AGAIN, THIS IS YOUR PUBLIC HEARING. AND FIRST READING THE APPLICANT IS TREK PROPERTIES, LLC. UM, THE OWNER IS, IS, UH, MR. DIE POWELL. AND THIS PROPERTY IS LOCATED IN WARD TWO, ZONED R THREE. THIS, UH, THE MINIMUM MO SIZE FOR R THREE IS 50 FEET WIDE AND A MINIMUM OF 5,000 SQUARE FEET. THIS PARTICULAR PARCEL IS 50 FEET WIDE, BUT ONLY 3,870 SQUARE FEET. SO THE NON-CONFORMITY IS IN THE SIZE. THE APPLICANT'S PROPOSING TO CONSTRUCT A TWO STORY SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING, THREE BEDROOM, TWO BATH, 1,440 SQUARE FOOT HOME. YOU CAN SEE THE FLOOR PLAN HERE AND SOME ELEVATIONS HERE. UH, THE PROPOSED DWELLING IS LARGER THAN THE AVERAGE SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS, UH, THE AVERAGE IN THAT IMMEDIATE AREA IS 1020 SQUARE FEET. UH, THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING VINYL SIDING, WHICH IS COMMON IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. AND OF COURSE, WE WILL MEET ALL R THREE SETBACKS. THE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF THIS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION WITH OUR STANDARD, UH, CONDITIONS. UM, 12 INCH MINIMUM EAVES ALONG ALL ROOF EDGES, 20% TREE CANOPY, A DRIVEWAY OF ASPHALT OR CONCRETE BRICK OR STONE FOUNDATION ON ALL FOUR SIDES. FOUNDATION PLANNINGS ALONG THE FRONT. AND THAT ESSENTIALLY THE, UM, APPLICANT WILL CONSTRUCT, UH, THE HOUSE TO BE IN SUBSTANTIAL CONFORMANCE WITH THE PLANS THAT WERE PRESENTED TO YOU THIS EVENING. PLANNING COMMISSION VOTED FIVE TO ZERO AT THEIR PUBLIC HEARING ON NOVEMBER 6TH TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL. WE'VE NOT RECEIVED ANY, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT TO DATE, AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY. I BELIEVE THE APPLICANT'S HERE AS WELL. YEP. MR. UH, GENOA IS ALSO HERE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. SIR, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I OPEN UP THE PUBLIC? AGAIN, THIS IS YOUR FIRST READING, SO YOU CAN EITHER, IF IT'S A, IF IT'S THE FIVE OH, YOU CAN, YEAH. OKAY. DO THAT OR RIGHT AT THE SECOND. LET ME OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING. IS THERE ANYBODY WHO WISHES TO SPEAK CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING? UM, DO I HEAR A MOTION? YEAH, WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR COUNCILOR HARRIS TO OH, HE'S GOOD. WELL, HE'LL YEAH. WE NEED FIVE. WE NEED FIVE. MM-HMM . WE NEED FIVE. SEE IF THIS, SEE IF IT WORK. MR. ROGER. MR. ROGERS, HERE'S ONE. HERE'S SOMETHING REALLY GOOD. WHAT YOU GOT? SIX. IT'S OH, VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. [01:55:13] I SPEAK FOR A SECOND UNDER WARD SIX. A PUBLIC HEARING IN WARD SIX. VERY, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING UP HERE. SEE ANYTHING? MM-HMM. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT WARD SIX. DID YOU PUT ANYTHING OUT THERE ABOUT WARD SIX? NOTHING ON THERE ABOUT, I DON'T THINK SHE PUT ANYTHING OUT THERE. NO, THERE'S NOTHING ON NINE. RIGHT? ON NINE. WE NEED TO NEED TO TAG THE TAG. YEAH. IT'S TOO HARD TO FIND THEM. WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS. MAYBE THEY DON'T. IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THERE. IT'S NOTHING MUCH TO BUT IS MR. HARRISON. IT NEEDS TO BE A DIFFERENT COLOR. UH, SIX. THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHRIS. SURE. MM-HMM . YOU THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY TALK THE CANDIDATES I WAS ASKING ABOUT EARLIER. YEAH. BUT THAT WAS DURING REGULAR COMMUNITY SEMINAR. WE WOULD OKAY. WE'RE READY. WE'RE READY TO, TO POSSIBLY VOTE ON, UM, THIS, UM, R EIGHT OR NOT. OR NOT, OR NOT. CAN I MAKE A MOTION OR NOT? OKAY. MR. HARRISON. OKAY. OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S R NINE. I DON'T GET LOST. ALRIGHT, WE READY TO? YEP, WE'RE READY. DO WE, DO WE HEAR A MOTION? YEAH. