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[00:00:04]

THAT MEETS ADJOURNED. NEXT WE ROLL ON TO OUR REGULAR SCHEDULED CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION FOR SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2025. IT IS 731 AT THIS TIME. IS HILL. CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER CUTHBERT HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER JONES HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS HERE.

COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER. SMITH. LEE PRESENT. VICE MAYOR. HILL HERE. MAYOR PERRY HERE. SO YOU HAVE A QUORUM. NEXT. VICE MAYOR HILL WILL LEAD US IN OUR OPENING PRAYER. EXCUSE ME. POINT OF ORDER. WE AGREE TO PRAY, Y'ALL. POINT OF ORDER.

LET US PRAY. ETERNAL GOD, OUR FATHER, ONCE AGAIN, WE COME BEFORE YOU, LORD, GIVING YOUR NAME, HONOR, PRAISE, AND GLORY. LORD, WE THANK YOU FOR THIS DAY. WE THANK YOU FOR THE BLESSINGS OF THE DAY. LORD, WE THANK YOU THAT NO HURT, HARM, NOR DANGER HAVE COME NEAR US OR OUR FAMILIES. AND LORD, WE ASK THAT YOU BE WITH THE CITY OF PETERSBURG AS CITIZENS.

HEAVENLY FATHER, IN THIS NEIGHBORS. HEAVENLY FATHER, BE WITH US ON EVERY LEANING SIDE.

HEAVENLY FATHER, FORGIVE US OF OUR SINS OF OMISSION AND COMMISSION. HEAVENLY FATHER, BE WITH THIS COUNCIL IN A SPECIAL WAY. HEAVENLY FATHER, AS WE DO THE BUSINESS OF YOUR CITY, BE WITH OUR STAFF. HEAVENLY FATHER, BE WITH ALL OF OUR CITIZENS. BE WITH OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.

HEAVENLY FATHER, KEEP THEM IN YOUR LOVING ARMS AND YOUR IS IN YOUR DARLING SON, JESUS NAME.

WE PRAY AND WE THANK YOU. AMEN, AMEN. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. NEXT, COULD EVERYONE PLEASE STAND AND JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. AMEN. LET'S IS ITEM FOR DETERMINATION OF THE

[5. Public Comments]

PRESENCE OF A QUORUM. WE DO HAVE A QUORUM. NEXT, WE ROLL INTO PUBLIC COMMENTS. WE'LL START OFF WITH THE LEGENDARY KIM PRITCHETT. KEN. KNOWING SOME NOISE BACK THERE. GOOD EVENING AGAIN, MR. PRITCHETT. YOU KNOW, I WAS GOING TO HAVE THE PLEASURE OF YOUR SPECIAL SESSION, BUT I MADE MY COMMENTS PRETTY MUCH IN THAT. BUT I DID THINK OF 1 OR 2 OTHER THINGS.

WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG? THIS WOULD BE TO MR. ALTMAN, I GUESS, TO GET OAK HILL DRIVE REOPENED.

THERE'S NOT A BRIDGE THERE NOW. IT'S JUST SOME 36 INCH CULVERTS. I THINK IN A ROW OF THREE. IT'S BEEN SHUT DOWN FOR OVER TWO YEARS. I BELIEVE GOING ON THREE IS THAT IT? AND I HEARD ONE TIME THE MONEY WAS A PROBLEM. THAT'S BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE PROBABLY THE BEGINNINGS OF THE NEW ERA OF PETERSBURG, WHICH WE HAVEN'T PUT A DATE ON THAT YET. SO THAT'S ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.

THE OTHER QUESTION WAS. BASICALLY, I THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN, BUT THE MAIN THING WAS OPENING THESE ROADS. LAFAYETTE STREET WAS THE OTHER ONE, THAT THE BRIDGE IS CLOSED.

SO I THINK WE DID A GREAT JOB, TOOK US ONLY ABOUT TEN, 12 YEARS TO GET SAINT ANDREW'S STREET BRIDGE REBUILT. AND SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A BRIDGE, LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER ON OAK HILL, WHAT IS JUST TAKING SO LONG TO GET THAT? RESIDENTS HAVE COMMENTED ON THAT TO ME JUST IN PASSING AND IT'S I'VE GOT NO ANSWER. I'D LIKE TO HAVE AN ANSWER, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO FIX THAT ONE. BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING ME AGAIN. AND HOLD ON, I'M GONNA HAVE THE CITY MANAGER CHIME IN ON THAT REAL QUICK BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION FOR YOU. SO WITH REGARD TO OAK HILL, WE HAVE LONG TERM SOLUTION, WHICH IS REDOING THE WHOLE BRIDGE, THE TAKING THE CULVERTS OUT AND PUTTING A NEW STRUCTURE IN THERE TO HANDLE THAT IN SHORT TERM. WE'VE WE'VE DEVELOPED A SHORT TERM SOLUTION THAT WILL BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT. I DON'T HAVE A TIME FRAME ON IT JUST YET, BUT IT WON'T BE THE WHOLE, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE LONG TERM WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO REOPEN THE THE ABILITY FOR CARS AND PUBLIC SAFETY TO BE ABLE TO GO ACROSS THE OAK HILL BRIDGE. AND WHILE WE'RE DEVELOPING THE PLANS AND PUTTING OUT THE BID, THE FINAL SOLUTION. SO THAT'S ON ITS WAY. WE WE DISCUSSED IT TWO WEEKS AGO WITH STAFF IN MY OFFICE, AND WE'VE GOT A PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD. SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD. SO THE FUNDING'S BEEN APPROPRIATED BY COUNCIL OKAY. SO THAT'S THAT'S GREAT.

AND I HOPE THAT IT WILL HAPPEN WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. AND IT'LL BE DONE FOUR AND A HALF FOUR AND A HALF. APPRECIATE IT. JUST FOR YOU OKAY. NO, WE'RE WE'RE LOOKING TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE TEMPORARY SOLUTION IN IN IN IN PLACE SHORTLY. I THOUGHT OF MY OTHER QUESTION

[00:05:05]

TALKING ABOUT THE CASINO. DO WE HAVE IN PLACE ANY CITIZENS COMMITTEE OR AUTHORITY OR COUNCIL COMMITTEE TO KIND OF WATCH OVER THE OPERATIONS OF THE CASINO, NOT FROM THE STANDPOINT OF THEIR OPERATIONS, BUT WHAT IS SENT BACK TO THE CITY AND FUNDS THAT WE HAVE VERY MUCH. I THINK CITIZENS APPROVE THAT BECAUSE IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GET A LOT OF MONEY THAT COULD DO A LOT OF THINGS, AND WE NEED TO LIKE THE OLD HOSPITAL AUTHORITY TYPE OF THING, HAVE A CITIZENS COMMISSION OR SOMETHING. IS ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN THE WORKS, RIGHT? IT IS GOING TO GET THE CITY MANAGER TO GET WITH YOU AFTER AFTER THE FACT BECAUSE YOU RAN OUT OF TIME. SO HE'S GOING TO TALK WITH YOU. SIDEBAR WHILE I GO TO YOUR NEXT PERSON.

OKAY. WELL, 35 SECONDS OF MY TIME, HE WAS SPEAKING ON, I THINK WANT TO GET THAT QUESTION.

I KNOW THAT I THINK IF YOU COULD JUST MAKE THAT PRESENTATION, SAY, IN THE NEXT MEETING OR SO, THAT'D BE GREAT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, KEN. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, NEXT UP, MARLOW GREEN. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, 301 RALPH STREET. SO I JUST WANTED TO MENTION TO YOU GUYS THAT ON IN JULY, SEVERAL RESIDENTS FROM POCAHONTAS ISLAND WENT OVER TO THE SOUTH CENTRAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, MEETING ALL THE WAY IN CHESDIN. AND WE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH THEIR FINANCIALS. AND I REALIZED THAT THEY HAD ABOUT 28 MILLION IN UNRESTRICTED REVENUE, AND NOT $1 HAS COME BACK INTO THE POCAHONTAS ISLAND NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD THEY OBVIOUSLY ARE LOCATED IN. AND SO WE FOUND AN EXAMPLE OUT OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, WHERE THEY HAD A BETTERMENT FUND THAT WAS CREATED USING THOSE UNRESTRICTED DOLLARS TO FUND THIS NOW RESTRICTED FUND SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD TO INVEST MORE RESOURCES WITHIN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. AND SO ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS WE DID ASK FOR, AND MR. MARCH WAS THERE AS WELL, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY FINISH THEIR UPGRADES, WHICH I DON'T KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE AWARE OF GOING TO TAKE 3 TO 4 YEARS FOR THEM TO FINISH ALL THE UPGRADES, SIGNIFICANT HEAVY TRUCK TRAFFIC CONTINUING. AND SO IT'S GOING TO TAKE 3 TO 4 YEARS ON THAT. SO WE ASKED THEM ONCE THEY FINISHED THOSE UPGRADES THAT THEY ACTUALLY PUT MONEY BACK INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THEY AFFECT, WHICH BY BY WAY OF REPAVING THE ROADS THAT THEY CURRENTLY DRIVE DOWN. SO WE DID ASK FOR THAT. WE DID NOT GET A RESPONSE BACK ON THAT PIECE YET, BUT THEY DID SEND OUT SOME ITEMS VIA MAIL TO EVERY RESIDENT, OR AT LEAST MOST OF THE RESIDENTS THAT CAME TO THIS MEETING ASKING FOR OUR CONTACT INFORMATION. BUT I THINK WHEN YOU HAVE THESE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS AND NEIGHBORHOODS, THEY SHOULD BE PUTTING MONEY BACK INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, NOT JUST BUYING HAMBURGERS AND HOT DOGS WHEN YOU GOT $28 MILLION. SO THAT'S THAT PIECE. THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CANDLELIGHT CONCERT COMING UP ON SEPTEMBER 25TH THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT GROUP. ONCE AGAIN, THE INVITE AND INVITATION IS OPEN TO YOU ALL. WE ALMOST SOLD OUT OUR LAST OUR FIRST CONCERT IN JUNE, SO WE HAD TO POSTPONE THE AUGUST. AND THEN WE'RE SHOOTING FOR THE SEPTEMBER 25TH DATE, AND THIS WILL BE WHITNEY HOUSTON. AND IT'S THE STORY OF FRIENDSHIPS. SO WE'LL BE WALKING YOU THROUGH THAT STORY AND USING THE MUSIC TO TELL THE STORY OF FRIENDSHIPS. SO THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL THAT I HAVE FOR POCAHONTAS. I FEEL LIKE I'M FORGETTING SOMETHING. OH, ONE OTHER THING. I'VE COMPLETED THE FELLOWSHIP THROUGH PRESERVATION VIRGINIA FOR THE JARRETT HOUSE, DID A PRESENTATION ON THE HISTORY OF THE JARRETT HOUSE AND SOME OF ITS USES WAY BACK WHEN. AND SO WE HAD ABOUT 41 PARTICIPANTS VIA A WEBINAR. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HOST MORE EVENTS LIKE THAT AS PART OF THAT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. IT ACTUALLY GAVE ME OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DOING SOME GENEALOGY WORK AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND SO I THINK WE'RE GOING TO START LOOKING AT THROUGHOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD, A DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT. THE STORIES THAT ARE UNTOLD TO DOCUMENT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, BECAUSE IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY RARE. ONE OF THE THINGS I DID LEARN THROUGH THAT FELLOWSHIP IS THAT ONCE YOU GET TO SO MANY GENERATIONS BACK, RIGHT, IT'S JUST HARD TO FIND AFRICAN-AMERICANS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE A SLAVE AND IT'S NOT WELL DOCUMENTED. AND, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS INTENTIONAL. SO I HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE NEXT WEBINAR WE'LL HOST. I'LL SHARE THAT DATE AS SOON AS WE GET IT ON THE TABLE. SO THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NEXT, MR. DAVID BETTS. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS DAVID BETTS. I'M 1127 PEARL STREET. MY MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT IS THAT THE CITY WITH THIS LAST STORM THAT CAME THROUGH, I SIT DOWN HERE, KEPT COMING BACK AND FORTH. Y'ALL GAVE GAVE ME THE PROMISE GAME THAT Y'ALL WAS DOING A STUDY ON FIXING THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM. NOTHING WAS DONE. ALL OF THE CITY DRAINS. I MEAN, EVERYTHING MESSED UP. I

[00:10:09]

MEAN, YOU GOT YOU GOT BUILDINGS. I HAD FOUR, I HAD FOUR FEET OF WATER INSIDE MY BUILDING. I MEAN, AND THAT'S CRAZY. AND EVERYBODY JUST COUNCILMAN SAID, WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING.

WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING. NOBODY DID ANYTHING. Y'ALL TOOK IN LENT, MR. CUPPETT BROTHER, $2.7 MILLION TO FINISH A HOTEL, AND Y'ALL HAD A SURPLUS OF $50 MILLION AND YOU DID NOTHING.

YOU DIDN'T SPEND ONE, YOU DIDN'T SPEND TWO, YOU DIDN'T SPEND THREE. YOU DIDN'T SPEND $5 MILLION ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY. WHAT KIND OF WHAT KIND OF CRAZINESS IS THAT? I MEAN, YOU GOT DOWN ON FIFTH STREET. YOU GOT SIGNS SAYING THAT THE WATER COULD GET UP TO SIX FEET ON BOLLINGBROOK THE SAME THING ON. I MEAN, THIS IS JUST CRAZY.

BOLLINGBROOK THAT WHOLE AREA. I HEARD Y'ALL SAY THAT IT'S CERTAIN IF YOU IF YOU FROM THE CITY, YOU KNOW HOW TO GET AROUND. HOW DO YOU GET AROUND? ALL RIGHT. YOU GOT WEST STREET, GOT BOLLINGBROOK STREET, YOU GOT BANK STREET, YOU GOT MCKEEVER STREET, YOU GOT WHAT IS THAT? SAINT ANDREW'S STREET. HOW DO YOU GET AROUND? THIS IS GOING RIGHT TO THE HIGHWAY.

THIS GOING TO HOPEWELL, EVEN DOWN 36. THIS IS CRAZY. I'M JUST. I'M JUST OUT. WHAT ARE Y'ALL GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? I MEAN, AND THEN YOU YOU GET THE PROMISE GAME THAT Y'ALL GOING TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE PEOPLE. THAT WAS THAT SUFFER FROM IT. THAT'S CRAZY. I GOT ON STREET.

I GOT A FIVE, ALMOST FIVE FOOT WALL AROUND MY BUILDING THAT'S BEEN KNOCKED DOWN. I PUT IT ON THE BACK AND THE FRONT. IT'S BEEN KNOCKED DOWN. Y'ALL PLAYING GAMES DOWN HERE, WHICH SOMEBODY GOT TO DIE FOR. Y'ALL TO DO SOMETHING. NEXT UP, MICHAEL WHITTINGTON. ALL RIGHT, MISS BARB RUDOLPH. RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THAT CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. NEXT,

[6. Approval of Consent Agenda (to include minutes of previous meetings):]

MOVE ON TO ITEM SIX, APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA TO INCLUDE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS, ITEM A MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS, PAGES FOUR THROUGH 32 JULY 15TH, 2025.

CLOSED SESSION JULY 15TH, 2025. REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 24TH, 2025 SPECIAL MEETING ITEM B FIRST READING IS SCHEDULED. PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENT TO THE FY 26 GRANTS FUND. C FIRST READING TO SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE FY 26 CARRY FORWARD REQUEST FROM THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR. ITEM D FIRST READING IS SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE PURCHASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG AND DALE PITTMAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF 117 LAFAYETTE STREET, LOCATED IN PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA. E FIRST READ AND SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION FOR ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE PURCHASE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG AND DANIEL SMITH REAL ESTATE, LLC FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOTS FOUR, SIX, NINE AND 12. ROSS COURT, LOCATED IN PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA. ITEM F FIRST READING SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE TO APPROVE A REQUEST BY ANTHONY LEWIS, HIGH STEPPER ENTERPRISE, LLC ON BEHALF OF PAULA WYNN HARRIS, FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO OPERATE A STANDALONE VEHICLE REPAIR SHOP AT 1311 COMMERCE STREET. PARCEL ID 024150800. IN THE M-1 LIGHT INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICT, ITEM G FIRST READING SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PETERSBURG FOR THE PURPOSE OF UPDATING, CLARIFYING, SIGN AND ADVERTISE REGULATIONS TO ADDRESS ONGOING COMPLAINTS AND ISSUES PERTAINING TO CERTAIN ADVERTISING DEVICES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. ITEM H FIRST READ AND SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE. TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PETERSBURG FOR THE PURPOSE OF INCORPORATING ADDITIONAL LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW LAND DEVELOPMENT AND OFF STREET PARKING AREAS. ITEM I FIRST READING SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PETERSBURG FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOWING MUNICIPAL ANIMAL SHELTERS IN THE A AGRICULTURAL ZONING DISTRICT AND REMOVING A REQUIREMENT FOR AN APPROVED SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR PUBLIC AND GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC UTILITIES AND SERVICES IN THE CITY. ITEM J FIRST READING IS SCHEDULED. PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE TO APPROVE AWARDING OF 1.5% ONE TIME BONUS APPROVED BY VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND GOVERNOR TO EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF PETERSBURG DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. ITEM K FIRST READING IS SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARING FOR

[00:15:05]

CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENT TO THE FY 26 GENERAL FUND. VICE MAYOR HILL SO MOVED. COUNCILMAN WESTBROOK SECOND. MR. HILL, CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL COUNCILMEMBER CUTHBERT. AYE.

COUNCIL MEMBER. JONES. AYE. COUNCIL MEMBER. MYERS. COUNCIL MEMBER. WESTBROOK. AYE. COUNCIL

[7. Special Reports]

MEMBER. LEE. AYE. VICE MAYOR. HILL. AYE. MAYOR. AYE. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT IS ITEM SEVEN, A TRI-CITIES REALTORS ASSOCIATION PRESENTATION. HELLO, PETERSBURG CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. OKAY. MY NAME IS NANCY STANKY, AND I HAVE THE HONOR OF SERVING AS THE 2025 PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS. I'M JOINED TODAY BY OUR CEO, DANIELLE VIA. FIRST, WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY. THE SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, WHAT WE CALL SVR, REPRESENTS MORE THAN 450 REALTORS SERVING THE TRI-CITIES AREA. WE'VE BEEN PART OF THIS COMMUNITY FOR OVER 100 YEARS, AND OUR MISSION IS CLEAR TO SERVE AS A COMMUNITY COMMUNITY RESOURCE BY ENHANCING PROFESSIONALISM, UPHOLDING THE NAR CODE OF ETHICS, AND PROTECTING HOME OWNERSHIP AND PROPERTY RIGHTS THROUGH ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION. WE'RE HERE TODAY TO LET YOU KNOW THAT SVR IS HERE AS A RESOURCE TO YOU, FOR EACH OF YOU AND FOR THE CITY OF PETERSBURG AS A WHOLE. ONE OF THE WAYS WE SUPPORT OUR LOCAL LEADERS IS BY PROVIDING MARKET REPORTS THAT BREAK DOWN CURRENT TRENDS IN THE TRI-CITIES REAL ESTATE MARKET. WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN SHARING THESE REPORTS WITH YOUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, BRIAN MOORE, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THEM TO ANYONE ON THE COUNCIL WHO MIGHT FIND THEM HELPFUL. PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO US AT ANY TIME. IF WE CAN ASSIST YOU OR THE RESIDENTS OF PETERSBURG. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR YOUR CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY. AND WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION FOR YOU. THANK YOU FOR EACH OF YOU, AND PLEASE DO FEEL FREE TO CALL ANY TIME. OKAY. MR. MAYOR, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THESE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. YES, LADIES, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU. THANK YOU FOR LEAVING YOUR HOME AND COME AND SHARING SOME OF YOUR TIME WITH US. WE ALL APPRECIATE IT. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WE'VE HAD WE'VE GOT IN PETERSBURG IS WE'VE GOT A LOT OF VACANT BUILDINGS, AND THE MOST WE CAN ASSESS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS IS $100 A A YEAR TO THE PROPERTY OWNER AND I. FOR ONE, I THINK MY FAITHFUL SEATMATE HERE FOR ANOTHER, AND PERHAPS OTHERS ON COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT $100 NUMBER INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY. MY GOOD SEATMATE SUGGESTED TO ME $1,000 A YEAR INSTEAD OF $100 A YEAR. WE ARE TRYING TO MOVE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO CREATE SOME INCENTIVES SO THAT PEOPLE WON'T JUST SIT ON EMPTY BUILDINGS. THE EMPTY BUILDINGS BREED CRIME AND REDUCE OUR PROPERTY VALUES AND MAKE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS LESS ATTRACTIVE. WOULD YOUR ORGANIZATION SUPPORT BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY A PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THAT VACANCY CHARGE FROM $100 A YEAR TO $1,000 A YEAR? I WOULD BE HAPPY TO TAKE THAT BACK TO OUR ADVOCACY COMMITTEE TO STUDY AND REPORT BACK TO YOU ON THAT. WELL, THAT'S A FAIR ANSWER, AND I REALLY WISH YOU WOULD, BECAUSE IT'S A PROBLEM THAT WE'VE GOT AND OUR HANDS ARE TIED BY THAT $100. IT'S A SPIT IN THE OCEAN, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T GET ANYBODY'S ATTENTION. YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE HITTING THE MULE WITH A WITH A STRAW. AND WE NEED SOMETHING STRONGER TO HIT THE MULE WITH THE MULE BEING THE OWNER OF THE EMPTY HOUSE. YES. SO IF YOU WOULD. WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU COULD COME BACK TO US? WE ALWAYS DELIGHTED TO SEE YOU. WELL, HOPEFULLY NEXT TIME IT WON'T BE AFTER A SPECIAL SESSION OF. I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT, BUT WE CAN COME BACK ANY TIME, ANY TIME WE, WE WATCH THE SCHEDULES OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT. ALL RIGHT. WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A MEETING ON OCTOBER THE 21ST, A BUSINESS MEETING? YOU THINK YOU COULD COME BACK TO US AT THAT TIME WITH AN ANSWER? I THINK I THINK THERE WILL BE BACK AT THAT TIME TO PRESENT. I THINK THAT GROUP WILL BE BACK AGAIN TO PRESENT AT THAT TIME. SO THAT'S NOT A

[00:20:04]

GOOD TIME. THAT THAT SAME GROUP, MAYBE WE COULD DO NOVEMBER. WE'LL JUST COME LATER. YEAH, WE'LL COME LATER. WELL, Y'ALL MIGHT STILL BE HERE IN NOVEMBER. YEAH. I'LL GET IN CONTACT WITH YOU. LET'S GO TO THE FIRST TUESDAY. WE'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE SLACK A LITTLE MORE SLACK. LET'S GO TO THE FIRST TUESDAY IN NOVEMBER. FIRST TUESDAY, ELECTION DAY. YES.

