[0:01] Good evening, everyone. Good evening, everyone. The formal meeting of the Richmond City Council will now come to order. Madam Clerk, if you would invite the Spanish interpretation announcement.

[0:19] Spanish interpretation is available in the council chamber. Please see a representative at the rear of the room to receive the appropriate equipment. Spanish interpretation is also available through Microsoft Teams for virtual attendees in need of this service.

[0:47] Thank you, this evening we have Reverend Tyrone Nelson, pastor of Six Mountsign Baptist Church,

[0:58] and also a member of the Him-Rykel Board of Supervisors who will provide our

[1:04] invocation and that will be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Welcome, Pastor.

[1:11] Good evening, Madam President and colleagues and friends on the Richmond City

[1:18] Council. Join me for a word of prayer. Most gracious God. Thank you for allowing

[1:23] us to gather here today. We thank you, God, for these people who you have

[1:30] set apart to lead our great city. Now on God as we go about the business of the night,

[1:36] help us to keep you first and everything that we say and do. Bless us God as we move forward

[1:44] and trying to lead with wisdom and knowledge and understanding so that we may make this a

[1:52] prosperous city. Most of our God bind us together in the spirit of love where surpasses all things.

[1:58] It is in your omnipotent name, we pray, amen.

[2:02] Amen.

[2:03] Thank you, Pastor.

[2:08] A pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for

[2:14] which it stands, one nation, and the God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[2:27] Mr. Clark, if you would provide us with the emergency evacuation and public speaker guidelines at this time.

[2:34] Upon activation of the emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building.

[2:39] Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the north or south stairwells

[2:44] outside the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. After exiting the

[2:49] building, security will direct everyone down 9th street to the fenced area located between

[2:53] clay and Lee streets. Able persons should assist visually and hearing impaired visitors with exiting

[2:58] the building. Individuals speaking during public hearings and the public comment period are

[3:02] generally allowed three minutes to speak.

[3:05] Persons appearing before Council are not allowed to campaign for public office, promote

[3:09] private business ventures, use language of a personal nature which insults or demeans

[3:13] at in person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are

[3:17] not related to their official duties, or address or question staff members directly.

[3:22] All questions are to be directed to the President of Council.

[3:24] Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result the speakers for fitting any remaining time and

[3:28] further disciplinary action as necessary, which could include barring from attendance if

[3:32] the future meetings of City Council for a period of six months.

[3:35] And Madam President, all members of Council are in attendance this evening.

[3:39] Also, if there are individuals standing in the rear of the chamber that are not authorized,

[3:42] they are asked to be seated where seats are available.

[3:45] Also, a clause is not permitted at any time during tonight's meeting.

[3:48] Thank you for adhering to those guidelines.

[3:51] Thank you, Madam Clerk, let's proceed with appointments and or

[3:55] reappointments for this evening.

[3:57] Members, you are provided with board appointment and

[3:59] appointment recommendations from your governmental operations and public safety standing committees.

[4:04] Is there a motion to approve the appointments as read?

[4:07] So moved.

[4:08] Second.

[4:10] Thank you.

[4:11] Council is now voting on the appointments as presented.

[4:14] Mr. Breton.

[4:15] Hi.

[4:16] Ms. Gibson.

[4:17] Yes.

[4:17] Ms. Jones.

[4:18] Hi.

[4:19] Ms. Robertson.

[4:20] Hi.

[4:21] Ms. Lynch.

[4:21] Hi.

[4:22] Ms. Trammell.

[4:23] Hi.

[4:23] Ms. Abelbacher.

[4:24] Hi.

[4:25] Vice President Jordan.

[4:26] and President New Bill.

[4:28] All right, those appointments have been approved.

[4:30] Thank you, Madam Clerk, let's proceed

[4:31] with our public comment period speakers.

[4:34] The only public comment period speaker for this evening

[4:37] is Martin Gary.

[4:42] Welcome, Mr. Gary.

[4:52] My name is Martin Gary,

[4:54] and I'm here on behalf of the Shaco Arts Culture Corporation.

[4:58] Good evening, Madam President and Council members.

[5:00] Mr. Gary, can you pull the mic down a little bit

[5:03] so we can hear you a bit better?

[5:04] Thank you.

[5:04] Thank you for the opportunity to speak today and for Dr. Newville on the mayor's office and establishing the Shaco bottom task force.