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, UM, TO APPROVE THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST FROM TREK PROPERTIES LLC TO CONSTRUCT A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING ON A NONCONFORMING LOT PARCEL 0 7 5 DASH ZERO TWO, LOCATED ON MARYVILLE AVENUE AND THE R THREE RESIDENTIAL HIGH DENSITY DISTRICT. MM-HMM . DO I HEAR A SECOND TO THAT? SECOND. CAN WE SPECIFY IF YOU ARE INCLUDING THE, UM, PROPOSED CONDITIONS? YES. YES. YES. AS, AS PROPOSED BY STAFF. YES. YES. THANK YOU. YES. MM-HMM . YEAH. MM-HMM . AND DO WE HAVE A SECOND? YOU? SECOND. SECOND. MS. DALLAS. SECOND? YES. UM, ANY MORE DISCUSSION? ROLL CALL PLEASE. VICE MAY JOIN. YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? YES. COUNCILOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR LEY? YES. MOTION PASSES. FIVE ZERO. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. OKAY. R 10. MR. UM, WARD ZONING ENFORCEMENT AMENDMENT. [02:00:02] ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GONNA CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE BIT. THIS IS A ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT REQUEST TO AMEND ARTICLE 20, WHICH IS THE VIOLATION AND PENALTY SECTION OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE. AND THAT CHANGES TO ADD CIVIL PENALTIES. UM, THE, A APPLICANT IS THE CITY OF HOPEWELL. THIS WAS AT THE, UH, REQUEST OF THE CITY ATTORNEY IN CONJUNCTION WITH, WITH, UM, STAFF IN MY DEPARTMENT AS WELL. UH, THIS WOULD AFFECT, IT WOULD BE CITYWIDE. AND THE, UH, AGAIN, THE, OR THE, UH, SECTION OF THE ORDINANCE TO BE CHANGED WOULD BE ARTICLE 20. THE REQUEST IS TO ADD CIVIL PENALTIES. CURRENTLY WE JUST HAVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ZONING VIOLATIONS IN THIS SECTION. THIS WOULD ADD CIVIL PENALTIES. SO THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, INITIATED THIS ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT, UM, BACK AT THEIR OCTOBER 2ND MEETING. CURRENTLY, THE EXISTING ORDINANCE ONLY OFFERS CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ZONING VIOLATIONS. UM, IF SOMEONE WAS TO BE TAKEN TO COURT AND FOUND GUILTY, THEY WOULD'VE A CRIMINAL RECORD FOR A ZONING VIOLATION. IT'S PRETTY HARSH. YEAH. UM, CIVIL PENALTIES, WHICH ESSENTIALLY ARE FINES, UH, WOULD ALLOW FOR A MORE EFFICIENT, FAIR, AND FLEXIBLE TOOL FOR ZONING ENFORCEMENT. AND CRIMINAL PROSECUTION WILL REMAIN, UH, IT'LL STILL REMAIN AS AN OPTION FOR WHICHEVER CASES REQUIRE IT, BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY OPTION AS IT CURRENTLY IS. UM, THIS IS IN, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY. AND, UM, HE'S NOT HERE AT THE MOMENT. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR HIM, I'LL TRY MY BEST TO ANSWER. BUT WE, UH, STAFF DOES SUPPORT THE ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TO ADD THIS OPTION. IT PROVIDES A LESS HARSH OPTION TO OBTAIN COMPLIANCE, AND IT'S A MORE EFFICIENT MEANS TO CORRECT DEFICIENCIES. PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, IS RECOMMENDING APPROVAL FIVE ZERO, UH, AT THEIR PUBLIC HEARING ON NOVEMBER 6TH. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY COMMENTS TO DATE FROM THE PUBLIC. AND AGAIN, I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY. AND, UM, MR. BESET, IF HE RETURNS. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS THERE. DO YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, COUNSEL? UH, NO. I WAS JUST SAYING I DON'T THINK WE, I THINK THIS IS EXCELLENT. YEAH, WE ARE. YEAH, I THINK SO TOO. UM, AND I THINK WE CAN, I KNOW IT SAYS TIMING ACTIONS REQUIRED, UM, LY SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 13TH. YOU KNOW, WE DID NOT HAVE DECEMBER MEETING, BUT I BELIEVE WE CAN APPROVE THIS TONIGHT. THIS IS YOUR FIRST MEETING. WE CAN'T, IF WE HAVE FIVE JURY, YOU CAN'T APPROVE THIS IF WE HAVE FIVE. OKAY. WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING. DO I HAVE ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO SPEAK ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM? IF NOT, I'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. UM, DO I HEAR A, UM, MOTION TO, UM, APPROVE THIS, UM, AMENDMENT? NO, MA'AM. OKAY. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. ANY MORE DISCUSSION? FULL CALL PLEASE. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILLOR ELLIS? YES. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR POLL? YES. MOTION PASSES. FIVE ZERO. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE UP AGAIN, MR. WARD. THANK YOU. UM, R 11 CONDI CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST, UM, FOR THE OAKLAWN BOULEVARD PROPERTY. SO THIS WILL BE YOUR SECOND READING ON THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION. WE HELD A, UM, PUBLIC HEARING BACK IN THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE NOVEMBER MEET MEETING. MM-HMM . UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE PRESENTATION. UM, BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU THE SUMMARY, ESSENTIALLY THIS IS A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUEST RELATING TO PARCEL 0 8 9 1 3 9 5, ALSO IDENTIFIED AS 3,400 OAKLAWN BOULEVARD. THE REQUEST IS TO USE THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY AS A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING. UM, AGAIN, THE APPLICANT IS A AND K ENTERPRISES PROPERTY IS LOCATED IN WARD SEVEN AND ZONED B FOUR. UM, JUST A QUICK REFRESHER. THESE ARE, THIS IS THE PROPERTY, UH, THIS IS THE LOCATION AND THE ZONING. AND I CAN SLOW DOWN IF YOU NEED ME TO. THIS IS THE, UH, FUTURE LAND USE PLAN. UH, THE APPLICANT'S POSITION IS THAT HISTORICALLY THIS PROPERTY, IT WAS CONSTRUCTED AS A HOUSE AND WAS ALWAYS USED AS A HOUSE. UM, WE DEALT WITH A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR THIS PROPERTY, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO. AND STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION, UH, AT THE TIME, BECAUSE THE PROPERTY WAS ALREADY OCCUPIED, TO ALLOW THAT RESIDENTIAL USE TO CONTINUE UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THAT TENANT [02:05:01] VACATED THE PROPERTY AND THEN IT WOULD CONVERT TO A COMMERCIAL USE. UM, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION REMAINS THE SAME AND CONSISTENT WITH THAT PREVIOUS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. UM, PLANNING COMMISSION VOTED FOUR TO ZERO TO DENY THE REQUEST AT THEIR PUBLIC HEARING ON, UM, OCTOBER 2ND OF LAST YEAR. UM, AGAIN, THIS IS A SECOND READING AND, UH, THE APPLICANT IS HERE THIS EVENING. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, I'M ALSO AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY. WHAT? YEAH, WHAT WAS THE, SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. COUNSEL. DID I GO TOO FAST? NO, THAT'S FINE. I'M, I'M GIBON IT'S TOUGH FOR ME TO SEE. I COULDN'T EVEN SEE, SEE, I'M NOT, I'M NOT IN THE RIGHT SEAT. THE FOUR OH WAS, UH, WHAT, WHAT WAS THE, UM, REASONINGS AGAIN? DID YOU SAY THE RECOMMENDATIONS? WHAT WERE THE REASONS BEHIND THE, THE FOUR OH DENIAL MM-HMM . ESSENTIALLY THEY MIMICKED, UM, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATIONS THAT BASED ON THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT CLEAR ON REALLY WHAT TO DO THROUGH THIS QUARTER. RIGHT. IT DOES NOT PROVIDE PERFECT GUIDANCE. UM, BUT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES S SPEAK A LOT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR CORRIDOR TRANSIT, THOSE AREAS THAT ARE CURRENTLY RESIDENTIAL, TRANSITIONING TO A COMMERCIAL USE MM-HMM . OVER TIME. UM, AND STAFF IS F OUR, MY JOB IS TO FOLLOW THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. RIGHT. SO THAT'S WHERE MY RECOMMENDATION CAME FROM THE FIRST TIME. AND IT'S GONNA REMAIN THE SAME THIS TIME. UM, BUT PLANNING COMMISSION FOLLOWED ALONG THAT PARTICULAR ARGUMENT. YEAH. 