ELECTION DAY. WE WON'T BE HERE. OH, JEEZ. LET'S GO TO THE THE THIRD TUESDAY IN NOVEMBER. I'M NOT GOING TO BE HERE. I'LL GET IN CONTACT THERE. GET IN CONTACT WITH THE CLERK. YES, COUNCILMAN COPELAND, WHAT WAS. I'M NOT. I'M NOT HEARING OR UNDERSTANDING. WHAT DID YOU SAY, MR. VICE MAYOR? I SAID GET IN CONTACT WITH THE CLERK AND THEN GET WITH OUR SCHEDULE AND SEE WHAT'S MORE PRONE SCHEDULE FOR US. WELL, I'VE LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT IF I DON'T, IF WE DON'T HAVE A DATE, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. YOU SOUND LIKE A REALTOR WORK SESSION. HOW ABOUT THE WORK SESSION IN OCTOBER? CAN YOU DO OCTOBER? THE WHAT WOULD THAT BE? THE SEVENTH? NO, WE CANNOT. GOLF TOURNAMENT. THAT'S OUR SVR ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT. WE'RE ALL TOO BUSY, AREN'T WE? JUST COME BACK BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. WE GOOD? WELL, WE WE NEED TO PUSH THIS. YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO PUT IT ON OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA. SO I DON'T THINK WE COULD. ALL RIGHT, LET'S TRY AGAIN. WELL, I THINK NOVEMBER WOULD BE SOMETHING TO SHOOT FOR. IF YOU COULD COME BACK TO US BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. AND IF YOU WOULD CHECK YOUR CALENDARS WITH THE CLERK OF COUNCIL, THAT OUGHT TO GIVE US THE FLEXIBILITY IT NEEDS TO BE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR SO THAT WE CAN GET OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA TOGETHER AND PROPOSE IT TO OUR FRIENDS IN RICHMOND. SO IF YOU LADIES WOULD DO THAT, THAT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT. AND THANK YOU BOTH. YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME HERE. OKAY. THANK YOU. GREAT. BYE BYE, MR. MAYOR. YES.

ON A SECOND NOTE, I WANT TO THANK DANIELLE FOR COMING HERE, AND I, WE HAD BREAKFAST TOGETHER AND I INVITED HER HERE, AND SHE WAS TELLING ME ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY, THEY DO AND HOW THEY CAN HELP THE CITY OF PETERSBURG AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. SO THANK YOU FOR COMING. MY GOOD FRIEND JAMES JONES MADE THE INTRODUCTION TO US. I THOUGHT HE WOULD BE HERE, BUT I'LL GIVE HIM A CALL AND SEE WHERE HE IS NEXT TIME. I'D LIKE TO SEE HIM HERE AS WELL. BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING OUT AND WHAT HAVE YOU. WE WISH GODSPEED TO PUNCH YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. NEXT ITEM IS SEVEN B PETERSBURG TRANSIT MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE UPDATE FROM DARIUS MASON, PETERSBURG AREA TRANSIT AND DANIELLE MCCRAY KIMLEY-HORN. THE DEPARTMENT OF RAIL AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION REPRESENTATIVES. GOOD EVENING. MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER. WE CAME TO YOU GUYS IN MARCH OF 2025, MARCH 18TH TO PRESENT, THE PETERSBURG TRANSIT MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE, WHICH IS A STUDY THAT WE'RE DOING TO HELP INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS, INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, AND SOME OF OUR LOW LYING INCOME AREAS TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION TO THESE AREAS. WE COME WITH A GREAT UPDATE AS TO OUR PROGRESS FOR THE INITIATIVE. I'M GONNA LET KIMBERLY HORN, DANIELLE MCCRAY, AND SARAH SERIO KIND OF GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE WHERE WE ARE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. SARAH SERENA WITH KIMLEY HORN. AND I'M GOING TO START OFF AND THEN DANIELLE MCCRAY WILL TAKE OVER THE SECOND HALF. SO AS AS MR. MASON MENTIONED, WE WERE HERE BACK IN MARCH AND WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE STAND WITH THE PETERSBURG TRANSIT MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE. AS AN OVERVIEW AND REMINDER, THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT WAS TO INCREASE TRANSIT ACCESS IN THE PETERSBURG COMMUNITY AND MODERNIZE ITS OPERATIONS. THIS IS BEING FUNDED THROUGH A FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION GRANT CALLED THE AREAS OF PERSISTENT POVERTY. GRANT, FOCUSED ON IMPROVING TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY TO AREAS WITH ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. A LARGE PART OF THE PROJECT IS BASED ON GETTING FEEDBACK FROM THE PETERSBURG COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS, AND THAT'S BEEN A HUGE PART OF THIS PROJECT, AS WELL AS ANALYSIS OF DATA. THE PROJECT HAS THREE MAIN COMPONENTS. THERE'S THE COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS OF PAT'S PARATRANSIT SERVICE. WE SPOKE TO YOU ON THAT LAST MEETING. THE SECOND STEP IS THE ACCESSIBILITY GAP ASSESSMENT FOR FIXED ROUTE AND PARATRANSIT SERVICES. AND I'M GOING TO BE FOCUSING ON THAT ONE TODAY. AND THE THIRD COMPONENT, THE LOW NO FUEL FEASIBILITY STUDY, WILL BE A FUTURE ITEM FOR FUTURE STUDY. A LITTLE REMINDER ON THE TIMELINE.

THIS PROJECT STARTED BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 2024. WHEN WE CAME TO YOU IN MARCH, WE

[00:25:05]

PRESENTED ON THE PHASE ONE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS AND THE COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS OF PARATRANSIT SERVICE. SINCE THAT TIME, WE'VE WORKED ON THE ACCESSIBILITY GAP ASSESSMENT AS WELL AS PHASE TWO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. THOSE PHASE TWO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS.

WE WENT BACK TO THE SAME COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS THAT WE HAD WORKED WITH IN PHASE ONE AND WORKED ON RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOW TO MOVE FORWARD FOR NEXT STEPS. THIS PROJECT WILL BE COMPLETED THIS FALL, AND THEN NEXT STEPS WILL BE THE LOW NO FUEL FEASIBILITY STUDY. SO IN TERMS OF THE ACCESSIBILITY GAP ASSESSMENT, THERE IS THREE KIND OF MAIN STEPS OF THE PROCESS.

THE FIRST WAS THE ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER INPUT. SO AS PART OF THAT ANALYSIS WE LOOKED AT THE EXISTING OPERATIONS OF PAT SERVICE WHERE THE ROUTES ARE GOING TODAY, THE RIDERSHIP ON THE ROUTES, THE. ON TIME STATS FOR THE BUSSES. AND WE ALSO LOOKED AT OTHER.

OTHER INPUT IN TERMS OF WHERE ARE PEOPLE GOING TO AND COMING FROM, WHERE ARE THOSE ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS, WHERE DO PEOPLE LIVE? WHERE DO PEOPLE WORK? AND UNDERSTANDING THE EXISTING CONDITIONS IN THE COMMUNITY? WE USED ALL OF THAT, PLUS THE PUBLIC INPUT, WHICH WAS GATHERED THROUGH SURVEYS, STAKEHOLDER INPUT AND THEN THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS GATHERED ALL OF THAT AND USE THAT TO IDENTIFY THE GAPS IN THE EXISTING SERVICE. BASED ON THOSE GAPS, WE THEN DEVELOPED RECOMMENDATIONS WITH PAT STAFF TO MOVE FORWARD AND IMPLEMENT TO ADDRESS THOSE GAPS. SO WHAT WERE THE TAKEAWAYS OF THE GAP ASSESSMENT? WELL, THERE IS THREE MAIN CATEGORIES. THE FIRST WAS REALLY THE LEVEL AND QUALITY OF SERVICE. SO THE GAPS IN THAT CATEGORY THE RED BUCKET WERE ON CUSTOMERS IDENTIFYING THAT EXISTING SERVICE HOURS DON'T ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THEIR TRIP PURPOSES AND TRIP TIMES. WE HEARD QUITE FREQUENTLY THAT FOLKS TRYING TO GET HOME FROM WORK STRUGGLED BASED ON THE TIME OF SERVICE. ANOTHER AREA IN THAT GAP WAS HIGHLY UTILIZED ROUTES AND DESTINATIONS. THEY MAY NEED MORE FREQUENT SERVICE AND THEN AS WELL, CUSTOMERS ALSO IDENTIFIED CHALLENGES TO ACCESSING BUS STOPS THROUGH LACK OF SIDEWALK OR ACCESSIBLE ROUTES, PREVENTING THEM FROM BEING ABLE TO USE THE FIXED ROUTE BUS. THE SECOND AREA OF GAPS THAT WE IDENTIFIED WAS REALLY ON CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS, AND IN THIS BUCKET OF OF GAP, THE BLUE BUCKET, THERE WAS IDENTIFICATION OF A LACK OF CUSTOMER FEEDBACK SYSTEM. SO WHILE WE DID SURVEYING AS PART OF THIS STUDY, A FORMAL WAY FOR CUSTOMERS PROVIDE FEEDBACK YEARLY AND TRACK PROGRESS DOES NOT EXIST TODAY. AND THEN HAVING GREATER CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY OF INFORMATION SO THAT USERS UNDERSTAND AND KNOW HOW TO USE PAT. FIXED ROUTE AND PARATRANSIT SERVICES. AND THEN THE THIRD BUCKET HAD TO DO WITH OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES AND CHALLENGES RELATED TO RECRUITING AND RETAINING STAFF, WHICH OFTEN LED STAFF TO HAVING TO WEAR MULTIPLE HATS AND PERFORM MULTIPLE DUTIES, LEADING TO SOME INEFFICIENCIES. AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DANIELLE TO TALK THROUGH RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY. THANK YOU. SO SO SARAH JUST TALKED THROUGH THE GAPS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT THAT OUR TEAM ASSESSED AS A FIRST PHASE OF THE STUDY. NOW WE'RE GOING TO SPEAK WITH YOU.

THIS IS THE I GUESS THE NEW INFORMATION THAT WE'RE PRESENTING TO YOU. THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS AND AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY THAT'S ULTIMATELY A ROADMAP FOR PAT TO ADDRESS THOSE GAPS IN ACCESSIBILITY THAT WERE DEFINED IN THE PREVIOUS PHASE OF THE STUDY. THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE INTENDED TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY, THE RIDERS EXPERIENCE, AND OVERALL ACCESS TO TRANSIT IN PETERSBURG. A DETAILED TECHNICAL MEMO HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO PAT AND PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PROJECT TEAM THAT OUTLINES INCREMENTAL STEPS THAT WILL HELP PAT ACHIEVE THE RECOMMENDED RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I'M ABOUT TO WALK THROUGH.

AND SO I'LL JUST JUMP INTO THEM. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT BUCKETS THAT ALIGN DIRECTLY WITH THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT SARAH SPOKE TO. THE FIRST IS IMPROVING EXISTING SERVICES OR ENHANCING EXISTING SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO IMPROVE ACCESS. THAT FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS TO EXPLORE EXTENDING WEEKDAY HOURS AND POTENTIALLY WEEKEND SERVICES THAT WOULD BETTER ALIGN WITH SHIFT WORKERS AND EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYEE HOURS THAT ARE EARLIER

[00:30:04]

IN THE DAY OR LATER IN THE DAY. THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION IS FOCUSING ON REFINING SERVICE TO THOSE HIGH DEMAND CORRIDORS AND SOME OF THE UNDERSERVED AREAS THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY INCLUDE MICRO-TRANSIT AND REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS WHERE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES EXIST. THE LAST ONE LISTED HERE IS TO IMPROVE BUS STOP INFRASTRUCTURE AND AMENITIES, SO THAT USERS MAY BETTER ACCESS THE FIXED ROUTE, TRANSIT. THOSE AMENITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE MAY INCLUDE SIDEWALKS, SHELTERS, LIGHTING, AND ADA COMPLIANT PATHWAYS. OUR TEAM WILL PROVIDE CRITERIA FOR PAT TO HELP PRIORITIZE THOSE INFRASTRUCTURES SO THAT FUTURE FUNDING CAN BE INVESTED APPROPRIATELY. THE HOPE WITH THAT IMPROVEMENT IS THAT SOME OF YOUR PARATRANSIT USERS MAY BE ABLE TO SHIFT TO FIXED ROUTE SERVICE IF THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE ARE MADE. THE SECOND BUCKET OF IMPROVEMENTS ARE FOCUSED AROUND IMPROVING THE PUBLIC'S FAMILIARITY WITH PAT SERVICE. SO ESTABLISHING A REGULAR CHANNELS FOR FEEDBACK THROUGH COMMENT FORMS OR ANNUAL SURVEYS IS ONE OF THE FIRST RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS GROUPING, AND THE SECOND IS TO PROVIDE CONSISTENT INFORMATION ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS, AND THAT EXTENDS FROM THE WEBSITE INFORMATION THAT'S PROVIDED, INTERACTIVE MAPS, AND EVEN MULTILINGUAL SUPPORT SERVICES.

AND I ON THIS ONE, I JUST HAVE TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE A KUDOS TO PAT STAFF. THEY'VE ALREADY DEPLOYED SOME IMPROVEMENT OF INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITES THAT'S MAKING IT REALLY IMPROVING THE USER'S EXPERIENCE WITH THAT INFORMATION BEING READILY ACCESSIBLE. SO KUDOS TO PAT THERE. THE THIRD BUCKET IS TO OPTIMIZE THE THE EXISTING SERVICE. AND THIS IS REALLY FOCUSED ON THE STAFFING AND THE PERSONNEL. SO ADDRESSING THE WORKFORCE CHALLENGES BY LOOKING AT AND EXPLORING EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS RICHARD BLAND COLLEGE APPRENTICESHIPS OR EVEN MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS SO THAT YOU CAN STRENGTHEN THE PIPELINE OF THE WORKFORCE THAT YOU NEED TO TO REALLY HELP PAT STAFF DEPLOY THE OPERATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY. THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION HERE IS TO LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGIES TO IMPROVE SCHEDULING, ROUTING, AND EVEN PERFORMANCE METRICS SO THAT YOU HAVE MORE OF AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM. AND SO SOME OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE WAYS THAT YOU CAN INCORPORATE TECHNOLOGY AND HELP THE STAFF DELIVER THE SERVICE IN A MORE EFFICIENT MANNER. SO AS I MENTIONED, THE TECHNICAL DETAILED DOCUMENT THAT WE PROVIDED INCLUDES THOSE NEAR-TERM IMPROVEMENTS. BUT IN THE MOST IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, HERE ARE FOUR STEPS.

THAT IS IS UP NEXT FOR PAT. FIRST TO CONSIDER FOCUSING ON THE HIGH RIDERSHIP AREAS, THOSE QUARTERS THAT HAVE THE HIGHEST DEMAND AND REALLY TRY TO REFINE THAT SERVICE TO SERVE THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT NEED IT THE MOST. THE SECOND IS TO IMPLEMENT FINDINGS FROM A RECENT COMPENSATION STUDY TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE ATTRACTING AND RETAINING THE MOST QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS TO DELIVER SERVICE. THE THIRD STEP THAT WE HAVE LISTED HERE IS TO DEVELOP A COMMENT FEEDBACK FORM THROUGH EXISTING TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS, SO THAT STAFF CAN RECEIVE REGULAR FEEDBACK FROM THE RIDERS AND IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF SERVICE. AND LASTLY, EVALUATE OPPORTUNITIES TO EXTEND WEEKEND SERVICES SO THAT WE CAN ACCOMMODATE THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO WHO NEED THE SERVICE OUTSIDE OF THE HOURS THAT ARE CURRENTLY PROVIDED. SO AS AS SARAH ALLUDED TO EARLIER, THIS IS OUR OUTLINE. WE ARE WRAPPING UP THIS PROJECT AND OR THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT. AND PAT HAS NOW SHIFTED AND WILL PIVOT TO THE LOW NO FUEL FEASIBILITY STUDY, WHICH WILL FOCUS ON THE VEHICLES AND LOW EMISSION VEHICLES TO HELP DELIVER THE SERVICE IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MANNER. AND SO WITH THAT, WE'LL SAY THANK YOU AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. NEXT QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. COUNCILMAN JONES. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. AND THANK YOU ALL. FIRST, I'D LIKE TO SAY TO TRANSIT, MR. MASON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE BUS STOPS YOU'VE BEEN PUTTING AROUND THE CITY. YEAH. IT REALLY YOU'D BE SURPRISED. YEAH.

THAT DESERVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, Y'ALL, BECAUSE. YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW IT MAKES THIS.

IT MAKES THE CITY LOOK BETTER. JUST SEEING A BUS STOP ALMOST EVERYWHERE YOU GO. SO THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION ON ACCESSIBILITY TO BUS STOPS. AND YOU ANSWERED THAT CALL. SO I'M GOING TO SAY THIS PUBLICLY. THE MORE YOU NEED, LET THE MAN KNOW SO WE CAN GET YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO PUT THEM UP. KEEP PUTTING THEM UP. KEEP YOU TO THAT. HOLD US TO IT. LET IT MAKE THE CITY

[00:35:02]

LOOK GOOD. MAN, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. I APPRECIATE YOUR DRIVERS TO. MY NEXT THING IS. WELL, SHE JUST SPOKE ON THE LOW NO FUEL RESEARCH. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PROPANE VEHICLES, ELECTRIC VEHICLES, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. YES. ALL RIGHT. YOU ALSO TALKING ABOUT THE EXISTING HOURS. ARE YOU LOOKING INTO THE. BECAUSE PEOPLE WORK AFTER YOU CLOSE AFTER YOU STOP TRANSPORTING PEOPLE. ARE YOU LOOKING AT EXTENDING YOUR HOURS ANYTIME SOON OR. YEAH. BECAUSE WE GOT WE ARE ONE MOU AWAY FROM EXTENDING HOURS TO 9:00 AT NIGHT. ON ANOTHER SUBJECT, WE'RE GOING TO EXTEND SERVICE BACK UP THE BOULEVARD THROUGH COLONIAL HEIGHTS TO BRIGHT POINT COLLEGE. WE'RE GOING TO EXTEND OUR GREYHOUND HOURS TO 915 AT NIGHT. SO THIS TAKES, YOU KNOW, BODIES AND OF COURSE, VEHICLES. BUT WE ARE ONE MOU AWAY FROM EXTENDING OUR HOURS.

SO YES. CAN YOU ALSO LOOK INTO I KNOW IT'S I DON'T KNOW WHO THIS GO TO, BUT RUNNING ONE BUS OVERNIGHT. JUST ONE BUS IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. NOT JUST FOR PEOPLE WORKING, BUT YOU HAVE RUNAWAYS. YOU HAVE ALL KIND OF THINGS HAPPENING, AND PEOPLE NEED TO GET TO SAFETY.