[5:13] This effort reflects a meaningful commitment to preserving and shaping one of Richmond's most historic and culturally significant districts.

[5:22] Over the past several months, Shaco records has been actively convening conversations with neighborhood artists, building owners, media creators,

[5:31] and key partners including representative from the city's Department of Economic Development, Parks and Recreation, the Metropolitan Business League.

[5:42] Together we've been building alignment around the shared vision to establish Shaco as a recognized arts and culture district.

[5:49] The second designation is not simply symbolic, it's strategic.

[5:55] It represents an opportunity to unify existing creative energy, track new investment, and

[6:02] responsibly guide development in a way that honors Shaco's deep historical roots while

[6:07] supporting its future.

[6:09] Our purpose is clear, the Shaco Arts and Culture Corporation exists to enhance the history

[6:16] and development of the Shaco District through economic development, marketing,

[6:22] promotion, and curated events. We are in the process of applying for a 501C3

[6:28] status. We believe that arts and culture are not just amenities. They are engines

[6:33] of economic growth, tools for storytelling, and catalyst for community

[6:39] connection. By investing in this vision, we can empower independent artists, musicians,

[6:47] media creators, many of whom already call this area home. These individuals are not only

[6:53] producing culture, they are fostering community development, creating educational opportunities,

[7:01] and contributing to a vibrant local economy. Shaka has always been a place of powerful stories,

[7:07] stories of resilience, creativity, and transformation. With thoughtful planning and collaboration, we have the opportunity to ensure that its next chapter is just as impactful.

[7:20] We respectfully ask for your support as we pursue official arts and culture district designation.

[7:28] With your partnership, we can elevate Shaco as a destination that reflects Richmond's unique identity while creating inclusive opportunities for those who shape its cultural landscape.

[7:42] Thank you again for your time, your leadership, and continued commitment to the future of the Shaco District.

[7:48] Thank you, Mr. Gary, and thank you for your participation in the Shaco Public Safety Task Force meetings.

[7:59] As you know, this item is one that's on the list of items for consideration by that group, so more to come.

[8:07] Thank you.

[8:09] Madam, or Mr. Clark, if you would proceed with the amendments for tonight's agenda?

[8:18] the amendments to tonight's agenda are as follows. Item 5 ordinance 2026093 will be continued

[8:25] to the Monday, July 27th council meeting. Item 6 ordinance 2026102 and item 13 ordinance

[8:34] 2026120 will both be continued to the Monday June 22nd council meeting. Item 15 ordinance

[8:40] Items 2026-122, item 16, ordinance 2026-123, and item 17, ordinance 2026-124, will all be moved from this evening's consent agenda to the regular agenda.

[8:53] Item 19, ordinance 2025-231, and item 22, ordinance 2026-090.

[8:59] 9-0. Will both be amended later this evening and then continue to the Monday June 22nd Council meeting.

[9:06] Item 23, ordinance 2026-092 and item 24, ordinance 2026-096. Will both be continued to the Monday June 22nd Council meeting.

[9:17] Madam President, those are all the amendments to tonight's agenda.

[9:19] Thank you, Mr. Clark-Mind. I have a motion to accept the agenda as amended.

[9:23] that still move. Second.

[9:28] Council is voting on the seedlings agenda amendments as red. Mr.

[9:31] Bretton. Aye. Ms. Gibson. Yes. Ms. Jones. Aye. Ms. Robertson. Aye. Ms. Lynch. Aye. Ms.

[9:40] Tramble.

[9:46] Ms. Alba Walker. Aye. Vice President Jordan. And President New Bill. Aye. The amended

[9:52] agenda is now before you and the seedlings consent agenda consists of the following items. Item

[10:03] Item 3-0126.

[10:14] Item 8-0226.

[10:17] 1, 0, 6, item 9, ordinance 2026, 1, 1, 6, item 10, ordinance 2026, 1, 1, 7, item 11, ordinance 2026, 1, 1, 8, item 12, ordinance 2026, 1, 1, 9, item 14, ordinance 2026, 1, 2, 1, and item 18, resolution 2026, R0, 2, 3, those are all the items on tonight's consent agenda.

[10:42] Thank you, Mr. Clerk.

[10:44] At this time, we'll proceed with a public hearing on the consent agenda items.

[10:51] Are there persons present, desires of speaking in opposition to any item on the consent agenda

[10:56] if you would come forward?

[11:06] Welcome, Ms. Oliga.