'CAUSE I THINK THAT WHOLE CORRIDOR THERE, EVEN WITH THE EMPTY LOTS THAT INGRAM HAS OR WHATEVER, IT JUST ISN'T, YOU KNOW, MUCH MOVEMENT AS FAR AS COMMERCIAL. THAT'S CORRECT. THAT WAY. I MEAN, ONCE YOU PASS, YOU KNOW, AUTO ZONE AND ALL THOSE PLACES, IT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT LOW AREA RIGHT. THERE IS, IS KIND OF BECAUSE THERE'S RESIDENTIAL NEXT TO IT, CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY. YES. ALL THE WAY BACK DOWN TO SIR. YES. IT'S A VERY, IT'S A VERY CHALLENGING QUESTION FOR THAT, EVEN FOR THAT SPECIFIC SECTION OF THE CORRIDOR. I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS GONNA BE DUE FOR A REWRITE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. SO THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE REALLY SHOULD PAY SOME PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO BECAUSE THE, THERE ARE NO CLEAR OR DEFINITIVE ANSWERS FOR THIS CORRIDOR. EVEN IF YOU WERE TO TRANSITION TO COMMERCIAL, WHICH IS WHAT MY RECOMMENDATION IS FOR THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION. BUT EVEN IF YOU WERE TO DO SO, THE LOTS ARE SO NARROW, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO EVEN DO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THESE LOTS UNLESS YOU'RE ABLE TO ASSEMBLE MULTIPLE MULTIPLE YES. AT THE SAME TIME. AND THEN COMBINE THEM. AND I THINK THE OTHER SIDE OF, UH, OAKLAWN, I THINK YOU HAVE THAT ROOM THERE, THERE ARE SOME LOTS IN THERE THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, DOUBLE LOTS OR WHATEVER. RIGHT. SOMEONE, SOMEBODY HAS COME IN AND ASSEMBLED SOME OF THOSE. AND THEN I, I THINK IT'S EVEN THE DEPTH IS WHAT KEEPS IT FROM HAPPENING. IT'S THE DEPTH IS OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE ON THIS SIDE OF, OF OAKLAWN. RIGHT. OKAY. BECAUSE IT, IT ALSO BUTTS RIGHT UP AGAINST, UM, WHERE'S MY ZONING MAP? YOU CAN SEE IT BUTTS RIGHT UP AGAINST IT. A DIFFERENT ZONING DISTRICT. YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. SO IT'S, THIS IS A, IT'S A TRICKY ONE. IT'S, IT WAS A TRICKY ONE THE FIRST TIME. IT'S A TRICKY ONE NOW. YEAH. UM, AND OUR COMP PLAN, AGAIN, JUST DOESN'T PROVIDE A HUNDRED PERCENT CLEAR GUIDANCE, BUT BASED ON BEST PRACTICE AND CONSISTENCY, MY RECOMMENDATION WAS DENIAL. OKAY. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TO OPEN THIS UP FOR PUBLIC HEARING. AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC HEARING, BUT WE DO HAVE SOMEONE WHO HAS SIGNED UP THERE INADVERTENTLY, THERE WAS A SIGNUP SHEET HERE FOR, UM, UH, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY. AND MR. BENNETT SIGNED UP. MR. BENNETT'S THE APPLICANT ANSWER. YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. YOU JUST ANSWER QUESTION. OKAY. JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT WE DIDN'T YEAH, YEAH. I HAVE A QUESTION, MR. WOLF. MR. HARRIS HAS THIS QUESTION. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR MR. HARRIS. YES, SIR. MR. HARRIS, THIS DWELLING WAS PREVIOUSLY RENTED, RESIDENTIAL WAS NOT. YES. WHY, WHY, WHY? SO AT ONE POINT, TH THIS PROPERTY, AND I THINK I HAVE THE TIMELINE IN THE PRESENTATION SOMEWHERE, BUT I THINK IT WAS IN AROUND 2019, WE HAVE, UM, THE PROPERTY WAS USED AS COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, A SIGN SHOP. MM-HMM . UM, AND OUR ORDINANCE STATES THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR DISTRICT, IN B FOUR, ONCE YOU TRANSITION TO A COMMERCIAL USE, YOU HAVE TO OBTAIN A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO GO BACK TO A RESIDENTIAL USE. AND SO THE OWNER AT THE TIME, WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN THE OWNER THAT'S HERE TONIGHT, UM, RENTED THE PROPERTY WITHOUT OBTAINING [02:10:01] THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. SO IT WAS ALREADY OCCUPIED BY THE TIME THAT PROPERTY OWNER CAME TO YOU ALL TO APPROVE THE CUP. AND AT THAT TIME, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION WAS, OKAY, IT'S SOMEBODY'S ALREADY LIVING THERE. I'M, I'M NOT GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE TO HAVE SOMEONE FORCED OUT OF THEIR HOME. SO THE RECOMMENDATION AT THE TIME FOR THAT CUP WAS TO, OKAY, WE'LL APPROVE THE, THE EXISTING TENANT, THE EXISTING RESIDENTIAL USE FOR AS LONG AS THAT TENANT REMAINS IN THE PROPERTY. BUT THEN ONCE THAT TENANT LEAVES, IT NEEDS TO GO TO COMMERCIAL USE. AND THAT'S WHAT COUNSEL APPROVED AT THE TIME FOR THAT OWNER? PARDON? FOR THAT, THAT