AND YOU GOT SOME BUS DRIVERS THAT WILL KEEP THEM SAFE. BUT JUST HAVING TRANSPORTATION OVERNIGHT, IT'S JUST ONE BUS TAKING THEM FROM A TO B. WE GOT JOBS IN THE CITY THAT PEOPLE DON'T LIKE WALMART. THEY CAN'T GET FROM WORK, YOU KNOW? BUT THAT'S JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT OKAY. INFO SHARING. I SEE A LOT OF FLIERS OR PASTE ADVERTISEMENT ON THE BUS, BUT WHAT ABOUT IN THE BUS? WE HAVE FLIERS ON THE INSIDE FOR PEOPLE TO PICK UP. I NOTICE, LIKE IN RICHMOND, I HATE COMPARING THIS TO ANYBODY ELSE BECAUSE THERE'S NOBODY LIKE PETERSBURG. I'M GONNA SAY THAT AGAIN. THERE'S NOBODY LIKE PETERSBURG. I WANT US TO BE THE BEST. THAT'S JUST WHAT I BELIEVE. NOW THAT BUS STOPS, THEY HAVE THE NEXT ROUTES, THEY HAVE INFORMATION INSIDE THE BUS STOPS AND ALL OF THAT STUFF. IS THAT SOMETHING? THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. NAOMI AND I. I THINK WE CAME TO COUNCIL A WHILE BACK, EARLIER DURING THE YEAR, AND COUNCIL APPROVED A GRANT FOR US, AND THOSE WERE SOME OF THE AMENITIES THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT. BUT THE BIGGEST THING YOU HAVE TO REALIZE IS WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT PUTTING SIGNAGE AT BUS STOPS, YOU GOT TO WORRY ABOUT VANDALISM. SO WE GOT TO COME UP WITH A WAY THAT WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN WITHOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE AMENITIES BEING VANDALIZED BECAUSE WE WANT TO DO SIGNAGE ON ON BUS SHELTERS AND WHATNOT. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO STUDY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. MY LAST THING I'M GOING TO THROW THIS OUT THERE. I SAID IT BEFORE. YOU GOT A SHORTAGE OF DRIVERS. SCHOOL SYSTEM HAVE A SHORTAGE OF DRIVERS. ALL OF THEM ARE DIESEL. YOU NEED CDF OR BOTH. I MAYBE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ON CROSS TRAINING WHERE IF YOU'RE SHORT DRIVERS, SOME OF THEM SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS CAN COME AND HELP OUT SAME ROUTES ALMOST, YOU KNOW, AND VICE VERSA. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN LOOK INTO DOWN THE LINE OR HAVE A SIT DOWN WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND SAY, HEY, WE WANT TO HAVE A JOINT TRANSIT BECAUSE FOR EMERGENCIES WE'RE GOING TO NEED THEM ANYWAY TO PROBABLY DRIVE YOUR BUSSES AND VICE VERSA, YOU KNOW? SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT, BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MIXING FEDERAL DOLLARS WITH STATE DOLLARS AND OF COURSE, TRANSIT.

WE'RE ALL FEDERALLY FUNDED, FEDERAL FUNDED EMPLOYEES. OF COURSE, SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS ARE NOT. SO THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT WE CAN HAVE TO SEE HOW WE CAN MAKE THAT WORK. RIGHT.

COUNCILMAN JONES, DO YOU MIND IF I LET COUNCILMAN SMITH HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO THAT COUNCILMAN SMITH LEE? MR. MASON. A YOUNG LADY, HAD I ASKED HER, I SAW HER THURSDAY NIGHT AT PETERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAME, AND I WAS LIKE, WHY? WHY AREN'T YOU IN THE THE ONE OF THE CHEERLEADERS OR IN THE PEP SQUAD? AND SHE SAID, MA'AM, I DON'T HAVE ANY TRANSPORTATION AFTER SCHOOL, SO I CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY ACTIVITIES BECAUSE I CAN'T DON'T HAVE A RIDE HOME. IS THERE ANY WAY POSSIBLE, CAN YOU PROVIDE THE KIDS AT PETERSBURG HIGH SCHOOL AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY ALL CONNECTED TOGETHER? TRANSPORTATION FOR SO THAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO GET HOME AFTER SCHOOL? MAYBE FOR A MONTH OR TWO. BECAUSE I'M GOING TO PRESENT THIS TO THE PETERSBURG PUBLIC SCHOOLS. ALSO, THEY DON'T HAVE AN ACTIVITY BUS. AND

[00:40:01]

WE WE LIVE HERE IN THE INNER CITY. AND IF THEY DON'T HAVE PARENTS THAT HAVE CARS OR ABLE TO GET BACK AND FORTH TO, YOU KNOW, SCHOOL AND EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITY, THAT'S THAT'S THE REASON WHY A LOT OF THEM ARE NOT PARTICIPATING IN ANYTHING BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANY TRANSPORTATION. RIGHT. AND IF YOU NEED GAS MONEY, I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU. WE WE COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND. AGAIN, WE NEED ROLLING STOCK TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. AND THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE ROAD THAT, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. PAT WOULD LOVE TO PROVIDE ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL SERVICES FOR THE CITY. AGAIN, WE NEED ROLLING STOCK TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. I'M GOING BACK TO COUNCILMAN JONES. OKAY.

COUNCILWOMAN SMITH, THAT WAS VERY POWERFUL AND TRUE AND IS NEEDED. AND IT REALLY UPSETS ME THAT WE DON'T HAVE A DOG ON ACTIVITY BUS FOR OUR KIDS. SO I THINK BY HER COMING TO YOU, MAN, I CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO EVERYBODY WHAT IS ROLLING STOCK? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'M THINKING YOU NEED BUSSES. THAT'S THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT ROLLING STOCKS ARE. BUSSES. SO I LIKE TO SAY LET'S LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN THE BEST WAY WE CAN. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN. BUT AGAIN, WITH EXTENDED HOURS, YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. THAT COULD BE A STRONG POSSIBILITY BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE BUSSES OUT THERE ON ROUTES. NOT ALL BUSSES WILL BE OUT ON ROUTES. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FIVE BUSSES I BELIEVE IT WAS CONSIST OF SOUTH PARK MALL, THE WASHINGTON STREET ROUTE, BLANDFORD ROUTE 460 COUNTY DRIVE, THE FIFTH ONE. YEAH, THOSE ARE THE ROUTES THAT WILL BE EXTENDED HOURS. SO WE CAN GET SOME OF THESE INDIVIDUALS BACK TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS IF THEY HAVE TO GO TO, YOU KNOW, CHEERLEADER PRACTICE, BASKETBALL PRACTICE OR WHATNOT, BECAUSE THE BUS WILL BE RUNNING AT 915 A NIGHT AND GET THEM BACK HOME. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO WE'RE GOING TO DO OUR BEST DILIGENCE, DO OUR BEST DILIGENCE, AND TRY TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN FOR THE CITY. LIKE I SAID, WE NEED A, YOU KNOW, JUST A LIKE A DESIGNATED PLACE, YOU KNOW, LIKE BLANDFORD, YOU KNOW, ALL THE KIDS ARE IN BLANDFORD, THEY CAN YOU THEY CAN WALK FROM THERE, BUT THEY JUST DON'T HAVE ANY TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION.

RIGHT. THAT'S SHOCKING TO HEAR. ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP THEM. YEAH, THAT'S SHOCKING TO HEAR THAT THE SCHOOL BUS DIDN'T HAVE AN ACTIVITY BUS. THEY DON'T HAVE AN ACTIVITY BUS. SO YEAH, WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO THERE WITH TALKS AND SEE WHAT WE CAN COME UP WITH A PLAN. OH EVEN BETTER MISS MISS SMITH, IF THEY GO ON AND STAY AFTER SCHOOL AND DO THAT ACTIVITY THAT THAT'S PUT THAT PUTS THEM IN A NEUTRAL PLACE WHERE THE CITY BUS CAN COME RIGHT ON THROUGH AND PICK THEM UP AND THEM THE HOURS, YOU KNOW, JUST PICK THEM RIGHT ON UP FROM PETERSBURG HIGH AND AND VERNON JOHN. AND TAKING WHAT THEY NEED TO GO. IS THAT SOMETHING MR. MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER WE CAN SIT DOWN WITH AND TALK ABOUT? I THINK AT THIS POINT IN TIME, LET'S LET'S HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH, WITH THE SCHOOLS AND TRANSIT IN THE CITY ON, ON, ON WHAT IT TAKES, BECAUSE THEY MAY HAVE SOME, SOME ASSETS OVER THERE OR ROLLING STOCK THAT THEY'RE NOT USING IN THE EVENING, BECAUSE IT MAY BE MORE OF A STAFFING ISSUE THAN ANYTHING. AND WHENEVER WE HAVE A STAFFING CRISIS, WE CAN ALWAYS CALL MIKE EDWARDS RIGHT THERE TO GET IN THAT BUS AND AND MAKE IT HAPPEN. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS. OKAY. THAT'S PASSIONATE TO ME BECAUSE I KNOW THAT SO MANY KIDS WANT TO PARTICIPATE, BUT IF THEY DON'T HAVE TRANSPORTATION AND SOME OF THEM LIVE SO FAR, THEY DON'T WANT TO WALK ANYWAY. WE'LL FOLLOW WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THAT. ALL RIGHT. VICE MAYOR HILL, THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. ONE THING I WANT TO ASK, AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, IS YOU ALL KNOW WE GOT THIS MAJOR DEVELOPMENT THAT IS COMING. AND WITH ALL THE INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL BE WORKING, LIVING AND PLAYING IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO REBRAND AND REMODEL OUR, OUR WORKFORCE OR, AND, AND OUR BUSINESSES TO KEEP LATER HOURS FOR ENTERTAINMENT, WE HAVE TO START LOOKING AT OUR, OUR CITY AS A, A RESORT PLACE AS OPPOSED TO JUST A PLACE FOR HISTORIC PRESENTATION. YOU KNOW, WHERE WE CAN, HISTORY WISE. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, IS THERE ANY THOUGHT ABOUT US RUNNING BUS? I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RUNNING THEM LATER, BUT LIKE COUNCILMAN JONES WAS SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, CASINOS STAY OPEN 24 SEVEN. AND WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS WHO AND PRAYERFULLY THEY HAVE THE MEANS TO BUY THEIR OWN VEHICLES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, IN LARGER CITIES LIKE THIS, THEN MAYBE THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN KIND OF LOOK AT. AND I KNOW YOU SAID A LATER

[00:45:05]

HOUR, NOT THE WHOLE FLEET, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE STAFF FOR IT. BUT I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT JUST TRYING TO GET READY FOR THIS, THIS HUGE ECONOMIC STIMULUS THAT'S GOING TO BE COMING TO THE CITY, BECAUSE WE GOT TO BE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE AROUND. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALS MAY WANT TO DO SOMETHING PRIVATELY. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? WITH THE CITY TOURS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, OR, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, CARAVANS COMING DOWN TO OLD TOWN, DOWNTOWN AREA, THINGS LIKE THAT. HAS THERE BEEN ANY THOUGHT ABOUT THAT? YES IT HAS. WE'RE IN DISCUSSIONS RIGHT NOW WITH LIVE. WE MET THE VICE PRESIDENT LAST WEEK AT RICHARD BLAND'S RETURN OF THE STUDENTS, AND WE WE SPOKE. SO WE'RE SETTING A MEETING UP NOW AND THEY'RE ALL LOOKING FOR A 24 OVER SEVEN SERVICE. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO SIT BACK DOWN AT THE TABLE TO, TO TALK ABOUT. AND AGAIN, LIKE ALL OF THIS, YOU KNOW, WILL BE WONDERFUL. BUT AGAIN, IT ENTAILS, YOU KNOW, ROLLING STOCK. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID.

AS FAR AS I GUESS, MR. ALTMAN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS OFFLINE BECAUSE IF THEY'RE GOING TO NEED THAT TYPE OF TRANSPORTATION, THEN THAT MEANS THAT WE NEED TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, JUST, YOU KNOW, IN PARTICULAR EARMARKING IT FOR TRANSPORTATION AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. DID YOU ALL DISCUSS ANYTHING ABOUT SUNDAY, LIKE SUNDAY ROUTES DOWN THE ROAD? DOWN THE ROAD? YES. DOWN THE ROAD WE HAVE PLANS. LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE THINGS IN PLACE WITHIN TRANSIT. I HAVE A NEW OPERATIONS MANAGER, MR. STEVENSON, WHO'S HELPING ME. MISS POINDEXTER IS HELPING ME WITH THINGS, AND WE KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A, YOU KNOW, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY. AND WE'RE WE'RE THERE AND WE'RE WILLING TO HELP. YOU KNOW, TRANSIT IS THE DEPARTMENT THAT MOVES THIS CITY AROUND. YEAH.

AND WE KNOW LATE HOURS ARE GOING TO MAKE LONG HOURS ARE GOING TO BE EXPECTED. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT IT. I KNOW THIS MONTH IN PARTICULAR, I CAME BEFORE TRANSIT EARLIER DURING THE YEAR AND BROUGHT UP, YOU KNOW, PRESENTED A PRESENTATION ABOUT ABOUT ROLLING STOCK. ONE OF THE ACTUAL COMPANIES, ABC COMPANIES THAT'S GOING TO CREATE A BUS FOR US, WILL HAVE A BUS HERE. I WOULD SAY THE END OF THE MONTH. OKAY. GOOD. AND I WILL SEE IF I CAN SEND AN INVITE OUT TO MEMBERS OF COUNCIL THAT CAN COME SEE THAT BUS. AND AGAIN, WE ARE WE ARE READY GETTING READY. WE'RE DOING A LOT IN THE NEW IN THE TRANSIT SYSTEM AND A LOT OF THINGS WE'RE PUTTING IN PLACE AS FAR AS MORE SECURITY, BECAUSE WE KNOW THE LONG HOURS ARE GETTING READY TO COME AND WE'RE JUST WAITING AND WAITING FOR COUNCIL. I'M EXPECTING COUNCIL SUPPORT TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. ALSO, ONE LAST QUESTION.

AS FAR AS MANPOWER, ARE ALL YOUR POSITIONS FILLED? NO THEY'RE NOT UNFORTUNATELY. HOW MANY HOW MANY POSITIONS WE WE INTERVIEWED. ARE YOU DOWN? WE INTERVIEWED THREE DRIVERS TODAY.

EACH DRIVER HAS THE CERTIFICATES, HAVE ALL THE DOCUMENTATION TO BECOME DRIVERS.

SO WITH THOSE THREE, IF WE BRING THEM ON BOARD, THAT WILL PUT US DOWN TO 111 DRIVER POSITION OKAY. SO RIGHT NOW YOU'RE AT FOUR. YES. YOU'RE FOUR MAYBE FIVE DRIVERS THAT YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. WE LOST A LOT OF DRIVERS DUE TO, YOU KNOW A LOT A LOT OF DRIVERS LEAVE SCHOOL YEAR START BACK UP. WE LOST A LOT OF DRIVERS TO PETERSBURG SCHOOL SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT ON A PAY SCALE WITH THE GRTC AT PETERSBURG SCHOOL SYSTEM. IF A DRIVER CAN MAKE $35 AN HOUR, YOU CAN'T BLAME THEM. YOU KNOW WE'RE NOT THERE. HOPEFULLY ONE DAY WE'LL GET THERE. BUT OKAY, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF DRIVERS THAT HAVE BEEN THERE YEARS LIKE I, I'VE BEEN THERE FOR YEARS THAT ARE LOYAL AND THE MONEY REALLY DOESN'T MOTIVATE THEM. SO WITHOUT THEM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, LIKE I'M MR. EDWARDS HERE WHO WILL DO ANYTHING FOR US. WE WERE REALLY HURTING. YEAH. YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN. SOMETIMES I WILL SHOW YOU AROUND. I'LL GET BEHIND THE WHEEL AND DRIVE A BUS. IF, IF, IF IT COMES TO THAT. BUT WE'RE WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT TRACK. I SEE YOU DRIVE A BUS IN THE. WOW. SO YOU GOT MORE STAFF NOW. SO THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. QUESTION. COUNCILMAN CUTLER. YES, THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. AND THANK YOU FOR APPEARING BEFORE US TONIGHT. HELP ME UNDERSTAND, PLEASE. THIS MAP THAT'S COLOR CODED.

IT'S ON PAGE 258 OF OUR PACKET. IT SHOWS AN ORANGE LINE GOING DOWN I-85, AND IT SHOWS A GREEN LINE GOING DOWN I-95. THAT WILL BE OUR MAP SYSTEM FOR ALL OF OUR ROUTES. I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, THE MAP SYSTEM FOR ALL OF OUR ROUTES. SO ARE WE NOW RUNNING THIS GREEN LINE DOWN TO WHAT IS IT, EMPORIA NOT? NO, WE'RE NOT RUNNING TO EMPORIA. THERE ARE

[00:50:08]

TALKS WITH BRUNSWICK COUNTY THAT WE'RE WAITING ON CONTACT FROM BRUNSWICK COUNTY, THAT WE COULD BE HEADING BACK IN THAT DIRECTION TO EMPORIA. OKAY. AND WHO WOULD PAY FOR THAT? THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT'S CONSIDERED A IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S APPROVED, IT'LL BE GRANT FUNDED WITH A DEMONSTRATION ROUTE AND THAT WILL BE THE CITY OF BRUNSWICK AND EMPORIA. WE WILL BE LIKE A CONTRACTOR THAT PROVIDES THE SERVICE. OKAY. WOULD IT END UP COSTING ANYTHING? IT WOULD BE A LOCAL MATCH FOR PETERSBURG, BRUNSWICK AND EMPORIA. IF THEY JUMP ON BOARD WITH THIS, SOMETHING YOU WOULD BRING BACK OF COURSE, TO COUNCIL? YES.

OKAY. NOW WHAT ABOUT THE LINE DOWN I-85? IS THAT GOING ALL THE WAY TO SOUTH HILL, OR IS THAT GOING TO MCKINNEY OR THAT'S GOING TO BRUNSWICK? ALSO, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN GET TO BRUNSWICK. YOU TAKE 95 OR YOU CAN TAKE 85. OKAY. SO TO GO TO BRUNSWICK THAT'S GOING TO LAWRENCEVILLE. IS THAT RIGHT? YES. OKAY. AND THAT'S IN THE TALKING PHASES ALSO. IS THAT RIGHT. SO THIS IS KIND OF WISH LIST IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT. WE ACTUALLY WENT OUT THERE DID A COUPLE OF DEMO ROUTES TO SEE HOW LONG THE ROUTE TAKES. WENT THROUGH THE CITY OF BRUNSWICK. AND WE MET WITH SOME STAFF MEMBERS DOWN THERE. WE'RE JUST WAITING TO REESTABLISH THE COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE SERVICE. WELL, WOULD YOU DO YOUR BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT PETERSBURG DOESN'T END UP LOSING MONEY ON AN EXTENSION LIKE THAT OF THIS? OF COURSE.

OF COURSE. YOU KNOW, MONEY IS IMPORTANT. YES IT IS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION SO MUCH. IT'S MASON PETERSBURG, A TRANSIT DRPT. THANK THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO FOR US. AND WE'LL MOVE RIGHT ALONG TO OUR NEXT ITEM. ITEM C, UVA PRESENTATION. THE INNOVATE PETERSBURG FUND. GOOD EVENING.

GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS BRIAN DAVID. I'M WITH THE WELDON COOPER CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. MAYOR, VICE MAYOR HILL, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

MANAGER ALTMAN, CITY ATTORNEY WILLIAMS, AND MISS HILL. IT'S A PLEASURE TO COME BACK TO YOU.

AS YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH MR. MOORE AND CERTAINLY THE LEADERSHIP AT THE STAFF OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF MONTHS TO BRING BACK TO YOU SOMETHING. I GAVE AN OVERVIEW IN FEBRUARY, AND WITH THAT, I'M JUST GOING TO BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'VE GOT A STRETCHED MEETING HERE, AND I'M GOING TO TRY TO MOVE THROUGH THIS PRETTY QUICK. AND YOU'VE ALREADY GOTTEN A COPY OF THIS SLIDE DECK. OUR ORIGINAL ENGAGEMENT IS TO LOOK AT SOME ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ISSUES AND BASICALLY ASSESS THOSE AND GIVE A PLAN TO TO GUIDE THE PROCESS. CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? ALL RIGHT.

OKAY, GOOD. THE FIRST REPORT I'M COMING BACK TO YOU IS A COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND. AND I'LL GET INTO THE DETAILS OF THAT. THE OTHER IS THE DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN ANALYSIS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL HOTEL WE'RE ENTERING THE FINAL DRAFTING OF THAT. I'M WORKING WITH MR. MOORE AND SHOULD HAVE PLANS TO COME BACK AT AN OCTOBER MEETING TO PRESENT THE FINDINGS OF THAT REPORT. THIS IS MORE DETAIL OF OF THE NEXT STEPS. ONE OF THEM HAS TO DO WITH A STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE POOR CREEK SERVICE AREA, AND ALSO SOME MORE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT WORK. I COME TO YOU WITH A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW, THIS CONCEPT, AND I WROTE THIS DOWN BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I GOT GOT THE STAGE SET FOR WHAT THIS IS.

THIS PROVIDES A REALLY DETAILED BLUEPRINT OUTLINING BOTH THE WHY AND THE HOW FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE FUND. WHILE AMBITIOUS, DIRECTING A TARGETED PORTION OF PROJECTED NEW GENERAL FUND REVENUES FROM THE RESORT, CASINO AND DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENTS MAKES THIS INITIATIVE, IN MY VIEW, BOTH REALISTIC AND ACHIEVABLE IF APPROACHED INCREMENTALLY AND DELIBERATELY. MY INTENT IS TO PROVIDE CITY LEADERSHIP WITH A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK THAT PROVIDES FLEXIBILITY IN DETERMINING THE SEQUENCING AND PACE OF IMPLEMENTATION. I BELIEVE THE FUND CAN DELIVER SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BENEFITS FOR PETERSBURG, WHILE GIVING CITY LEADERSHIP A STRATEGIC TOOL TO GUIDE LONG TERM GROWTH AND INVESTMENT. MY PERSPECTIVE ON THE FUND'S POTENTIAL DRAWS ON MY EXPERIENCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, MY RECENT TENURE MANAGING THE VIRGINIA PROGRAM IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA. REALLY,

[00:55:04]

WHAT THIS DOES IS CONVERT SOME OF A TARGETED PORTION THAT THIS COUNCIL WOULD DETERMINE INTO INVESTMENTS THAT COULD BRING LONG TERM COMMUNITY WEALTH. BUT THERE ARE THREE PILLARS THAT THIS IS BUILT ON COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, TRANSPARENCY AND DISCIPLINED FISCAL MANAGEMENT.