PARTICULAR OWNER THAT SPEC 3,400 OCON. YES, SIR. YEAH. WELL, MY, I UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS NOW NEW OWNER, NEW OWNERS AND IT'S, THERE'S, IT'S VACANT AT, AT THIS TIME. MR. BENNETT, THE OWNER, MR. BENNETT IS THE OWNER RIGHT THERE. OKAY. YEAH. ALRIGHT. YEAH. UM, WHO, WHO ELSE WANTED TO SPEAK? COUNCILOR POLLING. HOW, SO IF WE DON'T ALLOW RESIDENTIAL, THEN IS IT THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THE PROPERTY JUST WON'T BE OCCUPIED AND TO BE LEFT VACANT? THERE IS A REAL POSSIBILITY OF THAT. YES. BECAUSE IT WOULD REQUIRE, UNLESS SOMEONE, UM, CAME IN AND USED THE EXISTING STRUCTURE. AND THAT'S PART OF STAFF'S ARGUMENT IS THAT PARKING'S A CHALLENGE THROUGH THIS CORRIDOR. UM, STRUCTURES THAT ARE BUILT ORIGINALLY FOR A RESIDENTIAL USE TO CONVERT TO A COMMERCIAL USE CAN BE EXTRA CHALLENGING. BUT THIS PROPERTY HAS ALREADY DONE THAT AND DOES HAVE ROOM FOR PARKING IN THE REAR. UM, WHICH MADE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION FOR USING IT AS COMMERCIAL PROPERTY A LITTLE BIT EASIER. UM, BUT THAT'S, YEAH. I WILL SAY HOPEWELL DOESN'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE GOING ON RIGHT NOW RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL USE PRESSURES, WHICH MEANS WE'RE HAVING MORE DEMAND FOR RESIDENTIAL USES THAN COMMERCIAL AT THIS POINT. SO THERE IS A GOOD LIKELIHOOD IT WOULD SIT VACANT IF IT'S NOT ALLOWED TO BE USED FOR RESIDENTIAL USE. I, I, I WOULD. I I JUST, I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE IT RESIDENTIAL. UM, IT, THAT'S, IT'S, I MEAN, I'VE WATCHED THE TRANSITION, YOU KNOW, WE FROM, UH, WHERE IT WAS ALL RESIDENTIAL THROUGH THAT AREA MM-HMM . AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CUT THE BIG ROAD THROUGH AND THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS GONNA CHANGE IMMEDIATELY. AND THAT'S BEEN 20 SOME YEARS AGO. AND THIS IS A, IT'S A NICE BRICK DWELLING. IT'S A NICE ATTRACTIVE, UM, HOUSE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M IN FAVOR OF, UM, ALLOWING THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO BE APPROVED. I, I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN I GO AGAINST NECESSARILY PLANNING COMMISSION OR ANY OF THE COMMISSIONS, BUT SOMETIMES WE DO HAVE TO, AND IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, YOU KNOW, I AM, I, I FAVOR, UM, THE, UM, APPROVAL OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. UM, DO I HEAR A, UM, A MOTION TO APPROVE OR DENY? UM, I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ALLOW IT TO BE RESIDENTIAL. OKAY. DO I HEAR A SECOND TO THAT? SECOND. ALRIGHT. ANY MORE DISCUSSION? UH, ROLL CALL PLEASE. VICE ME TO JOIN. YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? YES. COUNCILLOR DAY? YES. COUNCILLOR OTLEY? YES. MOTION PASSES. FIVE. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SURE. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT. THAT WAS ALRIGHT. WE'RE ALMOST THERE. ALMOST THERE. UM, R 12. CHRIS, YOU'RE STILL UP? YEAH. ONE MORE FOR ME. MM-HMM . UM, THAT'S THIS ONE. UH, SO THIS ONE, UM, THIS NEXT ONE IS ALSO SECOND READING. SO YOU'VE HELD A PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ROOM BEFORE. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, UH, SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING ON NON-CONFORMING LOT PARCEL 0 1 1 0 8 7 5. ALSO IDENTIFIED AS 4 0 5 NORTH THREE AND A HALF AVENUE. ONE APPLICANT IS KEN K PROPERTIES. UM, THIS IS LOCATED IN WARD ONE. SO ESSENTIALLY IT'S RIGHT ACROSS IT, IT'S RIGHT ADJACENT TO THREE AND A HALF STREET PARK AND IT ZONED RO FOUR. UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH THIS WHOLE THING AGAIN. YOU MAY REMEMBER WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT THESE FORMERLY BEING ROOMING HOUSES AND THAT THIS PARTICULAR PARCEL CONTAINED THE SOUTHERN END OF THIS ROOMING HOUSE, WHICH AT ONE POINT WAS REMOVED. MM-HMM . THE APPLICANT'S PROPOSING TO PUT A TWO STORY SINGLE FAMILY, UH, THREE BEDROOM, ONE AND A HALF BATH, 1400 SQUARE FOOT [02:15:01] PROPERTY, UM, OR