I'VE GIVEN THE PURPOSE, THE VISION, THE GOALS AND INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES. LET ME FOOTNOTE HERE. THESE ARE ALL WHAT I HAVE COME UP WITH AS A STARTING POINT. ALL OF THIS IS CERTAINLY SUBJECT TO COUNCIL'S INPUT AND DECISION MAKING, AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHER INPUTS FROM STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT WE GET ALONG THE WAY. THE INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THIS, IN MY OPINION, BECAUSE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE WHAT IS INVESTED IN THE AMOUNTS THAT ARE INVESTED IN PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF, OF, OF RETURN TO THIS, TO THE CITY. FRONT END WILL INVOLVE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES, NEIGHBORHOOD LISTENING SESSIONS, TARGETED STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS. THESE ARE ALL SUGGESTIONS. THERE COULD BE OTHERS, THERE COULD BE SUBSTITUTES FOR THESE. BUT IT'S AN IDEA OF TRYING TO GATHER INPUT OF WHAT THIS FUND SHOULD BE. AND THEN WITH CITY COUNCIL'S LEADERSHIP AND CERTAINLY WITH CITY STAFF OF HOW TO MAKE THAT VISION HAPPEN, HOW TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. I'M PROPOSING THAT THE GOVERNANCE OF THIS IS AN INNOVATE PETERSBURG COMMITTEE. THIS IS A CITY APPOINTED ADVISORY COUNCIL.

THAT'S AN ADVISORY AND A FIDUCIARY. I THOUGHT THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO BRING FORWARD AS A FIDUCIARY TO EVALUATE AND RECOMMEND PROJECTS. THIS WOULD ALL BE IN CADENCE, ALL BE PATTERNED PACED FOR THE CITY'S ANNUAL OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGETS. THIS COMMITTEE WOULD BE SUPPORTED BY A TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THESE ARE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS THAT ARE BROUGHT ON TO CERTAIN DIFFERENT PROJECTS, AND I'LL GET INTO DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT THIS COULD FUND, COULD, COULD MAKE, PROVIDE FUNDING TOWARDS. BUT IT GIVES YOU THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND BY EXTENSION, THE COUNCIL RELIANCE ON SUBJECT MXPERTS. NOW, THERE MAY BE OTHER ISSUES THAT COME UP ALONG THE WAY. AND SOME PEOPLE IN THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE COULD CERTAINLY ARE ON THE THE COMMITTEE COULD BRING FORWARD. LET ME REITERATE, THE SOURCE OF FUNDS ARE FROM NEW REVENUES, NOT EXISTING REVENUES, BUT NEW REVENUES TARGETED AND AMOUNTS A SET AMOUNT THAT COULD FLUCTUATE FROM YEAR TO YEAR FROM THE DATA CENTERS AND THE RESORT COMMUNITY RESORT CASINO. THIS WOULD BE PART OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS. SO THAT BUILDS IN THAT THAT ANNUAL REFOCUS. ULTIMATELY, THE DECISION MAKING RELIES WITH THIS CITY COUNCIL, AND YOU NEED TO TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT, BE COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT THESE ARE. THESE COULD BE MULTI-YEAR TYPE OF PROJECTS, BUT MAKE SURE IT'S IN THE OVERALL FINANCIAL PLAN FOR THE CITY AND THAT THEY ARE SUSTAINABLE. AND I'LL GET INTO RETURN ON INVESTMENT. WHOEVER IS RECEIVING THESE PROJECTS AND COULD BE CITY DEPARTMENTS, IT COULD BE COMMUNITY GROUPS NEED TO PROVIDE A BUSINESS PLAN. HOW ARE YOU GOING ONCE THIS GRANT OR THESE FUNDING GO? HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SUSTAIN IT? WHAT ARE THE REVENUES AND PROJECTIONS? WHO'S GOING TO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SUSTAIN IT COULD BE A FUTURE GENERAL FUND SUPPORT. THIS IS A GOOD WAY OF PILOTING IDEAS. SELF-SUSTAINING MODELS THAT ACTUALLY CREATE REVENUE OUTSIDE OF, SAY, GENERAL FUND SUPPORT OR CERTAINLY WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED ARE RESERVING OTHER COST RECOVERY OR PARTNERING, GETTING COST REVENUE FROM OTHER REVENUE STREAMS. ONE THING THAT THIS FUND AND I'LL SPEAK TO A STAFFING COMPONENT TO THIS FUND, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WHOEVER IS RECEIVING THESE FUNDS FOR PROJECTS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ACTUALLY SUCCEED. ONE THING I'VE GOTTEN FROM MY EXPERIENCE WITH GO VIRGINIA, IT'S ONE TO GET A GRANT. IT'S TWO TO TO MAKE IT WORK, AND THEN ACTUALLY TO CONTINUE IT ON SO THAT WHOEVER DOES THE IMPLEMENTATION HAS TO BE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO SO. AND LOOKING WHERE YOU CAN MATCH THIS BECOMES ALSO POTENTIAL FUND FOR MATCH FOR OTHER GRANTS FROM OTHER SOURCES. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GOING THROUGH SOME CHANGES, BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF PHILANTHROPIC. AND THEN ALSO THE STATE COULD SERVE AS SOURCES FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING. LET ME SPEAK ON THE RETURN OF INVESTMENT ANALYSIS. THERE'S A WAY THAT CAN USE IN THE ECONOMICS UNIT AT THE COOPER CENTER, CAN COME UP WITH A MODELING THAT CAN FIGURE OUT, SAY, PROJECTED JOBS, CREATED, GROWTH, GROWTH, THE TAX BASE, OR GET INTO THE QUALITATIVE METRICS, COMMUNITY WELL-BEING, ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY, COLLABORATION. YOU ALL KNOW THESE ISSUES VERY WELL, BUT WE FEEL THAT THERE'S AT LEAST A MODEL THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED THAT CAN GIVE YOU BOTH THE QUANTITATIVE AND THE QUALITATIVE IN SCORING THESE PROJECTS AS THEY COME THROUGH THE PROCESS OF REVIEW. AND THEN AFTER THE PROJECT'S BEEN

[01:00:06]

IMPLEMENTED OR DOING THE IMPLEMENTATION, THE PROJECT IS ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS PROPOSED AND PRESENTED AND REPRESENTED. IS IT ACTUALLY HAPPENING? ARE THERE COURSE CORRECTIONS THAT HAVE TO BE MADE? AND THEN IN THIS ALSO SAYS, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A GREAT IDEA IF WE NEED TO BRING IT TO SCALE. BUT THAT ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE IN THE ROI PIECE ARE VERY IMPORTANT. IN MY OPINION. THIS IS ONLY, YOU KNOW, IT'S A THREE 360 DEGREE PIE.

THESE ARE REPRESENTATIONS. BUT I WAS LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT COULD PROVIDE SOME IN THE ALLOCATION. THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE FUND IS SET BY THE COUNCIL, WHAT COULD BE INVESTED AND OF COURSE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC EDUCATION AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ARE CERTAINLY PRIORITIES THAT OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE MADE. WITH THIS TYPE OF FUNDING. AND THE ADMINISTRATION RESERVE IS THERE BECAUSE THIS HAS TO BE AN OPERATING UNIT, SO TO SPEAK, WITHIN THE CITY GOVERNMENT. HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTED PROJECTS. I JUST BRING THESE FORWARD FROM MY EXPERIENCE WITH IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WITH THE VIRGINIA PROGRAM. BUT THERE COULD BE OTHERS, AND I HOPEFULLY THERE'LL BE PLENTY OF OTHERS THAT COME FORWARD. REALLY NEED SOMEBODY THAT LIVES THIS EVERY DAY AROUND THE CLOCK IN THE YEAR. THIS BRINGS CORE FUNCTIONS AND IT'S PROJECT OVERSIGHT. IT STAFFS THE COMMITTEE STAFFS, THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE AND THEN CITY STAFF AND COMMUNITY SPONSORS. THIS COORDINATES AMONG ALL OF THEM FOR FEEDING THESE PROJECTS UP THAT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FUND.

I PROPOSE THAT A FUND MANAGER, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, MAYBE CONTRACTED EXPERTS. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE COULD BE SOME OUTSIDE EXPERTISE AND TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS. A LOT OF THIS CAN BE REDUCED TO TECHNOLOGY. I KNOW ABOUT THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND HOW HOW TO MAKE SOME OF THAT WORK. AND SOME OF IT MAY NOT WORK FOR TECHNOLOGY, BUT IT'S A MATTER OF GETTING INFORMATION TO PEOPLE IN THE WAY THAT THEY CONSUME INFORMATION, BECAUSE THAT LENDS TO THE TRANSPARENCY OF THIS. AND AGAIN, A DEDICATED ANNUAL AMOUNT COMING FROM FROM NEW REVENUES NOT TAKING AWAY FROM EXISTING REVENUES, BUT NEW REVENUES ON AN AMOUNT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DETERMINES EACH AND EVERY YEAR. OR YOU COULD DO A THREE YEAR PROJECTION. THIS LAST ONE IS VERY IMPORTANT. I BROUGHT THIS UP. THERE'S VALUE IN HAVING SOMEBODY STAFF THIS AS AN ONGOING CONCERN, BECAUSE WHAT WE HOPE AND HOPE IS NOT A BUSINESS MODEL. I'M NOT PUTTING THAT OUT THERE AS A BUSINESS MODEL. BUT I THINK IF YOU CAN DEMONSTRATE THESE PROJECTS AS BRINGING A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RETURN TO THIS TO THE CITY, SOMEBODY IS MAKING THAT HAPPEN. THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THE COST TO FUND THIS WOULD COME FROM THE FUND, AND THAT THESE STAFFING THEN CREATES VALUE THAT CERTAINLY WOULD BE REPAID OVER OVER TIME.

I'M PROPOSING THIS COULD BE PROPOSED IN A SEQUENT PHASES. THIS IS NOT LINED UP WITH THE JULY 1ST JUNE 30TH THING, BUT OVER TIME, FIRST YEAR IS REALLY TO GETTING THINGS ESTABLISHED.

THERE'S AN APPLICATION PROCESS AND I'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH AND I CAN I'VE GOT PLENTY OF DETAILS THAT I CAN BRING FORWARD, AND CERTAINLY WITH THE CITY LEADERSHIP TO BRING TO YOU LATER ON, AND THEN YOU START A PROCESS, BUT IT'S GOT TO BE CORRESPONDING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET AND CAPITAL BUDGET. AND THEN LASTLY, YOU KIND OF RINSE, SHOWER, REPEAT AND REFINE AS YOU'RE GOING ON. THERE'S ANY NUMBER OF WAYS THAT THIS COULD BE REFINED OVER TIME, AND I HOPE IT DOES BECAUSE IT'S A IT'S WE'RE CREATING SOMETHING OUT OF WHOLE CLOTH HERE, FRANKLY. AND I THINK THERE'S A REALLY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY TO PROVIDE THIS TYPE OF LEADERSHIP AMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. I'M NOT AWARE OF ANYTHING NECESSARILY LIKE THIS IN THE STATE OR ELSEWHERE. AND THEN PUBLISHING AN ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THESE FUNDS AND WHY IS IT BENEFITING THE CITY? AGAIN, THIS IS JUST AN IDEA OF HOW TO CREATE A RETURN ON INVESTMENT, AN ENDOWMENT, MAYBE ANOTHER WAY OF CHARACTERIZING IT FOR THE CITY BECAUSE OF THESE EMERGING AND NEW EXCITING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CERTAINLY GLAD TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS OR FOLLOW UP WITH ANY OTHER INFORMATION. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. MR. DAVID. ANY QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL? ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL GET WITH WITH THE CITY STAFF LEADERSHIP, AND WE'LL START WORKING TOWARDS GETTING THIS TOGETHER FOR IMPLEMENTATION THEN. OKAY. THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU.

OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. NEXT WE HAVE ITEM D FY 26 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET.

GLASPER, HOW ARE YOU? GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING, GARY COZIER, BUDGET MANAGER. SO

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TONIGHT WE HAVE FOR YOU. WE KIND OF WANTED TO WALK THROUGH A HIGH LEVEL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. OH, THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK. AND SO WE'LL WE'LL HAVE THE FULL FIVE YEAR PLAN BEFORE YOU AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING. BUT LIKE I SAID, WE WANTED TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH AND TOUCH BASE ON ON THIS YEAR'S CAPITAL PLAN. SO TOTAL ACROSS SEVERAL PROJECTS HERE TO INCLUDE FARMER STREET ANIMAL SHELTER, UNION TRAIN REHAB AT PARKS AND REC, RENOVATIONS AT CITY HALL, THE COURTS, HVAC REPLACEMENTS AND SOUTHSIDE DEPOT. A TOTAL OF $16 MILLION FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WE'RE EXPECTING TO SPEND ACROSS FIRE AND EMS. IT'S A CURRENT EXPECTATION OF 210,000. GARY UP FOR ONE SECOND. GARY GARRETT, CAN YOU MAKE THAT BIGGER FOR US UP HERE? CAN WE CAN WE ZOOM, ZOOM IN. THERE WE GO. THERE IT IS. PERFECT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. MISS COKER. CAN YOU GO BACK ONE PAGE, GARRETT? YEAH. OKAY. SO. YES, THESE ARE THE PROJECTS LISTED UNDER FACILITIES. SO THE FACILITIES SUBTOTAL IS $16,059,700 ESTIMATED FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. MOVING A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN, YOU HAVE THE FIRE AND EMS AT 210,000. NEXT SUBCATEGORY WOULD BE IT AT 72,000. AND THEN ALSO ALL OF THESE LIST A FUNDING SOURCE NEXT TO THEM. SO THE FUNDING SOURCE COULD BE EITHER, YOU KNOW, CAPITAL RESERVE, WHICH IS OUR REGULAR SOURCE FOR CAPITAL FUNDS, OR THEY COULD BE VARIOUS GRANTS OR BONDS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. NEXT WOULD BE PUBLIC WORKS TOTAL TO SPEND THIS YEAR 1.7 MILLION ACROSS A COUPLE OF TRAFFIC RELATED PROJECTS. LOOKING AT ENGINEERING, WHICH IS THE NEXT SUBTOTAL, WE HAVE 775,000 FOR STREET OPERATIONS IS 6 MILLION. AND SO I'D LIKE TO NOTE THAT INCLUDES THE OAK HILL BRIDGE REPLACEMENT THAT FUNDS ARE APPROPRIATED FOR. SO THAT IS PLANNED TO TO BE DONE IN THIS FISCAL YEAR AS WELL. NEXT SUBCATEGORY WOULD BE STORM WATER. WE HAVE SEVERAL ONGOING STORMWATER PROJECTS TO WHICH WE ALSO HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF GRANTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY THEY WERE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA TONIGHT, SO THEY'LL BE BEFORE YOU AT THE NEXT MEETING FOR APPROVAL. BUT A LOT OF THESE WILL HELP WITH THE DRAINAGE ISSUES AND THE STORMWATER ISSUES THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING WITHIN THE CITY. SO $9 MILLION THERE. MOVING ON. THE NEXT SUB CATEGORY WE HAVE IS WATER AND WASTEWATER, WHICH IS KIND OF THE BIG ONES. SO BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM IS 36 MILLION PLANNED FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR ACROSS WATER AND WASTEWATER CAPITAL PROJECTS. LAST SUB CATEGORY WE HAVE IS TRANSIT AT 2.8 MILLION ACROSS SEVERAL OF THEIR PROJECTS, WHICH BRINGS THE TOTAL CAPITAL BUDGET FOR FY 26 TO $73,565,326.

AND LIKE I SAID, WE'LL HAVE A FULL VERSION OF THIS PLAN BEFORE YOU. BUT WE KIND OF WANTED TO GET THIS BEFORE YOU SO THAT EVERYBODY COULD LAY EYES ON IT. SO. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANY QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL? ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMAN JONES, HOW ARE YOU DOING, SIR? VERY WELL. GOOD. I'M JUST TRYING TO FOLLOW THIS THING NOW.

I'M LOOKING AT. I'M JUST PICKING THIS ONE OUT BECAUSE IT JUMPED AT ME. BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS A CONCERN OF MINE. WE'VE BEEN WARNED ABOUT THE WILCOX LAKE DAM AND ALL I'M SEEING. IS THAT ALL IT'S GOING TO COST TO FIX THAT DAM. 1.5 MILLION. THAT'S THE CURRENT THE SPEND THAT'S EXPECTED FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. SO WITHOUT HAVING THE THE FULL PLAN IN FRONT OF ME FOR THE THE DETAILS, I WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL YOU THE FULL PROJECT COSTS. BUT ANYTHING THAT'S LISTED HERE IS WHAT IS CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO SPEND IN THIS FISCAL YEAR. SO THAT MONEY IS AVAILABLE TO START ON THE DAM RIGHT NOW. YES, IT'S IT'S A GRANT THAT WE HAVE. I DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD THAT APPROVED ALREADY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. YEAH WE DEFINITELY GOT TO GET

[01:10:03]

THAT DONE. I'M NOT TELLING YOU, BUT THE TREES GOT TO BE CUT. AND THAT CONCRETE IS IS BEEN EXPANDED BY THE TREE GROWTH THE HOT AND THE COLD. SO YEAH, LIKE LIKE IT WAS TOLD US BEFORE, IT'S GOING TO BE A WILCOX STREET OVER THERE REAL SOON. AND IT COULD HAPPEN THIS YEAR WITH THE STORMS THAT WE GOT COMING. SO BUT IT DOES NOT CONCERN YOU. BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GOT THE MONEY THERE TO GET STARTED ON COUNCILMAN JONES. MR. MILLER, CAN YOU. CAN YOU, I GUESS, YEAH. CAN YOU GET WHAT? THE CONTRACTORS TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO TAKE THOSE TREES OFF THE HILL OR WILCOX. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, RIGHT? YEAH. CAN YOU GET THE CONTRACTS AND SEE WHAT THEY TAKE OR EITHER. WHAT? PUBLIC WORKS. THANK YOU, SIR, BECAUSE WE GOT THE MONEY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMAN WESTBROOK QUESTION. I DID HAVE A QUESTION TRYING TO CATCH UP. SORRY, MISTER. COUNCILMAN JONES, BUT MY QUESTION ABOUT THAT SAME PIECE WAS MONEY HAS BEEN SET ASIDE, AT LEAST FOR I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL FOR FOUR YEARS. WHERE HAS THAT MONEY BEEN GOING TO? I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT. BUT IF THE MONEY WAS SET ASIDE BY COUNCIL AND IT HAS NOT BEEN USED AND IT'S STILL THERE. I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ONE ON ONE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. COGER.

MISS. ALWAYS APPRECIATE YOU, MISS. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. YES? MAY I ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS, COUNCILMAN? MR. CROSIER, GOOD EVENING. IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU. LET ME ECHO THE POINT THAT COUNCILMAN WESTBROOK MADE FOR AT LEAST FOUR YEARS. I THINK WE'VE HAD THE MONEY. AND FOR AT LEAST FOUR YEARS, NOTHING'S HAPPENED. MR. ALTMAN, CAN YOU HELP US ON THAT? WHEN? WHEN IS THE DAM TO WILCOX LAKE? WILL BE THE WORK ON IT WILL START. AND WHEN'S IT GO FINISH? I DON'T HAVE A START DATE WITH ME. RIGHT? RIGHT NOW. I KNOW WE'RE WORKING ON. GETTING THE CONTRACT AND EVERYTHING SQUARED AWAY SO WE CAN GO OUT AND GET THE WORK DONE. SO WE HAVE, I THINK. DO WE HAVE ALL THE MONEY, JOANNE? WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE MONEY. SO WE'RE WE'VE APPLIED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND THEN WE'RE GETTING THE CONTRACT. GETTING OUR BID SPECS TOGETHER SO WE CAN BID OUT THE WORK. SO AND WHAT'S UNFORTUNATELY WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS IS THE COST OF EVERYTHING HAS GONE UP. YEAH. AND BY THE TIME WE GET OUR ACT TOGETHER, THE COST IS GOING TO BE 8 MILLION. THE YOUNG LADY IN THE BACK IS GOT THIS REALLY GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH DCR. WELL, I AGREE WITH THEY THEY'RE HANDING US MONEY. SO WE'RE WORKING HARD ON ON GETTING THAT ONE DONE. ALL RIGHT. WELL THIS ONE THIS ONE GETS THE ATTENTION OF A LOT OF PEOPLE A LOT OF PEOPLE ON COUNCIL. I'VE HAD THREE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL MENTIONED THIS TO ME.

AND IN MY FIRST TERM ON COUNCIL, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT. I MEAN, REALLY. YEAH. SO I CAN'T SAY I MEAN, AND WE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT. WE'VE HAD SOME FUNDS AND THEY'VE BEEN SITTING AROUND FOR A WHILE AND WE, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY AS THE LEADERSHIP QUESTION, WHY HASN'T ANYTHING BEEN DONE UP TO THIS POINT? MY, MY BUTTON WAS PUSHING ITSELF FOR A LITTLE WHILE, DECIDED TO SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'RE WE'RE IT'S TIME TO MOVE TO ACTION. WE'VE SAT ON THIS FUNDING. IT'S TIME TO MOVE TO ACTION. WHAT IS IT THAT WE NEED TO DO TO MOVE TO ACTION, TO GET IT DONE SO WE CAN START TAKING THINGS OFF THE LIST, AS OPPOSED TO ADDING THINGS TO THE LIST? WELL, LET ME GO FROM AN EXPENSIVE ITEM TO A RELATIVELY MODEST AN ITEM OF RELATIVELY MODEST COST. I WAS RIDING AROUND THE CITY THE OTHER DAY AND SEEING AN AWFUL LOT OF WEEDS GROWING IN THE GUTTERS. IS THERE A PLAN TO GET RID OF THOSE WEEDS? YES. AND WHAT IS THE PLAN AND WHEN'S IT GOING TO START? SO WE ACTUALLY, AS PART OF THE THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE THE POLICE VEHICLES, THERE'S A THERE IS A STREET SWEEPER IN THERE THAT IS OPPOSED TO HAVING. NORMAL BROOM BRISTLES. IT ACTUALLY HAS METAL BRISTLES THAT'LL GET INTO THERE AND DIG THAT OUT OF THE GUTTER. SO THAT WILL BE ONE OF THE PURCHASES THAT WE MAKE OUT OF THAT. AND ONCE WE HAVE THAT MACHINE, THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO DOWN ALL OF THOSE GUTTERS AND BEGIN TO TEAR OUT ALL OF THAT GROWTH THAT'S IN THE GUTTER PAN AND ALONG THE GUTTERS. THAT'S GOING TO BE A BUSY TRUCK. YES IT WILL. WHEN, WHEN, WHEN CAN WHEN ARE WE GOING TO TURN THE IGNITION ON THAT TRUCK FOR THE FIRST TIME. WELL, THAT'S I THINK WE'RE COMING BACK WITH IN IN THE NEXT MEETING. NEXT MEETING FOR COUNCIL TO DO, I THINK A RESOLUTION FOR REIMBURSEMENT AND THE, THE, THE FUNDING, THE PUBLIC HEARING TO UTILIZE THE

[01:15:01]

FUNDING TO APPROPRIATE THE FUNDS. ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THEN I THINK THERE'S I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY ON STATE CONTRACT. SO ONCE ALL THOSE PIECES HAPPEN AT THE NEXT MEETING, THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND START BUYING EVERYTHING. WELL, I THINK THAT WILL RAISE THE SELF-ESTEEM OF OF THE COMMUNITY. OH, I'VE GOT I'VE GOT A LONG LIST OF PLACES THAT FOR THEM TO GO AS I RIDE AROUND, I MAKE NOTE THAT WE'RE COMING DOWN THE STREET. THAT'LL BE COMING TO A NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR YOU SOON. RIGHT. WELL, I SUSPECT IT'LL. I HOPE IT COMES TO EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD. OKAY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. CROSIER. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.

NEXT, WE'LL ROLL RIGHT ALONG INTO THE STAFF UPDATE ON RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCES RETAIL USES. ALL RIGHT JARED. GOOD EVENING AGAIN. THANK YOU. MAYOR. SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU ALL KIND OF AN UPDATE. I KNOW VAPE SHOPS HAVE COME UP TIME AND AGAIN. SO WANTED TO GIVE KIND OF SOME BACKGROUND AS WELL AS THE TEXT OR THE ORDINANCE THAT WE ADOPTED, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE FACED, AND THEN SOME OF THE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS MOVING FORWARD. SO JUST QUICKLY RUNNING THROUGH THE TIMELINE. SO PRIOR TO JULY OF LAST YEAR, TOBACCO AND VAPE SHOPS WERE ALLOWED BY RIGHT IN THE CITY'S COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS AS WELL AS THE M-1 LIGHT INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICT. WE SAW A BIG INFLUX OF THE SHOPS IN LATE 2023, EARLY 2024. COMING OUT OF THAT, WE STARTED LOOKING TO DO A TEXT AMENDMENT TO LIMIT THOSE USES. THAT PROCESS STARTED IN MARCH, AND STAFF WORKED WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON COMING UP WITH A RECOMMENDATION, WHICH WAS BROUGHT TO YOU ALL IN JULY. ONE IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE WAS DURING THAT TIME FRAME ON APRIL 5TH, THE STATE LAW WAS AMENDED TO SPECIFY EXACTLY HOW LOCALITIES ARE ABLE TO REGULATE TOBACCO, NICOTINE, HEMP SALE LOCATIONS. AND THAT CAUSED US TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD A LITTLE BIT. ON THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL WE HAD MADE WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION, WE HAD TO DIAL IN SOME OF WHAT WE WERE LOOKING TO DO. AND AS YOU KNOW, IN JULY OF LAST YEAR, YOU ALL ADOPTED 2024 TEXT AMENDMENT THREE, WHICH LIMITED THE RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE, RETAIL OR VAPE SHOPS TO THE M ONE ZONING DISTRICT AND REQUIRES A SPECIAL USE PERMIT. AND ALSO, THERE'S A REQUIREMENT FOR SEPARATION FROM DAYCARE FACILITIES AS WELL AS PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS. SO LOOKING AT EXACTLY WHAT THAT TEXT AMENDMENT ENTAILED FIRST WAS DEFINING WHAT RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCES WERE. SO ANY PRODUCT MADE OF TOBACCO, INCLUDING CIGARETTES, CIGARS, SMOKELESS TOBACCO, PIPE TOBACCO, ANY NONCOMBUSTIBLE PRODUCT CONTAINING NICOTINE OR VAPING FLUID THAT INVOLVES BEING HEATED UP OR POWERED, OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC, CHEMICAL, MECHANICAL MEANS. AND FINALLY, ANY PRODUCT, INCLUDING RAW MATERIALS FROM HEMP THAT ARE INTENDED TO BE SMOKED. WE ALSO DEFINED WHAT RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE RETAIL WAS. SO IT'S BROKEN INTO TWO PIECES. OFF SITE USE IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH VAPE SHOPS. SO IT'S A FACILITY WHOSE BUSINESS OPERATION INVOLVES THE RETAIL SALE OF RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCES. AND THAT'S KIND OF TWOFOLD. IF IF EITHER 25% OR MORE OF YOUR STANDING INVENTORY OR 15% OR MORE OF TOTAL DISPLAY AREA INCLUDES THESE RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCES, YOU WOULD BE CONSIDERED RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE RETAIL. THE OTHER WAS RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE RETAIL ON SITE USE. SO THIS IS A BUSINESS WHERE YOU KNOW THE PRODUCT IS MEANT TO BE CONSUMED ON SITE. SO LIKE A HOOKAH BAR OR A CIGAR LOUNGE WOULD FALL UNDER THAT SECOND DEFINITION. AND THEN FINALLY, THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUIREMENT THAT RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE RETAIL HAS TO BE LOCATED AT LEAST 1000 LINEAR FEET FROM THE PROPERTY LINE OF ANY DAYCARE CENTER. PUBLIC PRIVATE SCHOOL, AND AGAIN ONLY ALLOWED WITHIN THE M-1 DISTRICT. AND I MENTIONED THE CODE OF VIRGINIA CHANGED AS WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT ORDINANCE. YOU KNOW, THIS IS IMPORTANT AS A AS A DILLON RULE STATE. THAT MEANS AS A LOCALITY,

[01:20:05]

WE CAN ONLY DO WHAT THE STATE EMPOWERS US TO DO. SO THIS CHANGE INTRODUCED A CLAUSE THAT SAID A LOCALITY CAN REGULATE THE RETAIL SALE LOCATIONS OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS, NICOTINE VAPOR PRODUCTS, ALTERNATIVE NICOTINE PRODUCTS, OR HEMP PRODUCTS INTENDED FOR SMOKING, AND MAY PROHIBIT THE SALE LOCATION WITHIN 1000 LINEAR FEET OF A CHILD. DAYCARE CENTER.

PUBLIC PRIVATE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL. AND THEN IT GOES ON TO JUST SAY THAT THIS WON'T AFFECT ANYONE HOLDING A VALID LICENSE PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE, WHICH WAS JULY 1ST OF LAST YEAR, OR ANY. THE ANY FACILITY THAT WAS OPERATING BEFORE JULY 1ST OF 24. SO SINCE ADOPTION, WE HAVE RUN INTO SOME CHALLENGES WITH ENFORCEMENT, YOU KNOW, TO THE FRUSTRATION OF STAFF AS WELL AS COUNCIL. SO I JUST WANT TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES WE'VE RUN INTO. SO THE FIRST, LIKE I JUST MENTIONED, THERE WAS AN EXEMPTION FOR ANYONE WHO WAS NOT ONLY OPERATING BEFORE THAT JULY 1ST DEADLINE, BUT ALSO ANYONE WHO HAD ALREADY PROCURED A LICENSE TO OPERATE. SO WE HAD A SEVERAL SHOPS THAT WERE HAD GONE THROUGH A BUSINESS LICENSE PROCESS. THEY HADN'T OPENED THEIR DOORS YET, BUT THEY HAD DONE IT BEFORE THAT DEADLINE CAME INTO PLAY. AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, VIRGINIA, BEING A DILLON RULE STATE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO RESTRICT OR TO REGULATE LAND USE OTHER THAN THE WAY THAT THE STATE CODE EXPLICITLY DIRECTS US TO. SO I MENTIONED THAT WE HAD DONE SOME WE HAD TO DIAL BACK WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY PROPOSED. IT WAS A MUCH MORE ROBUST ORDINANCE. IT NOT ONLY INCLUDED THE TOBACCO AND VAPE PRODUCTS, IT INCLUDED ADDITIONAL RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCES LIKE CBD OR PRODUCTS THAT ARE MEANT TO. EDIBLES, AS OPPOSED TO SOMETHING, A SMOKABLE PRODUCT. WE ALSO HAD, YOU KNOW, FURTHER SEPARATION AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL PLACES YOU HAD TO BE SEPARATED FROM, INCLUDING SCHOOLS, PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS AND JUST COMMUNITY SPACES IN GENERAL. WE HAD A PROVISION ABOUT SEPARATION BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL SHOPS I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH IN THAT POCKET OF CRATER, WE HAD ABOUT SIX OPEN UP IN A SPAN OF ABOUT THREE MONTHS, SO WE WERE LOOKING TO JUST REDUCE THE VOLUME. AND THEN FINALLY WE HAD A LIMIT ON THE HOURS OF OPERATION. ANOTHER THING THAT COMES INTO PLAY IS FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS ON FREE SPEECH. SIGNAGE IS HAS BEEN COVERED AS FREE SPEECH. SO WE HAVE LIMITED CONTROL WHEN SOMEONE COMES IN AND WANTS TO NAME THEIR SHOP TOBACCO SHOP, BECAUSE WE CAN'T SAY YOU CAN'T CALL YOUR BUSINESS THAT. THAT'S ONE PROBLEM WE RUN INTO. WE ALSO THROUGH OUR BUSINESS LICENSE PROCESS. WHEN WE'RE REVIEWING THESE BUSINESSES ON THE FRONT END, WE SOMETIMES JUST RUN INTO, YOU KNOW, OLD FASHIONED DISHONESTY WHERE THEY APPLY TO BECOME A CONVENIENCE STORE, WHICH IS A DISTINCT USE FROM VAPE SHOPS, AND THEN PROCEED TO OPEN AND OPERATE AS, AS RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE RETAIL FACILITY. SO IN THAT CASE, WE WE WAIT ONCE THEY WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THEY START OPERATING ILLEGALLY BEFORE WE CAN BEGIN ENFORCING. SO WITH THAT, THE ENFORCEMENT PROCESS, YOU KNOW, THAT INVOLVES INSPECTIONS. THEY HAVE AN APPEAL PERIOD. ONCE THEY FIRST RECEIVE A NOTICE, WE THEN HAVE TO GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS OF GETTING CRIMINAL SUMMONS, SCHEDULING COURT DATES. SO THE PROCESS JUST IT ISN'T IT DOESN'T PRODUCE IMMEDIATE RESULTS, EXCEPT IN THE INSTANCES WHERE WE CAN GET, YOU KNOW, VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. ANOTHER ISSUE IS JUST THAT SOMETIMES THE VIOLATIONS GO BEYOND THE USE OF SELLING VAPE AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS. WE RUN INTO THE STORES THAT HAVE SKILL GAME MACHINES OR, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE GOT THEY'RE VIOLATING THE SIGN ORDINANCE. THEY THEY MAY BE SELLING PRODUCTS THAT GO BEYOND WHAT'S LEGAL TO BE SOLD. SO ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT, I WANTED TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THE ONGOING EFFORTS TO TO COMBAT THESE CHALLENGES. WE'VE RUN INTO. ONE IMPORTANT PIECE IS PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT. SO FREQUENT INSPECTIONS. OF

[01:25:08]

POTENTIAL OFFENDERS PURSUING THE CORRECTIVE ACTION KIND OF RIGHT OUT THE GATE. SO WE'VE CURRENTLY GOT. AT THE TIME THIS WAS PUT TOGETHER, I THINK WE HAD SIX ACTIVE VIOLATIONS. I KNOW WE HAVE FOUR THAT ARE PENDING A COURT DATE. THERE SHOULD BE ANOTHER FIVE OR SO WHO WERE GETTING VIOLATIONS TOWARDS THE END OF LAST WEEK. I MENTIONED THE BUSINESS LICENSE PROCESS. SO WE'RE FINDING WAYS TO DO MORE INTENSE VETTING DURING THAT PROCESS. SO WE'RE NOT ALLOWING YOU TO JUST FILL OUT PAPERWORK AND SAY, I'M A CONVENIENCE STORE. WE'RE REQUIRING FLOOR PLANS, BUSINESS PLANS THAT TALK ABOUT WHAT'S THE BUSINESS YOU'RE RUNNING, WHAT IS YOUR INVENTORY, HOW IS YOUR STORE LAID OUT? WE'RE LOOKING WE'RE WRITING INTO THE APPROVAL THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SUBJECT TO INSPECTION, ESSENTIALLY, AS SOON AS THE DOOR IS OPEN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE USE IS WHAT WHAT WAS AGREED TO. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING INTO SOME MORE INTENSIVE REQUIREMENTS, SUCH AS REQUIRING A WRITTEN AFFIDAVIT THAT CAN BE ATTACHED TO THE FILE, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY SWEARING THAT THE ARE INTENDING TO OPEN AS THE USE THAT'S APPROVED. WE'VE BEEN COLLABORATING WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS. WE'VE BEEN RECENTLY WORKING WITH THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE. WE COORDINATE WITH THE COMMISSIONER REVENUE'S OFFICE PRETTY REGULARLY. AND JUST RECENTLY WE WERE ABLE TO SHUT ONE SHOP DOWN FOR VIOLATIONS OF BOTH THE FIRE AND ZONING CODES. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE. SO THE THE FULL REWRITE IS GOING TO LOOK TO KIND OF CLARIFY THESE SHOPS AS A DISTINCT USE, WHERE WE USE WORDING LIKE RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE RETAIL. WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF CUT OUT THE FAT AND JUST SAY WHAT A VAPE SHOP IS, WHERE IT'S ALLOWED. WE'VE ALSO GOT FROM YOUR CONSENT AGENDA EARLIER, WE'RE LOOKING AT A TEXT AMENDMENT TO LOOK INTO SOME UPDATES TO OUR SIGN ORDINANCE. A LOT OF THESE SHOPS HAVE JUST UNATTRACTIVE. LOUD SIGNAGE THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO KIND OF TIGHTEN UP ON THAT ASPECT OF IT. AND FINALLY, JUST MONITORING WHAT SOME OF THE OTHER LOCALITIES ARE DOING. YOU ALL HAVE PROBABLY SEEN IN THE NEWS THAT A HANDFUL OF LOCALITIES HAVE REALLY BEEN CRACKING DOWN, WHETHER ADOPTING NEW ORDINANCES OR GOING DIRECTLY THROUGH LIKE RAIDS OF THESE FACILITIES, SHUTTING THEM DOWN KIND OF ON A MASS SCALE, KIND OF GETTING A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO SOME OF THESE OTHER ISSUES THAT CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE VAPE SHOPS. AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO FINISH UP WITH KIND OF A REMINDER OF THE GOALS. WHEN WE STARTED THE INITIAL TEXT AMENDMENT. BUT WHAT REMAINED TO BE OUR GOALS? ONE, JUST DECREASING THE NUMBER OF TEENS USING TOBACCO OR VAPE PRODUCTS. THERE'S A PROVEN CORRELATION BETWEEN PROXIMITY AND VOLUME OF STORES, AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF YOUNGER INDIVIDUALS SMOKING. WE WANT TO SUPPORT A DIVERSE ECONOMY, BUT WITH A CLEAR FOCUS ON ADVANCING OVERALL PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. SO WE WANT A DIVERSE RANGE OF USES, BUT NOT NOT EVERY USE IS. POINTING US IN A FORWARD DIRECTION. AND FINALLY, PROMOTE CIVIC PRIDE AND ENHANCE OVERALL COMMUNITY CHARACTER.

AND THEN I JUST INCLUDED QUOTE FROM THE THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. YOU KNOW, THE QUALITY OF OUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT HAS PROFOUND IMPACTS ON COMMUNITY HEALTH. AND PETERSBURG WILL STRIVE TO BUILD UPON ELEMENTS THAT SUPPORT A HEALTHY COMMUNITY. SO THAT'S THE OVERVIEW. I HAD INCLUDED THE ACTUAL ORDINANCE AND THE PACKET FOR YOU ALL TO REVIEW WHAT HAD BEEN ADOPTED, AND I'M HAPPY TO FIELD ANY QUESTIONS OR IF THERE'S ANY INFORMATION I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH, I'M HAPPY TO DO SO. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. JARED. THE PIGGYBACK ON WHAT MR. CRUZ IS SAYING. SO THIS WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY IF COUNCIL HAS ANY THOUGHTS OR WANTS TO SHARE THEM. NOT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO NOW LATER ON WAYS THAT WE CAN THEN GO BACK

[01:30:06]

AND LOOK AT IMPROVING OR STRENGTHENING OUR ORDINANCE. IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS, PLEASE.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE DID THIS FOR THIS EVENING WAS THIS IS WHERE WE ARE. THESE ARE THE THINGS WE'VE DONE. AND IF COUNCIL HAS ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROCEED FORWARD, RESTRICTING OR BEING MORE RESTRICTIVE, LET US KNOW. WE'LL WORK WITH STAFF AND WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE COME UP WITH IS WITHIN THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF WHAT WE CAN DO. SO IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS, WE'D BE HAPPY FOR YOU ALL TO SHARE THEM WITH US. OKAY. COUNCILMAN COOPER, THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

AND MR. ALTMAN, THANK YOU FOR THAT INVITATION. I, I, FOR ONE, WANT TO ACCEPT IT. I'LL TELL YOU THAT. I SENT. TONY WILLIAMS AN EMAIL A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO. TONY, PLEASE PHONE ME TO DISCUSS 2024 ZTA OH THREE. THAT'S THE THE ORDINANCE RESTRICTING VAPE STORES AND SO ON. I DID NOT REALIZE IT CONTAINS A 25% LIMIT ON INVENTORY AND A 15% LIMIT ON DISPLAY SHELF AREA. THAT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEADACHE, AS WELL AS A HEALTH HAZARD. HAVE YOU? IS IT DIFFICULT TO. WOULD YOU AGREE, MR. CRUZ, THAT IT'S DIFFICULT TO AND TAKES A LOT OF STAFF TIME TO ENFORCE THIS OR TO CONFIRM THIS 25% LIMIT ON INVENTORY AND 15% LIMIT ON DISPLAY SHELF AREA? AND WHAT'S TO KEEP THE PROPRIETOR FROM KEEPING ANOTHER STASH UNDERNEATH THE COUNTER? SURE, YEAH. THE 25% OVERALL INVENTORY IS CERTAINLY CHALLENGING BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WE CAN'T UTILIZE SEARCH WARRANTS AND THINGS. SO WE'RE RELYING ON THEM VOLUNTARILY SHARING WITH US THAT THE DISPLAY AREA, IT DOES TAKE STAFF TIME, BUT THE THE SORT OF SILVER LINING TO THAT IS IT KEEPS US REGULARLY CHECKING AND IN TOUCH WITH POTENTIAL OFFENDERS. THE CHALLENGE BECOMES IF YOU LOOK AT MORE OF A BLANKET, IF YOU SELL VAPE OR TOBACCO PRODUCTS, YOU END UP CAPTURING WALMARTS AND DOLLAR GENERALS AND WAWA AND SHEETZ AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE KIND OF FOLLOWED THE PATTERN, THAT OF PUTTING A DISTINCT AND MEASURABLE LIMIT IN. WELL, LET ME LET ME READ YOU THE SECOND PARAGRAPH. I'LL READ COUNSEL. THE SECOND PARAGRAPH THAT I WROTE TO TONY, IF COUNCIL WERE INCLINED TO DO SO, COULD COUNCIL PROHIBIT ALL RECREATIONAL SUBSTANCE SALES EXCEPT IN M1 DISTRICTS WITH A SPECIAL USE PERMIT QUESTION MARK, BUT MAKE AN EXCEPTION FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WOULDN'T BE SHUTTING DOWN WALMART AND WE WOULDN'T BE SHUTTING DOWN A WAWA BECAUSE THEY COULD STILL SELL CIGARETTES, BUT THEY COULDN'T SELL VAPE STUFF. THAT SEEMS TO ME ACCOMPLISHED. THE THE HEALTH CONCERN THAT WE ALL HAVE. AND IT WOULD BE ADMINISTRATIVELY SIMPLE, AS IF ANYTHING'S ADMINISTRATIVELY SIMPLE TO ENFORCE. THIS WOULD BE ADMINISTRATIVELY SIMPLE TO ENFORCE. I WOULD ASK MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, WHAT DOES COUNCIL THINK ABOUT ASKING THE CITY MANAGER TO DRAFT SUCH A PROPOSAL AND BRING IT BACK TO US AT OUR NEXT MEETING FOR OUR CONSIDERATION? WE COULD NOT ADOPT IT AT THAT POINT. THE MOST WE COULD DO WOULD BE TO PUT IT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR OCTOBER, FOR A PUBLIC HEARING IN OCTOBER AT THE AT THE BUSINESS SESSION, BUT AT LEAST IT WOULD GET THE PROCESS ROLLING. BUT I WAS REALLY SHOCKED WHEN I READ ON PAGE.