STRUCTURE HERE ON THIS PARCEL. SO IT'S A TALL KIND OF LONG AND NARROW MM-HMM . UM, IT'LL SLIDE RIGHT IN. IT'S GONNA MEET THE SETBACKS. MM-HMM . IT'S, UM, JUST SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN THE AVERAGE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. UH, VINYL SIGHTING, WHICH IS COMMON, IT WILL MEET SETBACKS. WE'VE NOT RECEIVED ANY PUBLIC, WE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON EITHER OF THE PUBLIC HEARINGS. IT'S OUR STANDARD, UM, CONDITIONS THAT STAFF IS RECOMMENDING. BUT PLANNING COMMISSION ADDED AN ADDITIONAL CONDITION AND THAT WAS TO PUSH THE STRUCTURE BACK FROM THE ROAD TO MAKE ROOM FOR A DRIVEWAY. BECAUSE CURRENTLY THIS PARCEL'S NOT NARROW ENOUGH, OR IS, EXCUSE ME, IS NOT WIDE ENOUGH TO HAVE A DRIVEWAY. AND THERE IS NO ALLEY. SO IT CAN'T BE ENTERED FROM THE REAR EITHER. AND SO, AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE FOR MY GRAPHIC ABILITIES, BUT THIS IS SOMEWHAT OF, IT'S NOT THE SCALE, BUT THIS IS AN IDEA OF WHAT THIS WOULD LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE TO PUT A DRIVEWAY AND, AND PLAINTIFF COMMISSION SPECIFIED A TWO CAR SIDE BY SIDE. SO, UM, THE DRIVEWAY HERE WOULD BE IN THE FRONT AND THE HOUSE WOULD HAVE TO PUSH BACK. UM, AND THERE'S SIT BACK FARTHER THAN THE, THAN THE SET, THAN THE, UH, SETBACK PERMITS. I DON'T, I DON'T LOVE THAT. SO, UM, THAT IS PLANNING COMMISSION'S ADDED RECOMMENDATION ONTO STAFF'S, UH, REGULAR CONDITIONS. WHAT, IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN PUT, IS THERE, IS THERE ACCESS? COULD YOU PUT SOMETHING BEHIND? IT? COULD. THERE'S NO ALLEY. THERE'S NO ALLEY. THIS BLOCK, THERE'S NO ALLEY ON THIS. IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S AN ALLEY AT THIS. THERE'S, THERE'S NOT. YOU WOULD SEE, UM, THE LINES HERE WOULD SHOW AN ALLEY. THERE IS NOT AN ALLEY ON THIS BLOCK. SO THERE'S REALLY NO WAY TO DO ANY SORT OF OFF STREET PARKING. I JUST THINK IT'S GONNA REALLY AFFECT THE, THE AESTHETIC OF THAT, THAT ROW OF HOUSES THERE. I'M VERY CONCERNED. THE, THE OTHER HOUSES, THEY, THEY'RE PARKING OFF STREET, CORRECT? YEAH. OTHER ON STREET. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. THEY'RE PARKING ON THE STREET. THERE'S PLENTY OF ON STREET PARKING. YES, THERE IS. AND MANY OF THESE HOMES THROUGH HERE DO NOT HAVE OFF STREET PARK. I JUST THINK THAT'S NOT, I DON'T LIKE HOW I DO. JUST SAY, JUST, JUST WALK ON THE STAND. SO THE WAY THE ORDINANCE IS WRITTEN, IF THERE'S NO DRIVEWAY IN THE FRONT, THE HOUSE WILL MOVE UP TO BE IN LINE WITH THE, WITH THE PROPERTIES ON EITHER SIDE. YEAH. YEAH. THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD, YEAH. UM, WELL IT IS A PUBLIC HEARING. THIS ONE IS NOT, UM, YOU'VE ALREADY HELD THE PUBLIC HEARING ON OH, THAT'S RIGHT. ONE. OKAY. THAT'S IT. IT'S LISTED HERE. IT'S, IT IS A PUBLIC HEARING, BUT IT'S NOT. SORRY. IT'S YOUR SECOND READING. ALRIGHT. SECOND. READING. ALL RIGHT. UM, DO I HEAR A, A MOTION TO, UM, APPROVE THIS CONDITIONAL PERMIT REQUEST, PERHAPS WITH SOME ADDENDUMS TO, TO IT. DO I HEAR A MOTION? I'LL MAKE, YEAH, I'LL MAKE CONNECTION FOR THAT. OKAY. AND WHAT TO FOR? ON STREET PARKING. FOR ON STREET PARKING? YEAH. MM-HMM . NO DRIVEWAY. NO DRIVEWAY. SO WITH STAFF'S RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS, BUT NOT THE ADDED PLANNING COMMISSION. YES. ONE. OKAY. YES, CORRECT. MM-HMM . UM, THAT A FIRST MOTION AND THEN YOU SECONDED IT. MM-HMM . MR. ELLIS. AND, UM, ANY MORE DISCUSSION? UH, ROLL CALL PLEASE. VICE MAYOR JOINER? YES. COUNCILLOR HARRIS? YES. COUNCILOR ELLIS? YES. COUNCILOR DAY? YES. COUNCILOR REP POLLICK? NO. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALRIGHT. OKAY, MR. BENNETT, THE SECOND READING GOING. WELL, IT IS, UM, IT'S BEEN A LONG NIGHT. UM, AND I WILL, I'LL BE BRIEF, BUT I, I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE, SINCE IT'S BEEN A, A COUPLE OF MONTHS OR A MONTH AND A HALF THAT, UM, I ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YET. THIS IS, THIS IS THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THE SECOND READING FOR THE MACHINE AND TOOLS TAX REBATE PROGRAM FOR THE, UH, ENTERPRISE ZONE. AND, UM, I HAVE, SINCE THE, THE LAST TIME THAT WE MET, I'VE, I'VE MET WITH THE, UM, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER AND DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE, AND GONE THROUGH THIS AND SCRUBBED THE NUMBERS. UM, ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS MODIFYING THE, THE CURRENT PROGRAM WHERE WE WOULD GIVE 90%, UH, REBATE OVER THREE YEARS. WE'RE TAKING THAT AND REDUCING THAT [02:20:01] TO 80% REBATE PAID OUT IN JUST ONE SINGLE YEAR. THIS WOULD BE PHASED IN. UM, ESSENTIALLY, IF YOU'LL NOTICE HERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE ANY PROJECTS THAT WERE COMPLETED BY JANUARY 1ST OF THIS YEAR WOULD BE UNDER THE OLD ENTERPRISE ZONE PROGRAM. SO THEY'RE GONNA KEEP GETTING 90%, 90%, 90% FOR THREE YEARS. BUT THIS NEXT, UH, YEAR COMING UP THERE WOULD BE A ONE, ONE TIME 80% REBATE FOR PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD UNTIL THE ENTERPRISE ZONE PROJECT PHASES OUT IN 2029. AND UNLESS THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA CHOOSES TO, TO UPDATE IT AND CHANGE IT. UM, SO JUST TO PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING BUT JUST RENEW THE CURRENT ONE, WE COULD BE PAYING REBATES OUT THREE YEARS AFTER THE ENTERPRISE ZONE, UH, PROGRAM IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT, JUST THE WAY THAT, THAT IT'S SET UP. SO THIS SUNSETS BOTH OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME, ESSENTIALLY. UM, THE, UM, THE INDUSTRIES, I'VE TALKED TO EVONIK, I'VE TALKED TO ADVAN SIX AND I'VE TALKED TO ASHLYN. ALL OF THEM ARE IN AGREEMENT, UH, WITH THIS. UM, AND IT, IT WILL HELP THEM NOT WAITING THREE YEARS TO GET THE, THE REBATE AND THE 80% ON THE FIRST YEAR THERE. THEY LIKE THAT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF, OF RECOVERING QUICKLY THEIR INVESTMENT, UM, THE, BECAUSE OF THE DELAY IN THE MEETING AND, AND DUE TO WEATHER IN DECEMBER, WE DID RE ADVERTISE AGAIN TWICE. AND THOSE ADS ARE IN HERE IN MY PRESENTATION. MM-HMM . ON JUNE, I'M SORRY, NOT JUNE ON DECEMBER 30TH AND THEN ON JANUARY 6TH. SO WE'VE COVERED THOSE BASIS. AND THEN THIS IS THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE, UM, THAT WAS PREPARED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO REFLECT WHAT I JUST SUMMARIZED. SO THAT IS, UM, THE EXTENT OF MY PRESENTATION. THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING THOUGH, 'CAUSE WE DID NOT HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING PREVIOUSLY. YEAH. AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE SIGNED YES. SOMEBODY HAS SIGNED IT. I JUST MAKE A COMMENT AND POINT DO THAT. YEAH. CAN YOU JUST LIKE EXPLAIN WHY IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THIS? LIKE WHAT THE INCENTIVE IS FOR THE CITY TO DO THESE REBATES FOR THE INDUSTRY HERE? SO OUR MANUFACTURERS THAT ARE HERE IN THE CITY OF HOPEWELL, UM, THEY ARE ALL, UM, GLOBAL. THE THE ONES WHO TAKE THE ONES WHO BASICALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ENTERPRISE AND MACHINE AND TOOLS, TAX REBATES, THEY'RE GLOBAL COMPANIES AND THAT THEY HAVE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. CORRECT. AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, IS THAT, UM, THE, THE ENTERPRISE ZONE, WHICH, WHICH IS SET UP BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA THAT WE APPLIED FOR TO BE A PART OF, ALLOWS US TO DO THESE TYPES OF, OF INCENTIVES ESSENTIALLY TO HELP ATTRACT INVESTMENT TO HOPEWELL, NOT NECESSARILY ANOTHER AREA. THIS COMES IN, UM, THIS ACTUALLY COMES IN VERY HELPFUL, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE A HIGHER MACHINE AND TOOLS, TAX RATE THAN OTHER AREAS. IF YOU GO TO HENRICO COUNTY, THE MACHINE TOOLS TAX RATE IS ACTUALLY MUCH LOWER. AND SO, UM, AND EVEN IN CHESTERFIELD. SO WHAT THIS DOES IS IT HELPS BASICALLY SAY, OKAY, YOUR RATE IS HIGHER, BUT WITH THIS, WITH THIS NEW INVESTMENT AND THIS AND THIS, THIS REBATE IS ONLY FOR NEW QUALIFYING INVESTMENT THAT'S DONE. AND SO THEY HAVE TO APPLY FOR IT AND, UM, TELL US WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO. AND IF IT'S A POLLUTION CONTROL, FOR INSTANCE, IT'S NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE REBATE AND IT'S ALSO, WE'RE NOT ELIGIBLE TO TAX IT EITHER. SO WE DON'T GET THE TAX AND THEY DON'T GET THE REBATE FOR IT. SO IT, IT REALLY IS IMPORTANT THAT, THAT WE HAVE SOME TOOL OR INSTRUMENT. THE OTHER THING IS IN UNTIL IN, IT'S NOT LIKE WE, WE, WE CAN TAKE IT AWAY COMPLETELY BECAUSE THE WAY THE ENTERPRISE ZONE IS SET UP, UM, WHEN, WHEN THE COMMONWEALTH VIRGINIA RENEWED IT LAST YEAR, THEY SAID YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN YOUR, YOUR BENEFITS, UH, OR YOUR INCENTIVES IN SOME FORM OR FASHION. SO WE JUST CAN'T TAKE IT AWAY COMPLETELY. RIGHT. OKAY. WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING. AND WHAT I TRY TO DO IS SAY, OKAY, WHAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE A WIN-WIN FOR EVERYBODY? AND THE WIN AND THE WIN-WIN HERE IS WE, WE ARE ABLE TO GIVE A LARGER CHUNK THE FIRST YEAR TO THE MANUFACTURERS, BUT THEN WE GET THE, THE, THE FULL BENEFIT OF IT YEAR TWO, YEAR THREE, YEAR FOUR. AND IT ALSO TAKES AWAY THE, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN OF THE WAY IT'S CALCULATED. AND THESE ARE, THESE ARE ROLLING, RIGHT? UM, WE HAVE SEEN REAL INVESTMENT AS A RESULT OF THIS. IF YOU LOOK HERE IN PREVIOUS, UH, YEARS, I HAD PUT, I GUESS IT WAS IN MY FIRST, IT WAS IN MY FIRST PRESENTATION, I'VE TAKEN THOSE OUT. BUT THERE'S BEEN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT HAS COME [02:25:01] IN, IN THIS NEW MACHINE AND TOOLS, UM, REVENUE FOR US SINCE THE PROGRAM WENT INTO EFFECT IN 2005. THANK YOU. CHARLES. DID I ANSWER THAT QUESTION? YES, YOU DID. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER BEFORE I OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING? OKAY. WE DO HAVE SOMEONE SIGNED UP. SURE. MR. HOUSER, THIS CITY WAS BUILT BY INDUSTRY MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. WELL, MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. INDUSTRY USED TO SUPPORT THIS CITY. NOW, MOST OF THE MONEY THE INDUSTRY PAYS OUT GOES OUTSIDE OF THIS CITY. SO IT'S NOT SUPPORTING THE RESIDENTS ANYMORE. WHY CAN'T I GET 80% OF MY TAXES BACK ON MY PROPERTY? WHY CAN'T I GET 80% OF MY TAXES BACK ON MY PERSONAL PROPERTY? DON'T NOBODY GIVE ME NO TAXES BACK. I JUST TAKE A TAX BEATING. I PULL MY BOOTS STRINGS TIGHT, AND I MARCH ON. WELL, GUESS WHAT? WHEN THE INDUSTRY DOES THAT, THEY CAN CALL IT A TAX WRITE OFF. IF THEY TAKE A BEATING, YOU KNOW, I'M SORRY. BUT INDUSTRY IS AS MUCH OF THIS COMMUNITY AS THE RESIDENTS AND THE RESIDENTS KEEP GETTING PUMPED FOR TAX, FOR MORE TAX AND MORE TAX AND PRICES GOING UP, GUESS WHAT? THEY'RE PART OF THIS COMMUNITY. THEIR TAXES NEED TO GO UP TOO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MR. HOUSING. ALRIGHT. UM, IS THERE ANY MORE DISCUSSION? ALRIGHT, YOU HAVE TO ADD I HAVE A QUESTION. YES, SIR. CHARLES? YES. I'VE GOTTEN SOME, UM, NOTICE FROM THE COMMISSION OF REVENUE THAT THERE PROBABLY SHOULD BE FURTHER CONVERSATION ON, ON, ON THIS PROPOSAL. SO STACY, YOU WERE JUST SHARING SOMETHING WITH ME, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT NELSON WAS SHARED, EXCUSE ME, SOMETHING THAT NELSON JUST SHARED WITH ME. I THINK WE MIGHT, UM, DON'T VOTE TONIGHT IF POSSIBLE. THAT'S GREAT. AND LET HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION WITH COMMISSIONER, THE REVENUE BASED OFF OF WHAT I WAS JUST, I THINK THAT SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. THAT SOUNDS GOOD. ALRIGHT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. WELL SEE. SO WHAT I NEED TO ADVERTISE FOR ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING? NO, NO. THIS IS THE PUBLIC HEARING. THIRD READING. MM-HMM . OKAY. I THINK WE'VE GONE THROUGH IT. DO I HEAR A MOTION TO ADJOURN? NO. SO. ALRIGHT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. SO MOVED. * 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.