THREE THAT WHEN WE THOUGHT AT LEAST I THOUGHT WE WERE SHUTTING DOWN VAPE STORES IN PETERSBURG A YEAR AGO, WE CREATED SOMETHING THAT WAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE NIGHTMARE, TO USE MY TERM, AND ALLOWED THEM TO CONTINUE TO EXIST. SO I THINK IF WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT TRYING TO PUT AN END TO THIS, AND I FOR 1 A.M. I WOULD LIKE. SOMETHING THAT DOES JUST THIS FOR COUNCIL TO TALK ABOUT OUR NEXT MEETING. BUT THE WHAT IT WOULD SAY WOULD BE WE ARE

[01:35:06]

PROHIBITED. FROM MAKING EXCEPTIONS TO THE. HOW DOES THE REST OF COUNCIL FEEL ABOUT THAT? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO THE REST OF US? I THINK IT'S COUNCILMAN GUBAREV. I THINK OF THE I THINK HENRICO COUNTY HAS JUST DONE SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I THINK I SAW IN THE NEWS THAT AND THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE IT IN THE WORKS. WE CAN DRAFT OURS AND GET THE CITY MANAGER DRAFT OURS ON THE BASIS OF WHAT THEY DID UP THERE. MR. WILLIAMS. YEAH, I THINK YOU HAVE TO FINESSE SOME LANGUAGE INSTEAD OF SAYING YOU'RE PROHIBITING THE VAPE. DEFINE YOUR VAPE SHOPS BASED ON THE SALE OF VAPE PRODUCTS, BUT IT HAS THE SAME ULTIMATE RESULT. BUT IT WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PLANNING COMMISSION, JUST LIKE ANY AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING ORDINANCE, GET THEIR RECOMMENDATION AND THEN COME TO COUNCIL. SO IT'S A IT'S A LITTLE BIT LONGER PROCESS. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, AT LEAST YOU CAN GET THE BALL ROLLING ON IT BY DIRECTING THAT TONIGHT. WELL, THOSE ARE GOOD COMMENTS AND MR. IS IT THEN MR. MAYOR THE WILL OF COUNCIL THAT WE ASKED THE CITY MANAGER TO BRING THIS BACK TO US AND MR. CITY MANAGER, IF YOU WOULD RUN THE LANGUAGE THROUGH MR. WILLIAMS SO THAT THE POINT HE JUST MADE WOULD COULD BE INCORPORATED IN THE PROPOSAL AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AT OUR BUSINESS MEETING IN SEPTEMBER. AND IT IS MR. WILLIAMS SAID. WE THE MOST WE COULD DO WITH THE BUSINESS MEETING IN SEPTEMBER IS TO AGREE TO PUT IT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA FOR THE OCTOBER MEETING, BUT AT LEAST WE'D BE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WELL, I WOULD SAY IF WE HAVE THE LANGUAGE AT YOUR SEPTEMBER 16TH MEETING, YOU WOULD THEN VOTE TO SEND IT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR THEM, BECAUSE IT'S A ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT. WE'D SEND IT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR IT TO WORK ITS WAY BACK UP. ALL RIGHT. WELL, IF YOU WOULD INCLUDE THAT IN WHAT YOU PRESENT TO US SO THAT IT IT'S NOT AS FAST AS ANY OF US WOULD LIKE, BUT IT'S THE LEGAL WAY TO DO IT, AND WE GOT TO DO IT THAT WAY. BUT AT LEAST WE'D BE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WE'D BE STARTING IT OFF. RIGHT. OKAY, GOOD. WELL, THANK YOU, MR. ALTMAN. AND THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, VICE MAYOR. YES. THE ONLY RESERVATION I HAVE. NOT ABOUT THAT, BUT JUST. THESE THESE BUSINESSES, THEY'RE VERY CUNNING AND THEY TRY TO FIND LOOPHOLES AND EVERYTHING WE'VE SEEN THAT IT'S NO NEED FOR US TO GO BACK OVER IT. IF THEY START DOING CONVENIENCE STORES AND STUFF, THEN THEY THEY JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS, THINGS IN THE AISLE AND THEN THEY HAVE EVERYTHING ELSE WILL BE, YOU KNOW, TOBACCO AND VAPE PRODUCTS. SO I THOUGHT WE WERE AT A POINT WHERE WE JUST WEREN'T GOING TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ALLOW ANYMORE IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG AT ALL BECAUSE WE WERE SO SATURATED WITH IT. BUT I GUESS LEGALLY WE CAN'T DO THAT, CAN WE, MR. WILLIAMS? WELL, I THINK WHAT COUNCILMAN CUTHBERT'S PROPOSING IS ABOUT AS CLOSE TO THAT AS YOU CAN GET. IT'S REALLY PUSHING THE ENVELOPE, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S PROBABLY AS CLOSE. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO PUSH THE ONES OUT THAT ARE CURRENTLY LICENSED TO DO IT, BUT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO PROHIBIT FURTHER GROWTH OF WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, PROHIBITING FURTHER GROWTH. THAT'S WHAT THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO DO. AND IF THAT IF THAT WAS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, THEN LET'S DO IT. BUT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ASK STAFF, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU SEE THOSE, YOU KNOW, THOSE APPLICATIONS COME FOR BUSINESS LICENSE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, BE PLAY, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT'S BEING ASKED AND WHAT HAVE YOU. AND THEN WE FOLLOW UP WITH INSPECTION. I JUST GOT A TEXT FROM THE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT, NOT THE SUPERINTENDENT, FROM THE CHAIR OF THE SCHOOL BOARD. HE JUST SAID THEY JUST STARTED SUSPENDING STUDENTS FROM FOR VAPING. THEY JUST STARTED IT THIS WEEK SUSPENDING STUDENTS FOR VAPING. I GUESS THEY GAVE THEM SOME WARNING AND NOW THEY'RE STARTING TO SUSPEND THEM. SO THAT'S THAT MEANS THEY'RE LOSING CLASS TIME AND EVERYTHING. AND IF YOU IF YOU GO BY A LOT OF OUR BUS STOPS, KIDS ARE VAPING. SO, YOU KNOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE TO GET A HOLD OF THIS BECAUSE IT'S GETTING OUT OF HAND. YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE BACK IN THE DAY WHEN THE CAR LOAN PLACES, THE CAR TITLE PLACES WAS COMING, WE HAD TO GET OVER, GET, GET IN FRONT OF THAT. AND THIS IS ANOTHER THING. SO YOU KNOW STAFF COUNCIL, WE GOT TO BE REALLY AGGRESSIVE ABOUT THIS. BUT I LIKE THE PLAN THAT COUNCILMAN COOPER SAID THANKS TO THE PLANNERS AND AND WHAT HAVE YOU. SO WE'LL SEND IT DOWN TO THEM FOR THE LANGUAGE AND THEN THEY'LL BRING IT BACK UP TO US. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN JONES. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. HOW ARE YOU DOING, JARED? I'M DOING WELL. I'M GONNA GIVE YOU SOMETHING THAT MIGHT. I HADN'T HEARD ANYBODY UP HERE TALK ABOUT IT, BUT ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE PREMARKET TOBACCO PRODUCT APPLICATION? NO, SIR, BUT IT'S GOING TO HELP YOU OUT. IT'S GOING TO HELP ALL OF

[01:40:02]

US OUT. PRE-MARKET TOBACCO PRODUCT APPLICATION IS AN APPLICATION THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE FDA BEFORE A NEW PRODUCT. VAPES, E-LIQUIDS, ETC. CAN BE LEGALLY MARKETED IN THE UNITED STATES. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S PMTA IS WHAT THEY CALL IT. DIRECTORY REQUIRES ALL MANUFACTURERS TO CERTIFY THAT THEIR VAPING PRODUCTS HAVE EITHER RECEIVED FDA AUTHORIZATION OR HAVE A PENDING PMTA APPLICATION THAT WAS SUBMITTED BY THE FDA'S DEADLINE OF SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2020. THAT'S FIVE YEARS AGO. BY THE END OF 2025, IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL TO SELL ANY VAPE PRODUCT IN VIRGINIA THAT IS NOT LISTED IN THIS STATE DIRECTORY.

EFFECTIVELY ENFORCING THE FEDERAL PMT RULE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. THAT'S US. THAT IS A TOOL TO ADD IN YOUR TOOLBOX FOR THIS CITY TO ENFORCE IT WITHOUT SAYING YOU CAN'T SELL IT. IT'S LISTED THE STATE ONLY UNITED STATES ONLY AUTHORIZED. I THINK IT'S 20 DIFFERENT TYPES OF VAPE.

AND THEY ALSO SAID IT'S AN ARTICLE THAT SAYS IF THERE'S ANY FLAVOR VAPES THAT'S COMING FROM CHINA, IT'S NOT EVEN FDA APPROVED. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE 15 AND 25%, THAT'S DIFFICULT TO MANAGE. BUT WHEN WE GO IN THERE AND SAY, OR BEFORE YOU GO IN THERE AND SAY, ARE YOU ON THE LIST? ARE THEY ON THE LIST? HAVE THE APPLICATION BEEN SUBMITTED? IF NOT, THERE YOU GO. BECAUSE I HEARD YOU SAY YOU CAN'T USE SEARCH WARRANTS. WELL, ACCORDING TO THE FDA, IT DON'T MATTER IF YOU'RE WALMART OR ANYBODY ELSE. IF YOU'RE SELLING SOMETHING THAT'S ILLEGAL AS A STATE. WE GOT TO SHUT YOU DOWN AS LOCALITY. WE GOT TO SHUT YOU DOWN. THAT'S THAT'S LISTED. THERE'S NOTHING WE GOT TO MAKE UP EVERYBODY. IT'S RIGHT HERE.

FIVE YEARS AGO, THAT DEADLINE, THAT APPLICATION DEADLINE WAS THERE. IS IT IS THERE. SO NOW WE CAN LOOK AT THAT LIST, THAT PMTA LIST, IF ANY OF OUR STORES THAT'S CURRENTLY HERE RIGHT NOW IS ON THAT LIST OR IS NOT ON THAT LIST OR SELLING PRODUCTS IS NOT ON THAT LIST, THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER AVENUE WE CAN TAKE. AND MR. CITY ATTORNEY, I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO LOOK INTO THAT BECAUSE IT EXISTS RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW. AND THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN ADD TO YOUR TOOLBOX. THAT'S ALL I GOT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND WE'LL HAVE THE CITY MANAGER GET BACK WITH US ON THAT. NEXT SOCIAL SERVICES PETERSBURG DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES PRESENTATION ON FEDERAL LAW CHANGES IMPACTING SNAP AND MEDICAID, SIR. GOOD EVENING. HOW'S EVERYTHING? IT'S GOOD. GOOD. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, VICE MAYOR AND COUNCIL APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO COME HERE TONIGHT AND GIVE YOU A BRIEF ON FEDERAL CHANGES FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, AS WELL AS MEDICAID. I APOLOGIZE, I I'M GOING TO BRING SOME NEGATIVE NEWS THAT'S IMPACT THE CITY.

BUT GOOD NEWS, I THINK I'M THE LAST PRESENTATION TONIGHT FOR YOU ALL. NOT YET. OH, YOU GOT ONE MORE. OKAY. WELL, I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LONG NIGHT. I WANTED TO START WITH TO SHARE A LITTLE BACKGROUND REGARDING OUR DEPARTMENT. YOU KNOW, THE IN TERMS OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE ADMINISTER, TOTAL NUMBER OF POSITIONS, ETC. WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 90 CURRENTLY FILLED POSITIONS, WHICH INCLUDES TEN EMERGENCY HIRES. WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 116 FTE. SO ABOUT 26 VACANCIES, OF WHICH ABOUT HALF SUPPORT THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SNAP, TANF, MEDICAID PROGRAMS, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS HERE IN A MINUTE. WE ALSO ADMINISTER CHILD CARE SUBSIDY, ENERGY ASSISTANCE, EMPLOYMENT SERVICES PROGRAMING FOR SNAP AND TANF CLIENTS, AS WELL AS THE FULL ARRAY OF CHILD WELFARE AND ADULT SERVICES PROGRAMING. IN REFERENCE TO OUR CASELOAD AND THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES WE SERVE IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG.

FOR SNAP, IT'S CURRENTLY THESE ARE NUMBERS AS OF THE END OF JULY, 11,262 INDIVIDUALS, WHICH EQUATES TO 6374 HOUSEHOLDS. THE TANF PROGRAM, WHICH IS THE CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, IS APPROXIMATELY 666 INDIVIDUALS, 375 HOUSEHOLDS. MEDICAID, WHICH IS OUR LARGEST PROGRAM THAT THAT CURRENTLY SERVES 18,221 INDIVIDUALS. SO WITH APPROXIMATE POPULATION OF

[01:45:01]

AROUND 34,000 AS OF THE LAST CENSUS NUMBERS IN JULY OF 2024. OUR REACH IN TERMS OF THE PERCENT OF THE CITY POPULATION WE SERVE FOR SNAP IS AROUND 33%, MEDICAID 53%. SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A FAR GREATER REACH THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY PROVIDING THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET.

FURTHERMORE, I WANTED TO SHARE SOME CONTEXT REGARDING THE FISCAL IMPACT OF THE SNAP PROGRAM BECAUSE SOME OF THE CHANGES OVER TIME MAY SEE A REDUCTION IN ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS. SO CURRENTLY, AS OF OUR CASELOAD IN THE MONTH OF JULY, THE TOTAL BENEFITS ISSUED EQUATED TO $2,124,376. THOSE ARE BENEFITS TO THOSE 11,200 INDIVIDUALS. THAT'S AN AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD ALLOTMENT OF AROUND $333. THIS IS A MONTHLY ISSUANCE AMOUNT, SO APPROXIMATELY $25 MILLION GOES BACK NOT ONLY TO THE HOUSEHOLDS, BUT BACK THROUGH THE ECONOMY IN TERMS OF GROCERIES AND NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT TO FAMILIES. SO WHAT BROUGHT ME HERE TONIGHT, THE FEDERAL RECONCILIATION ACT, H.R. ONE THAT WAS APPROVED ON JULY 4TH, 2025 BY THE PRESIDENT, HAD SIGNIFICANT AND FAR REACHING CHANGES TO ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SNAP AND MEDICAID, PROBABLY SOME OF THE GREATEST CHANGES IN THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES, TO BE EXACT. AND ACTUALLY, SOME OF THE CHANGES ARE THE FIRST TIME IN THE SNAP PROGRAM, WHICH STARTED AS WHAT MANY OF US KNOW AS THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM IN THE MID 1960S. SO THE FIRST CHANGE THAT WILL IMPACT STATES IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE COST SHIFT. CURRENTLY OUR PROGRAMS ARE FUNDED THE ADMINISTRATION. SO TO FILL OUR POSITIONS TO PAY RENT SUPPLIES, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT THAT OUR TEAM NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO DO THE WORK. THERE'S A 5,050% SHARE, 50% OF FEDERAL DOLLARS. THE STATES DRAW DOWN, AND THE STATE HAS TO PAY THE OTHER 50%. ADMINISTRATION.

VIRGINIA, ONE OF TEN STATES, IS UNIQUE IN THAT WE ARE A STATE SUPERVISED BUT LOCALLY ADMINISTERED PROGRAM. YOU KNOW, WE ARE A CITY DEPARTMENT. AND SO. THE THERE IS A LOCAL MATCH FOR THE PART OF THE 50% THAT THE THE STATE HAS TO PAY, AND THAT'S 15.5%. SO CITY OF PETERSBURG COVERS 15.5%. STARTING OCTOBER 1ST, 2026, THE STATE MATCH IS GOING TO INCREASE TO 75%. THIS BILL IS APPROVED. SO I MEAN THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN THAT THAT CHANGE ALONE WILL INCREASE $90 MILLION OF ADDITIONAL GENERAL GENERAL REVENUE THAT THE COMMONWEALTH WILL HAVE TO FIND TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT SNAP OPERATIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMMONWEALTH. CAN YOU REPEAT THAT ONE MORE TIME? $90 MILLION, $90 MILLION, CORRECT. OF WHICH, AND WE DON'T KNOW YET HOW THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY WILL ADDRESS THAT IN THE COMING SESSION IN EARLY 2026, WHETHER THEY WILL ABSORB THAT $90 MILLION OR ARE THEY GOING TO TRY TO COST SHARE, YOU KNOW, THE EQUIVALENT OF WHAT THE 15.5% THAT THE CITY CURRENTLY PAYS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM. SO IT'S AN UNKNOWN IMPACT. I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE VIRGINIA LEAGUE OF SOCIAL SERVICE EXECUTIVES, WHICH I'M A MEMBER OF, IN ALL 120 LOCAL DEPARTMENTS ARE IS PLANNING TO LOBBY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO ABSORB THAT $90 MILLION. BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S STILL UNKNOWN AT THIS POINT. THE SECOND IMPACT THAT THE THE BILL HAS COMES LATER IN OCTOBER OF 2027. BUT THE PENALTY THAT COMES ALONG WITH THIS, I CALL IT A PENALTY. IT'S CALLED A YOU KNOW, IT'S REFERRED TO AS A BENEFIT MATCH. SO 100% OF THE SNAP BENEFIT CURRENTLY IS FUNDED BY FEDERAL DOLLARS. THERE IS NO COST SHARE WITH THE STATES OR LOCALITIES. IT'S BEEN THAT WAY SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE FOOD STAMP ACT. AND I BELIEVE 1964.

AND SO THIS IS THIS IS SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN THE IN H.R. ONE, STATES ARE GOING TO HAVE TO NOW START MATCHING THE SNAP BENEFIT BASED ON WHAT'S CALLED THE QUALITY CONTROL PAYMENT ERROR RATE, BECAUSE THE THE PROGRAM, THE BENEFITS ARE 100% FUNDED AND HISTORICALLY HAVE BEEN STATES HAVE TO ADMINISTER QUALITY CONTROL TO BE ABLE TO PROVE THAT THE PROGRAM HAS INTEGRITY. AND WE'RE DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY CORRECTLY, WHETHER, YOU KNOW,

[01:50:07]

FOR THOSE THAT WE APPROVE AS WELL AS THOSE THAT WE DENY. AND SO THE PENALTY WILL BE BASED ON YOUR CURRENT PAYMENT ERROR RATE, BASED ON A SAMPLING OF CASES THAT'S DONE THROUGHOUT THE FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR. CURRENTLY, THE PAYMENT ERROR RATE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA IS AT 11.5% BASED ON THE THE BILL REQUIREMENTS. IF A STATE'S ERROR RATE PAYMENT ERROR RATE IS UNDER 6%, THERE'S ZERO PENALTY GOING FORWARD. IF IT'S BETWEEN 6% AND 8%, IT GOES TO 5%, 8 TO 9.99%, IT'S 10% OVER TEN. IT'S 15%. THAT AMOUNT BASED ON THE CURRENT TOTAL ISSUANCE IN THE COMMONWEALTH. IF THAT PENALTY WAS APPLIED TODAY, THAT'S GOING TO BE AN ADDITIONAL 270 MILLION. AND ON TOP OF THE 90, ON TOP OF THE 90. CORRECT. SO POTENTIALLY THAT'S A $360 MILLION, YOU KNOW, HIT OF ADDITIONAL GENERAL REVENUE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH TO COME UP WITH. IT ALSO EXPANDED WHAT'S CALLED THE ABLE BODIED, ABLE BODIED ADULTS WITHOUT DEPENDENTS. CURRENTLY, IF YOU'RE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 54 AND YOU HAVE NO CHILDREN UNDER 18, YOU ARE TIME LIMITED IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF MONTHS YOU CAN RECEIVE FOR SNAP.

THAT'S GOING TO INCREASE TO 18 TO 64. THE CAREGIVER EXEMPTION IS NARROWED. SO NOW IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN THAT ARE 14 OR OVER BUT UNDER 18, YOU WILL BECOME TIME LIMITED UNLESS YOU MEET AN EXEMPTION AND THEN WAIVERS. STATES HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN ABLE TO REQUEST WAIVERS FOR THE WORK REQUIREMENTS AND THE TIME LIMITS BASED ON UNEMPLOYMENT RATES AND SCARCITY OF JOBS AND LOCAL ECONOMIC AREAS. AND, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITIES, SUBDIVISIONS. COUNTIES, CITIES. CURRENTLY, THERE'S 12 COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA THAT WERE UNDER A WAIVER TO ALLOW THE TIME LIMITS NOT TO COUNT OR REQUIRE WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SNAP PROGRAM. PETERSBURG WAS ONE OF THOSE 12 COMMUNITIES. SEVERAL OF OUR SURROUNDING COUNTIES WERE AND COMMUNITIES WERE INCLUDED. THAT WAIVER ENDED ON JUNE 30TH. THE STATE HAD REQUESTED FEEDBACK FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SERVICES, WHICH ADMINISTERS THE SNAP PROGRAM. THERE'S BEEN NO RESPONSE BACK. THE H.R. ONE BILL NOW CHANGES THAT. WAIVERS WILL ONLY BE APPROVED IF THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES OVER 10%. THE CURRENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR PETERSBURG IS, I BELIEVE, AROUND 5% OR BELOW. SO WE WOULDN'T QUALIFY UNDER THE NEW REQUIREMENTS. THE STATE ALSO, AND I'LL I'LL SHARE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER IN THE PRESENTATION, SOME CURRENT IMPACTS BASED ON THE WAIVER ENDING, WHICH WE WERE NOTIFIED LAST TUESDAY, THAT THE WAIVER WILL END ON SEPTEMBER 30TH. SO WE WILL NOW HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENT TIME LIMITS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT, YOU KNOW, MEET THE ABLE BODIED REQUIREMENTS. THE OTHER THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHANGE, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, MEDICAID WILL NOW HAVE WORK REQUIREMENTS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. THE STATES HAVE HAD OPTIONS OVER THE YEARS TO REQUIRE WORK REQUIREMENTS. A FEW STATES HAVE.

VIRGINIA HAS NOT. SO NOW THAT'S NO LONGER AN OPTION. AND EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1ST, 2027, ANY INDIVIDUAL THAT IS IN WHAT'S CONSIDERED A EXPANSION MEDICAID CATEGORY, AND THAT'S MEDICAID CATEGORIES THAT WERE TIED TO THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, WHICH PROVIDED COVERAGE TO INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 64. THEY WERE THAT GAP THAT DIDN'T QUALIFY FOR MEDICAID IN THE PAST. THOSE INDIVIDUALS WILL NOW HAVE A WORK REQUIREMENT THAT'S ROUGHLY 80 HOURS A MONTH OF SOME SORT OF WORK, EDUCATION OR PUBLIC SERVICE, VOLUNTEERISM, COMMUNITY SERVICE, OR SOME COMBINATION THEREOF. WE ALSO WILL HAVE TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF RENEWALS THAT WE HAVE TO DO CURRENTLY. RIGHT NOW, MEDICAID, WE ONLY HAVE TO DO A RENEWAL OF ELIGIBILITY ONCE A YEAR FOR THE MEDICAID EXPANSION GROUP, WHICH IS ABOUT 5000 INDIVIDUALS IN THE CITY. WE WILL NOW HAVE TO DO RENEWALS TWICE A YEAR. SO IT'S GOING TO INCREASE THE WORKLOAD AND ALSO INCREASE, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT CLIENTS WILL HAVE TO DO IN TERMS OF COMPLETING RENEWAL APPLICATIONS, ETCETERA. SO TIMELINES ALREADY GONE THROUGH

[01:55:03]

SOME OF THESE. YOU KNOW, THE FIRST ONE, YOU KNOW, COMING UP OBVIOUSLY IS OCTOBER 1ST, WHICH IS THE INCREASE IN THE COST SHARE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS GOING TO 75%. OCTOBER OR JUNE OF 2026. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, HHS, IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE INTERIM AND FINAL RULES ON THE MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS TO STATES. JANUARY 1ST, MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS, AND THE SIX MONTH RENEWALS FOR THE EXPANSION CATEGORIES GO INTO PLACE. AND THEN OCTOBER 1ST, 2027, THE PAYMENT ERROR RATE BASED BENEFIT MATCH WOULD START IN THE STATES. SO THAT'S ALMOST TWO YEARS OUT. AND THEN ONGOING 2028 FORWARD. UNLESS THERE'S A CHANGE IN LAW AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. SO LOCAL IMPACTS. SO I STATED EARLIER WE HAVE 11,262 INDIVIDUALS ON SNAP IN THE CITY, OF WHICH APPROXIMATELY 5000 INDIVIDUALS MEET THAT ABLE BODIED ADULT WITHOUT A DEPENDENT. SO INDIVIDUALS THAT, YOU KNOW WILL NOW HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WORK AT LEAST 20 HOURS A WEEK OR MEET AN EXEMPTION TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE SNAP BENEFITS STARTING ON OCTOBER 1ST, UNLESS THEY MEET AN EXEMPTION, IF THEY'RE WORKING 20 HOURS OR MORE, THEY CAN CONTINUE RECEIVING SNAP BASED ON THEIR INCOME AND WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, ALLOTMENT THAT THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID. OF THE 18,000 RESIDENTS, WE ANTICIPATE, ABOUT 5000 FALL INTO THE BASICALLY THE SAME CATEGORY ABOD, WHICH ARE 18 TO 64 YEAR OLDS THAT WILL NOW HAVE TO DO SOME SORT OF WORK ACTIVITY STARTING JANUARY 1ST OF 2027. WE'RE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN WORKLOAD. WE'RE GOING TO SEE AN INCREASE IN APPEALS AS WE TAKE NEGATIVE ACTIONS ON ON ELIGIBILITY FOR SNAP AND MEDICAID CLIENTS. AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON OUR PAYMENT ERROR REDUCTION, RETRAINING OUR TEAM AND DOING OUTREACH WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. OUR NEXT STEPS, KNOW, PARTICULARLY WITH THE WAIVER ENDING OCTOBER 1ST, WE NEED TO START DOING COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

SO WE'LL BE NOTICES THAT WILL BE SENT IN BATCH BY THE STATE, VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO ALL IMPACTED SNAP RECIPIENTS THAT WILL NOW HAVE TO COMPLY WITH WORK REQUIREMENTS AND BE WORKING TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE MORE THAN THREE MONTHS OF SNAP BENEFITS IN ANY 36 MONTH PERIOD. WE'RE STILL WAITING ON WHEN THOSE NOTICES WILL BE MAILED OUT WILL BE SOMETIME IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. BUT I'VE ASKED THE STATE FOR TWO THINGS ONE, WHAT? WE CAN USUALLY BATCH ALL THE NOTICES OVER A WEEKEND SO THAT WE CAN ANTICIPATE WHEN THOSE WILL GO OUT. WE ANTICIPATE WE'LL HAVE INCREASED PHONE CALLS, INCREASED TRAFFIC INTO OUR LOBBIES. YOU ALL MAY GET CONTACTS AS WELL, SO I'LL MAKE SURE TO KEEP, YOU KNOW, MR. ALTMAN UPDATED AS WELL AS THE COUNCIL ON WHEN THOSE DAYS ARE. AND THEN I SAW. ALL RIGHT. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY, AND I WAS THE LAST ONE. I'M TELLING YOU, IT WAS. SO THE BIG NEWS IS THAT THE WORK WAIVER THAT PETERSBURG HAS HAD FOR YEARS IS OVER. NOW.

THAT IS CORRECT. EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 30TH, SEPTEMBER 30TH, OVER SEPTEMBER 30TH. SO EVERYONE IS GETTING BENEFIT GOING BACK TO WORK AT LEAST 20 HOURS A WEEK IN THAT AGE GROUP.

WHERE 18 TO 1818 TO CURRENT, THE CURRENT POLICY IS 18 TO 54. AND THE NEW BILL IT INCREASES 18 TO 64. BUT THE BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T GOT THE NEW FEDERAL GUIDANCE YET, WE'RE ONLY GOING TO APPLY THE TIME LIMITS AND THE WORK REQUIREMENT TO THE 18 TO 54 GROUP. OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCILMAN JONES. YES, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. HOW ARE YOU DOING, SIR? I'M DOING WELL. SORRY. WELL, FIRST, I WANT TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT THE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES, ALONG WITH MR. JARRETT AND MR. KENNY MILLER BACK THERE, AND JOANNE. AND MARY ALL WAS A PART OF HELPING OUT WITH IN MY COLLEAGUES UP HERE IN COUNCILMAN MYERS ESPECIALLY, WAS A PART OF RECTIFYING THE SITUATION DOWN AT PETERSBURG EAST APARTMENTS.

AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING A PART OF THE TEAM AND HELP, HELP GETTING IT GETTING IT PUSHED THROUGH. AND YOU'VE HELPED A LOT OF PEOPLE INDIVIDUALLY. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANKS AGAIN FOR THAT. OH YOU'RE WELCOME. WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP. YES, SIR. EXPLAIN TO EVERYBODY. THIS WAIVER. I KNOW YOU WERE SAYING WE DON'T MEET

[02:00:10]

THE UNEMPLOYMENT CONDITION, RIGHT. COULD YOU COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? YES. SO THE CURRENT WAIVER, WHICH WAS EFFECTIVE JULY 1ST OF 2024, IT WAS ONLY FOR ONE YEAR THROUGH JUNE 30TH, 2025. THE WITH THE CHANGE OF ADMINISTRATION, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN SIGNIFICANT SHIFTS IN POLICY, AS WE ALL KNOW, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. AND WITH THE PASSAGE OF H.R. ONE, IT CHANGED THE REQUIREMENT OF OF WHAT STATES HAVE TO MEET TO BE ABLE TO TO HAVE A WAIVER TO EXEMPT SNAP RECIPIENTS FROM LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, BE IN WORK PROGRAMS OR, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYED A MINIMUM OF 20 HOURS A WEEK. AND SO WE DON'T IF THE FEDERAL I MEAN, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HASN'T RESPONDED TO THE REQUEST FOR THE STATUS OF THE WAIVER THAT ENDED ON JUNE 30TH, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO RESPOND. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO RESPOND BECAUSE THEY WANT THIS THIS PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED. THEY DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, WHAT WE SAY. THAT'S THIS GOVERNMENT.

THEY WANT WHAT THEY WANT. AND THE THING ABOUT IT, AND LET'S BE REAL, EVERYBODY, THIS IS GOING TO AFFECT EVERYBODY IN BOTH WAYS, NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE. WE NEED MORE FAMILIES WORKING. THIS IS A WAY YOU CHANGE THE MINDSET AND THE CULTURE IN THE COMMUNITY. BUT IF YOU CAN'T GIVE THEM A JOB, SOMETIMES YOU GOT TO MAKE PEOPLE WORK. BUT THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER SIDE, PEOPLE WHO NEED ASSISTANCE. AND IT'S GOING TO MAKE YOUR JOB DIFFICULT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE CARING PEOPLE. THAT'S GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY PUT THEMSELVES IN THE SHOES OF EVERY APPLICANT THAT'S COMING TO YOU, ABSOLUTELY TO YOUR DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO AFFECT SOME HOUSEHOLDS, PEOPLE IN THE CITY. WE'RE GOING TO SEE A BIG HIT. WE'RE GOING TO SEE A BIG HIT. I MEAN, I MEAN, EVERYTHING IS GOING UP.

EVERYTHING IS GOING UP. AND I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME, SOME SERIOUS THINGS THAT'S GOING TO BE TAXING ON ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, OUR EMS DEPARTMENT. YOU MAY SEE DIVORCE RATES GOING. YOU WILL SEE ALL KINDS OF STUFF HAPPENING BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO THINK IT'S YOU, BUT YOU GOT TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THAT WORD OUT SAYING THAT THIS IS THIS IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING THIS. AND IT WAS COMING. EVERYBODY, THIS THING WAS COMING. IT WAS COMING. AND AND IT'S HERE. THERE'S NO WAY TO RUN FROM IT. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PEOPLE, YOUR WORKERS, PUT THEMSELVES IN THE SHOES OF THE PEOPLE THAT'S FILLING OUT THE APPLICATIONS AND ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE. BUT WHAT WE DON'T NEED IS PEOPLE THAT CAN WORK. ASKING TO NOT WORK. WE DON'T NEED THAT. WE NEED. IF YOU CAN WORK, LET THEM WORK, YOU KNOW? BUT WE GOT TO REMEMBER THE KIDS, YOU KNOW, I HAD A LADY TALK TO ME TODAY.

SHE HAD SHE HAD TWO WHOLE CHICKENS IN THE REFRIGERATOR. AND I'M NOT TELLING HER BUSINESS BECAUSE I AIN'T SAYING HER NAME, BUT IT'S HITTING ALREADY. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OCTOBER THE 1ST. THAT'S NEXT MONTH. THAT'S NEXT MONTH. SO HOW ARE WE GETTING THESE THINGS OUT, THIS THING OUT TO EVERYBODY? BECAUSE IT'S GETTING WHEN THEY SEE THERE'S NO MORE FOOD STAMPS. AND THIS ALSO AFFECT HOUSING AUTHORITY BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE SAYING ACCORDING TO THEIR INCOME NOW WHEN THESE DON'T PAY A LOT, WE GOT SOME POSITIONS IN THE CITY THAT DON'T PAY A LOT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIX. EVERYWHERE, DON'T PAY A LOT. AND THESE PEOPLE MAY BE FORCED TO MOVE OUT OF THEIR APARTMENTS BASED ON THEIR INCOME. IT'S A LOT THAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, AND SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE GOING TO HANDLE IT, BUT YOU GOT SOMETHING COMING YOUR WAY. AND I THINK COUNCIL WILL STAND BESIDE YOU AS MUCH AS WE CAN IN THE CITY MANAGER. I KNOW, BUT YOU GOT SOME SERIOUS STUFF COMING TO YOU IN THE CITY OF PETERSBURG. WE GOT SOME SERIOUS THINGS COMING TO US. THIS IS WHY I ALWAYS SAY WE GOT TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT. WE SHOULDN'T BE DEPENDENT ON THE GOVERNMENT TO DO NOTHING. WE GOT TO DEPEND ON OURSELVES. WE GOT TO. THE MORE WE DEPEND ON THE GOVERNMENT, THE MORE THEY GOT THE POWER TO YANK IT FROM UNDER YOU. AND NOW YOU'RE SITTING THERE ROBBING AND KILLING EACH OTHER BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T SAVE SOME MONEY FOR FOOD OR YOU DIDN'T PREPARE YOURSELVES. IT'S NOT ABOUT A DEGREE. YOU COULD YOU COULD HAVE ALL KIND OF DEGREES ALL YOU WANT. BUT IF YOU AIN'T PREPARED, WE GOT TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M HELPING. I'M GONNA HELP YOU PUSH FOR THAT. THAT'S ALL I GOT, MR. MAYOR. THANK YOU.

APPRECIATE. AND I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THE THE CHANGES FOR OCTOBER 1ST. THEY START OCTOBER 1ST. SO IF YOU'RE AN ABLE BODIED ADULT WITH NO CHILDREN, YOUR TIME LIMITS WOULD START ON OCTOBER 1ST. AND IF YOU DON'T MEET THE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE EMPLOYED OR IN A EMPLOYMENT ACTIVITY, IT WOULD BE 90 DAYS BEFORE YOUR BENEFITS WOULD END. SO IT'S THREE THREE MONTHS. IS

[02:05:03]

THERE A LIMIT TO HOW MANY KIDS THAT IS COVERED? AND I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THERE. AND A FAMILY WITH WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18 ARE NOT GOING TO BE IMPACTED BY THE TIME LIMITS. SO THERE WON'T BE IMPACTED BY THE TIMELINES, BUT THEY STILL GOT 36 MONTHS TO DO SOMETHING. ONLY THE ONLY ONLY ADULT INDIVIDUALS BETWEEN AGE 18 AND 54 WITH NO CHILDREN. SO FAMILIES WITH KIDS UNDER 18 ARE WE SAYING IT? THEY'RE SAFE FROM THIS CHANGE, CORRECT? OKAY, I KNOW IT'S IT GETS COMPLICATED AND IT'S BEEN A LONG NIGHT SO I CAN COME BACK. AND ARE THEY AFFECTED BY HOW MANY KIDS THEY GOT? SO YOU GOT SOME WOMEN AND MEN OUT THERE THAT GOT TEN KIDS, RIGHT? Y'ALL CUTTING BACK ON THAT TOO? OR THE GOVERNMENT CUTTING BACK SAYING WE ONLY THOSE RULES ALREADY EXIST IN THE TANF PROGRAM. YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN YOU HAVE, THE BENEFIT GETS REDUCED AND LIMITED. SO THAT THAT'S ALREADY BEEN IN PLACE FOR SINCE 1996.

YEAH, I STARTED PAYING CHILD SUPPORT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. ALL YOU DO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT OKAY.

[15. City Manager's Agenda]

THANK YOU. ALRIGHT SO NEXT WE SKIP DOWN TO OUR LAST AGENDA ITEM. CITY MANAGER'S AGENDA JMT IS HERE IS HUNG IN WITH US TONIGHT. MIKE, HOW ARE YOU DOING. GIVE US A QUICK. YEAH.

THIS IS THIS IS THE BIG ONE HERE. THEY'RE GOING TO ROLL THROUGH THIS. ROLL THROUGH IT FOR Y'ALL. AND WE WILL ROLL THROUGH THIS WHILE BEN'S WORKING THAT OUT. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. VICE MAYOR, COUNCIL. MISTER MANAGER. SO WE'RE WE'RE BEING ASKED TO AS YOU REMEMBER, I'M MIKE LUNNEY WITH JMT AND MY COLLEAGUE BEN ANDERSON. AND WE'RE GOING TO SORT OF TAG TEAM THIS SO WE CAN MOVE THROUGH IT QUICKLY. BUT THE WANTED TO BRIEF YOU ON THE STATUS OF THE UTILITY PROJECTS, THE WATER AND WASTEWATER SPECIFIC PROJECTS. THIS IS NOT DRAINAGE. THIS IS WATER AND WASTEWATER. SO PROJECTS AND AS YOU SEE, WE'VE PUT A LITTLE MAP TOGETHER SHOWING ALL THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ONGOING PROJECTS. AND BEN'S GOING TO GIVE YOU A BRIEFING ON ALL OF THEM QUICKLY. THE AS YOU KNOW, THE PAW CREEK WASTEWATER PUMPING STATION IN PAW CREEK FOREST MAIN, THE NEW WATER STORAGE TANK THAT WE'VE SEEN GO UP ON NEAR WAGNER ROAD, THE WAGNER ROAD WATER MAIN, THE WAGNER ROAD, THE WATER MAIN. PHASE ONE LOX WATER MAIN PHASE TWO LOX BOOSTER PUMPING STATION PROJECT. THESE ARE ALL PROJECTS THAT ARE ONGOING IN VARIOUS PHASES IN THE CITY. THE ANIMAL SHELTER, WATER AND WASTEWATER EXTENSION EXTENSION. SO WE PUT JUST TO SHOW YOU THAT THE PROJECTS ARE ALL OVER THE MAP IN THE CITY. AND THE LEAD SERVICE LINE ONE IS A GREAT BIG STAR BECAUSE IT'S ALL OVER THE CITY. WHEREVER THERE'S LEAD SERVICE LINES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFYING THEM ACTIVELY AND READY TO REPLACE. AND BEN'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT SPECIFICALLY. GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR. VICE MAYOR. EVENING COUNCIL. FIRST THREE SLIDES. I'LL BE GOING OVER EXISTING PROJECTS. SOME OF THESE WE'VE PRESENTED ON IN THE PAST. SO FIRST SLIDE IS THE TWO MAIN PAW CREEK WASTEWATER PROJECTS. SO THE FORCE MAIN REPLACEMENT AND THE PUMP STATION UPGRADES. BOTH OF THESE WERE WELL OVERDUE WITH THE FACILITIES BEING BUILT IN 1954 AND LIMITING CAPACITY SPECIFICALLY TO THE PAW CREEK AREA. SO ESSENTIALLY THE PHARMACEUTICAL EXPANSION AND PAW CREEK, AS WELL AS OTHER DEVELOPMENT WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THESE. BOTH THESE PROJECTS ARE FULLY GRANT FUNDED. THEY'RE ONGOING, AND CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED IN 2026. AND THE PHOTO RIGHT HERE IS AN ACTUAL SNAPSHOT OF THE PAW CREEK PUMP STATION, WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE CORROSION AND RUST IN THE HIGHLY CORROSIVE SEWER ENVIRONMENT. THE NEXT MAIN PROJECT ARE ALSO TWO OF THE OTHER PAW CREEK CORE PROJECTS. ON THE WATER SIDE. DRINKING WATER SIDE, SO INCLUDED A WATER EXTENSION DOWN SOUTH, CRATER, CONTROL VALVES, A BOOSTER PUMPING STATION, AND A BEAUTIFUL ELEVATED WATER TANK. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PICTURE HERE, BOTH OF THESE ARE WRAPPING UP. CONSTRUCTION SHOULD BE COMPLETED THIS FALL.

ALSO, ALL GRANT FUNDED BETWEEN EDA AND ARPA, ALL WITH THE PURPOSE OF BOOSTING THE PRESSURES, AND POOR CREEK, WHICH SERVES THE PHARMACEUTICALS AS WELL AS THE HOSPITAL AND IMPROVING FIRE FLOWS AND RESOLVING ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN LONG STANDING. A COUPLE OTHER PROJECTS WE HAVEN'T TALKED AS MUCH ABOUT IS THE LOX WATER MAIN PHASE TWO.

THIS IS ALSO GRANT FUNDED, WAS STARTED EARLY EARLIER THIS YEAR, ABOUT 75% COMPLETE, REPLACING A PORTION OF THE 80 YEAR OLD ASBESTOS CEMENT WATER MAIN WHICH SERVES MOST OF THE CITY AS THE MAIN WATER SUPPLY. FROM ARWA, THERE'S BEEN SIGNIFICANT COST ASSOCIATED WITH EMERGENCY

[02:10:05]

REPAIRS, SO THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN WELL OVERDUE. IN JUST THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT REPLACEMENT LEAD SERVICE LINE INVENTORY AND REPLACEMENT, AS MIKE MENTIONED. AND SO WE ALREADY WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF THE INITIAL INVENTORY, WHICH WAS SUBMITTED BY THE DEADLINE OF LAST OCTOBER, AND WE ARE MOVING INTO THE REPLACEMENT PLANNING PHASE, WHICH IS ALSO GRANT FUNDED.

WE'VE GOT 3.4 MILLION SECURED SO FAR WITH ANOTHER PENDING APPLICATION FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR REPLACEMENT. SO ITS TOTAL IS ABOUT 57 MILLION OF GRANT FUNDS, PROBABLY STARTING 2022 AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 2026. NEXT, MOVE ON TO PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY FUNDED.

THESE ARE ALL PART OF THE FIVE YEAR CIP AND NEEDED IN VARIOUS EMERGENCIES. SO THIS IS THE LOX WATER MAIN PHASE TWO AND THREE, REPLACING THE ADDITIONAL ROUGHLY 10,000 LINEAR FEET OF THE ASBESTOS WATER MAIN. THIS IS ACTUALLY A PICTURE OF EMERGENCY REPAIR THAT WAS DONE OVER THE WINTER. TO PUT IN PERSPECTIVE, SMALL PORTION REPLACEMENT COSTS ABOUT FIVE TIMES AS MUCH AS A PLANNED REPLACEMENT, SO THIS IS NOT BEEN DESIGNED YET, BUT IT'S ONE OF THE PROJECTS IN THE CIP AND THE LOX BOOSTER STATION IMPROVEMENTS. AS THE PRIMARY PUMP STATION FROM ARWA TO DELIVER WATER ACROSS THE CITY AND SUPPLY TO POOR CREEK. THE EQUIPMENT IS WELL PAST ITS USEFUL LIFE, AND THERE'S BEEN A THIRD PUMP NEEDED FOR DECADES NOW. SO THAT PROJECT WAS ACTUALLY DESIGNED BACK. I THINK 2008 JUST HASN'T BEEN CONSTRUCTED, ROUGHLY 4 MILLION. MOUNT VERNON TANK REPLACEMENT THAT WAS INSPECTED IN 2024, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE. PHOTOS FROM THE INSPECTION. THE ROOF WAS SEVERELY RUSTED WITH STRUCTURAL ISSUES THAT IS CURRENTLY IN DESIGN FOR REPLACEMENT. ABOUT 60% LOOKING TO WRAP UP THIS FALL. SO THIS IS ANOTHER PROJECT THAT THE CONSTRUCTION IS UNFUNDED. THE MOUNT VERNON BOOSTER STATION, WHICH TAKES DRINKING WATER FROM THE MOUNT VERNON TANK AND DISTRIBUTES IT DOWN TO POOR CREEK. THAT BOOSTER STATION WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 60S, ALSO IN NEED OF A THIRD PUMP. IN ORDER TO KEEP UP WITH THE INCREASING DEMAND AND POOR CREEK AND ACROSS THE CITY'S SOUTHERN PORTION THAT IS ACTUALLY AT A 100% DESIGN AND READY FOR BID, BUT WAITING ON THE CONSTRUCTION FUNDS. THE WAGNER ROAD EXTENSION, THE WATER SYSTEM IS NOT CONNECTED ON WAGNER ROAD IN 460, SO ADDING A CONNECTION POINT THERE WILL IMPROVE RESILIENCY AND ADD ANOTHER SUPPLY LINE TO POOR CREEK, THE HOSPITAL, PHARMACEUTICAL CAMPUS AS WELL AS RESIDENTS. AND THAT PROJECT IS UNDER DESIGN, BUT THE CONSTRUCTION IS NOT CURRENTLY FUNDED. PRINCE GEORGE INTERCONNECT HAS ALSO BEEN MENTIONED. THERE'S A CONNECTION POINT THAT IS CLOSE BETWEEN THE CITY AND PRINCE GEORGE. IT'S BEEN USED AS AN EMERGENCY CONNECTION USING HYDRANTS, BUT IT'S NOT REALLY A SECURE WAY OF SUPPLYING EMERGENCY FUNDS OR EMERGENCY WATER IN CASE OF AN OUTAGE. SO THERE'S A DESIGN THAT IS CURRENTLY BID READY, JUST WAITING ON CONSTRUCTION FUNDS TO MAKE THAT EMERGENCY SUPPLY PERMANENT. AND WITH REGARD TO THAT PROJECT, PRINCE GEORGE IS WILLING TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COST. YES, COST SHARING ON THAT PROJECT SINCE MUTUALLY MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL. CONTINUE DOWN THE LIST IS THE WATER AND SEWER EXTENSION FOR THE NEW ANIMAL SHELTER OFF FLANK ROAD. THAT'S EXTENDING WATER AND SEWER TO THE NEW FUTURE BUILDING THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDER DESIGN FOR BOTH THE BUILDING AND THE UTILITIES EXTENSION. THAT PROJECT IS IS FUNDED, BUT IF THE BUILDING GOES OVER, THERE MAY BE A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS ON THE SOUTH ROAD INTERCEPTOR. THIS IS A LARGE DIAMETER SEWER INTERCEPTOR THAT RUNS UNDER THE SWAMP BETWEEN SOUTH CRATER WAGNER AND 95, USING SOME FLOW METERS THAT THE CITY PURCHASED, WE DETERMINED THAT THERE'S SIGNIFICANT INFLOW AND INFILTRATION, ESPECIALLY DURING STORM EVENTS, DUE TO THE PIPE BEING UNDERNEATH THE SWAMP, SO THAT IS A PRETTY IMPORTANT PROJECT THAT NEEDS TO BE EXPEDITED AS SOON AS THERE'S FUNDING AVAILABLE TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH CAPACITY FOR ALL THIS DEVELOPMENT IN PORT CREEK DURING RAIN EVENTS. SPECIFICALLY THERE FOR A MINUTE.

YES, SIR. MR. MAYOR. THANK YOU, MR. CITY MANAGER. THIS LAST NEED THAT THE GENTLEMAN REFERRED TO IS THAT IN OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. THE PROPOSAL, THE INTERCEPTOR LIST, I MEAN, THE INTERCEPTOR REHAB, I THINK IT WAS THE BULL CREEK ACCELERATED SEWER REHABILITATION. IN INFLOW AND INFILTRATION, I BELIEVE. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE

[02:15:05]

WOULD LOOK TO IF, WHEN, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT LOOKING AT RATES AND THEN CREATING THAT FLOW OF FUNDING THAT WE COULD UTILIZE TO DO THAT PROJECT. WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE IT FUNDED, BUT THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD LOOK TO FUND, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THE REDUCTION OF THAT INFILTRATION WAS GOING TO HELP US WITH COST DOWN THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. RIGHT, RIGHT. SO THERE'S A REAL ADVANTAGE TO ADDRESSING THIS. ABSOLUTELY. SO HOW DO WHEN CAN WE CAN WHEN CAN WE PUT THIS INCLUDE THIS IN A IN A CIP BUDGET I GUESS IT WOULD BE A.

SO A STORMWATER BUDGET. WELL IT'S REALLY IT'S THE WASTEWATER PIPE. IT'S STORMWATER THAT'S GETTING INTO THE PIPE. BUT IT'S A WASTEWATER PIPE. IT'S A SEWER PIPE. SO WE NEED TO REPLACE THE SEWER PIPE. SO PART OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS HERE IS WHEN WE HAVE OUR DISCUSSION WITH JACOBS ABOUT THE RATE STUDY AND THE RATE INCREASE. IF COUNCIL MOVES FORWARD. PROVIDE US THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT GETTING, THE POTENTIALLY GETTING THE $30 MILLION LINE OF CREDIT THAT WOULD THEN WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT 7 MILLION OF THAT COULD BE FOR THAT PROJECT, WHICH WILL SAVE US MONEY ON THE BACKSIDE OF OUR COST DOWN AT THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. BUT WE PAY AN INCREASED AMOUNT BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MUCH, I AND I GOING TO DO THERE, BUT WE'D HAVE TO BUMP SOMETHING OUT OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT. WELL, WE'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY TAKE THAT 30 AND CREATE OUR OWN PLAN, A PRIORITY OF WHAT WE THINK WE NEED TO INVEST IN AND PRESENT THAT TO COUNCIL. OKAY. WELL, WOULD YOU WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT, WOULD YOU PUT A FOOTNOTE ON THE BUDGET OR AND REFERENCE THIS POOR CREEK ACCELERATED SEWER REHABILITATION? ABSOLUTELY. IF NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET, I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S GONNA BE ONE OF THE ONES WE INCLUDE IN. OKAY. IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO ME. ABSOLUTELY. YES, SIR. OKAY, FINE. SPEND SOME MONEY AND SAVE SOME MONEY.

YES, SIR. AND WE GOT TO, MR. MAYOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GENTLEMEN, LET ME TURN THE MICROPHONE BACK TO YOU. THANK YOU. AS NOT ONLY WILL IT SAVE MONEY IN TERMS OF TREATED WATER, BUT ALSO EMERGENCY REPAIRS, WHICH ARE TYPICALLY 4 TO 5 TIMES THE COST OF THE PLANNED REPAIRS AND TRENCHLESS SO YOU AVOID AS MUCH TRAFFIC DISTURBANCE AND DIGGING UP THE ROAD. SO DOING IT PROACTIVELY CAN ALSO SAVE MONEY IN THAT SENSE. BUT I BELIEVE THAT SPECIFIC PROJECT, THE PORT CREEK ACCELERATED SEWER REHAB, IS IN THE FIVE YEAR CIP, BUT BECAUSE IT'S NOT FUNDED, IT'S IN A FUTURE FISCAL YEAR, AND WE HAVE APPLIED FOR GRANTS FOR THAT PROJECT IN THE PAST, BUT WE'RE NOT SUCCESSFUL. SO THAT IS ANOTHER PIVOTAL PROJECT AND REALLY SHOULD BE DONE CITY WIDE. BUT THIS ONE WAS SPECIFICALLY TARGETED AT PORT CREEK WITH THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. AND THEN I'LL HAND IT OVER TO MIKE. SO SO TO WRAP IT UP, WAIT. SO WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF PROJECTS THERE. SOME MOST OF THEM A LOT OF THEM GRANT FUNDED UP FRONT, SOME OF THEM NOT FUNDED. SOME OF THEM PLANNED TO BE FUNDED, BUT THOSE ARE PLANNED PROJECTS.

THERE'S A WHOLE NOTHER LIST OF PROJECTS WE JUST WANT TO RUN THROUGH HERE REALLY QUICKLY.

AND THESE ARE AND AT THE BOTTOM LINE Y'ALL LOOK TO THE BOTTOM LINE FIRST PROBABLY. AND IT'S A YOU KNOW IT'S $1 BILLION. IS THIS. IF THE CITY HAD $1 BILLION TO SPEND ON WATER AND SEWER PROJECTS TODAY, WE COULD SPEND IT. THAT'S THAT'S THE SORT OF THE STATE OF THINGS.

WE'VE MADE A LIST OF PROJECTS. WE HAVEN'T PUT NUMBERS ON ALL THESE PROJECTS. SOME OF THEM WE HAVE AND SOME OF THEM YOU'VE HEARD OF BEFORE. BUT WE'RE TRYING, WITH JOANNE'S HELP AND MR. ALTMAN'S HELP, WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, EVERY GRANT OPPORTUNITY THAT THAT COMES ACROSS AS INVESTIGATED AND TRYING TO FIND FUNDING SOURCES FOR SOME OF THESE. BUT BUT SOME OF THESE THINGS ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, PAY FOR THEMSELVES AND, YOU KNOW, GENERATORS TO KEEP SYSTEMS GOING AND RUNNING. GENERATORS ARE GETTING OLD. THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED. THEY NEED TO BE REPAIRED. MANHOLE INSERTS WE TALK ABOUT IN MR. KUPFER THAT THE MANHOLE INSERTS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE EASIEST THINGS TO DO TO GET SOME RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR FOR INFLOW, THAT JUST PUTTING A LITTLE PAN IN THERE AND KEEPING THE WATER OUT, LITTLE, LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT SOME OF THESE ARE MAJOR PROJECTS. BANK STREET, PUMP STATION AS, AS, AS A MAJOR EFFORT TO BE REPLACED. AND THE MAIN PUMPING STATION ON POCAHONTAS ISLAND IS A. IT REALLY NEEDS WORK. OKAY. AND AND THESE ARE VERY EXPENSIVE PROJECTS THAT THE CITY'S PLANNING FOR AND PUTTING IN THE CIP FOR FUTURE FUTURE DATES AND DOING THIS PLANNING EFFORT AND MOVING FORWARD WITH IT. BUT IT'S DON'T BE SHOCKED WHEN YOU SEE SOME OF THESE NUMBERS IN THE COMING YEARS. WELL, THAT'S MY ADVICE. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER ALL. CAN YOU ENVISION EVER MOVING THE I'M NOT SURE WHAT IT'S CALLED, THE SEWER PUMPING STATION THERE AT ON POCAHONTAS

[02:20:02]

AND JUST PUTTING IT SOMEWHERE ELSE. THAT WOULD BE ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE CURRENTLY RUNS INTO THE PUMPING STATION, SO IT HAS TO BE SOMEWHERE NEAR THERE. WE CAN MOVE IT. YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WHEN YOU BUILD A NEW OR REPLACE. YEAH. REPLACEMENT STATION MAY GO NEXT DOOR, WHICH CAN ONLY, YOU KNOW, 50FT OR 100FT OR SOMETHING, BUT, BUT MOVE IT COMPLETELY OFF THE ISLAND OR SOMETHING WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD. YEAH. THAT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT. YES, SIR.

YOU'VE ANSWERED HONESTLY. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN JONES. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. AND THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU BACK THERE, JOANNE. THE PULL CREEK PROJECT HAS BEEN IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PROJECTS, INCONSISTENT PROJECTS THAT I'VE EXPERIENCED IN THIS CITY, CONSISTENT AND IMPORTANT. AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, THERE COMES A LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY FROM OUR CITIZENS THAT WE HAVE TO START LOOKING AT. BY DEALING WITH PETERSBURG EAST. JUST THAT'S JUST ONE SET OF APARTMENTS. I'VE SEEN PICTURES OF SIX KNOW, TEN FEET OF GREASE AND NON-BIODEGRADABLE PAPER PRODUCTS. AND FROM MY LITTLE KIDS THAT MAY BE UPSTAIRS WATCHING DOO DOO. TEN FEET OF IT, IT TOOK A SIX INCH MAIN DOWN TO A THREE INCH MAIN. I'VE SEEN THE PICTURES. WITH THAT BEING SAID, I GOT A QUESTION. WITH THESE NEW PIPING THAT'S GOING IN WITH, ESPECIALLY WITH POOR CREEK. IS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN ADD IS THERE SOMETHING THAT EXISTS, LIKE A GARBAGE DISPOSAL ON OUR END? AS AS THIS STUFF IS COMING THROUGH, WE COULD CHEW IT UP AND AND SEPARATE IT OR SEPARATE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. JUST SOMETHING LIKE THAT EXISTS.

YES, INDEED. YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEM? YEAH. THE THE PUMP STATION UPGRADE HAS TWO GRINDERS THAT ESSENTIALLY GRIND THROUGH RAGS. AND THERE WERE GRINDERS PREVIOUSLY, BUT THEY BECAME INOPERABLE. SO ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES WAS INCREASED MAINTENANCE AT THE PUMP STATION.

SO VERY OFTEN MAINTENANCE CREWS ARE HAVING TO GO UNCLOG THE PUMPS. BUT WITH THE GRINDER REPLACEMENTS, THEY'LL BE BRAND NEW. SO THEY'LL BE FUNCTIONAL. BUT KEEPING UP WITH MAINTENANCE WILL BE IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THOSE CONTINUE TO FUNCTION IN THE SYSTEM. THERE'S LESS YOU CAN DO, SO IT'S HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO HAVE PUBLIC PUBLIC EDUCATION ON WHAT YOU SHOULD FLUSH AND WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T TO REDUCE THOSE ISSUES. SO ONE OF THE THINGS IS JUST ENCOURAGING THE PUBLIC WHAT TO AND WHAT NOT TO PUT OUT. SO MY QUESTION TO THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY ATTORNEY, IS THERE A WAY OR CAN WE LOOK INTO SENDING OUT NOTICE TO ALL APARTMENT COMPLEXES? BECAUSE WHEN YOU LIVE IN THESE APARTMENT COMPLEXES, NO MATTER IF IT'S LOW INCOME OR NOT, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE AWKWARD. IT COULD BE ANYBODY. PEOPLE TEND TO THINK THAT THEY CAN PUT ANYTHING DOWN THE DRAINS. AND AS WE GO TO PUMP OUT THESE, THESE DRAINS FROM OUR END, IF WE SEE GREASE, THEY'RE TAKING IT FROM 6 INCH TO 3 INCH MAINS, REDUCING THE SIZE, FOR THAT MATTER. IF WE SEE THAT WE OUGHT TO REPORT IT AND SEND THAT APARTMENT COMPLEX A HEALTHY FINE SO THAT THEY CAN HELP WITH THEIR OWN PUBLIC EDUCATION AND SAY, DO NOT PUT THIS IN HERE, Y'ALL GETTING US A FINE FROM THE CITY EVERY TIME. WE CAN'T KEEP SPENDING THIS. WE TALKED ABOUT IT AT THE RETREAT ON HOW IN THE PAST THINGS WERE DONE OR WERE NOT DONE. I BROUGHT IT UP. BUT HERE WE ARE NOW. WE CAN'T FIX STUFF TODAY FROM YESTERDAY'S PROBLEM AND THINK WE'RE GOING TO FIX THE FUTURE STUFF BY NOT IMPLEMENTING PROBLEMS OR ANSWERS TO TAKE CARE OF IT. SO WE'RE GOING TO SPEND ALL THIS MONEY ON POOR CREEK AND DON'T HOLD NOBODY ACCOUNTABLE IN THE NEXT LEADERS 20 YEARS FROM NOW GOING TO BE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING LIKE YOU MENTIONED. SO WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH A WAY TO HOLD THESE APARTMENT COMPLEXES. I KNOW IT SOUNDS BAD, BUT THAT'S WHERE IT'S COMING FROM, YOU KNOW, AND I'VE SEEN IT. SO WE GOT TO ENFORCE ACCOUNTABILITY. MR. CITY MANAGER, I WOULD LOVE THAT. WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AND SEE IF WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO LEVY A FINE FOR THOSE ACTIVITIES. AND IF WE CAN, THEN WE SHOULD BE. I MEAN, THERE'S AN ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE THERE, RIGHT? THAT'S ALL I GOT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FELLAS. OKAY. THERE YOU GO. TIME TO GO GET IT.

THE MAYOR SAID IT'S TIME TO GO. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THAT'S THE TIME.

THANK YOU. OUR PLEASURE. ALL RIGHT. SO APPRECIATE IT, GUYS. TWO TWO ITEMS. REALLY QUICK ON MY END. OH NO NO NO. HOLD ON, HOLD ON, HOLD ON. OKAY I'LL DO ONE. I'LL DO ONE THEN. SO AT THE LAST MEETING, COUNCILMAN CUTHBERT ASKED ABOUT FIRE HYDRANTS AND WANTED ME TO REPORT OUT. WE HAD IDENTIFIED SIX HYDRANTS IN THE CITY THAT WERE INOPERABLE. FOUR HAD BEEN

[02:25:03]

REPAIRED. THOSE ARE AT ON INDUSTRIAL SUMMIT AND WEST WASHINGTON. LEE AND CARTER AND THEN MARSHALL AND SOUTH SYCAMORE. IF TWO HYDRANTS THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED PRETTY SOON.

ONE IS ON WEST WASHINGTON 1609 AND THEN 2520 COUNTY DRIVE. PETE IS GOING TO BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER. WELL, NOW SEPTEMBER 1ST WILL BE PRESSURE CHECKING HYDRANTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

WHEN THEY DO THE PRESSURE CHECKS. IF THE PRESSURES AREN'T WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, THEY'LL REPORT THAT AND THEN PUBLIC WORKS WILL GO OUT AND START AND WILL DO REPAIRS ON THOSE. SO AND THAT'S IF IF YOU HAVE TIME, THAT'S WHEN YOU SEE LIKE DOWNTOWN THE COLOR CODING ON THE THAT'S DIFFERENT PRESSURES THAT THEY SO WHEN THEY SHOW UP ON SCENE THEY KNOW WHAT TYPE OF PRESSURE THAT HYDRANT IS GOING TO BE PUSHING. SO THAT'S ONGOING. SO WITH THAT, I OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. CITY. CITY ATTORNEY ANY REPORT TONIGHT. NO REPORT MR. MAYOR.

ALRIGHT. MY CLERK MISS TANNEHILL AND REPORT TONIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.