[11:08] Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the Commission, Mark Olinger, resident of Oakwood Avenue, here

[11:14] to talk about agenda item number eight, Mosley South.

[11:18] I'll be brief. I apologize. There were technical difficulties I could make, not my comments

[11:24] at the last plan of commission meeting. My comments on the plan is presented for you tonight

[11:29] are based on three elements. Number one, too many. Number two, too little. Number three,

[11:35] vague promises.

[11:39] There are, the plan as it presented shows up to 500 units of housing on a 12.7 acre

[11:45] site shows up to 500 plus parking stalls on a 12.7 acre site, and up to 25,000 square feet on

[11:54] that site. I first found out about this project on December 15th for a public meeting on December,

[12:01] excuse me, October 15th for a meeting on October 16th. I drafted and sent around a quick email to

[12:07] members of my neighbor associations email list, which includes people outside. There are a few of us

[12:13] that were in attendance.

[12:15] I have had a keen interest in the redevelopment of Creighton Court, excuse me, of Mosby since

[12:22] I moved here in 2011 and was really anticipating something that would carry the momentum started

[12:28] at Armstrong Renaissance, Creighton Court, Highland Grove where we were creating real communities

[12:36] of value for the people.

[12:39] But we have here. And in the applicant report, the applicant states that they want to make it a great place for formal and informal gathering and open spaces and opportunities for people to mix.

[12:53] None of that shows up on the illustrative master plan you're looking at tonight. And in fact, at the meeting in October, there were discussions about community gardens and hiking trails and a number of other things that would be great things.

[13:08] to have at this project. They don't show up on the illustrator plan. So we either have on this plan

[13:17] something that I would call kind of a test fit which is how many units can we fit on this site

[13:24] and provide a little bit of green space, provide a lot of parking and provide some other uses

[13:30] versus everything that they said in the applicants report which I thought sounded pretty well.

[13:35] pretty good. Two little in the way of I think community outreach. 30 seconds. Too much

[13:41] in two little in the community outreach. Two little in the way of tree

[13:44] preservation and landscape. Two little in the way of thinking about the site in

[13:49] a much broader context. Lastly, so all of those things matter. And lastly, what is the

[13:57] affordable housing component of the project? I've seen 120 project-based voucher

[14:04] units mentioned so that's about 25% of the project site as presented but what

[14:10] about the folks at 40% 50% 60% or 80% of county median how is this project

[14:16] going to be thank you mr. Olinger that's your time thank you very much thank

[14:21] you are there persons present desires of speaking in favor of any of the items on

[14:30] the consent agenda if he would come forward now.

[14:42] Welcome, Mr. Ness Smith and Ms. Hampton.

[14:44] Good evening, Madam President and Vice President Auguste members of this City Council.

[14:51] Given the brief time we have, I want to just say a few things and I'm going to turn over

[14:54] to Mr. Real Hampton. One is that we believe this project is consistent.

[15:00] With the Richmond 300 plan, as voted by the City Council, we want to thank Mayor Seam for supporting on this on this. We want to thank you, President City Council, President Newbell, for working very closely and ensuring a couple of things. One, that the resident tenant association, the resident council of Mosby, all voted unanimously on what? And ensuring that there is a provision called the tenant bill of rights, which says that every

[15:29] resident who is there will have the right to come back. So I want to thank you for

[15:34] working with us on that. Asked to some of the specifics that were just commented on.

[15:38] I'll leave for Miss Cherelle to talk about those. Miss Cherelle.

[15:45] Cheryl Hampton, Senior Vice President for Real Estate and Community Development, R-R-H-A,

[15:50] Madam President and to the August members of Council. We ask and respectfully ask your

[15:57] approval tonight. As it's mentioned in your ordinance before you, this is a preliminary plan.

[16:04] It is not 500 units. It's a little less 478. We must come back each time and bring it to

[16:14] PDR for their review. I also want to address so keep in mind it is preliminary. The boundaries are

[16:22] there. Mosby Court, 106 units currently will be redeveloped into approximately 478 units.

[16:33] As we heard the amendments that were proposed at the planning commission, the team has already

[16:42] designed, the team has already started work to increase green space to look at how we can

[16:48] and add those things which we already had in mind as the opposition speaker so said.

[16:55] Since 2023, there has been approximately 10 or 12 community meetings.

[17:02] One was a very large charrette, and as you've heard, Mr. Nesterman's speech to our CEO,

[17:10] there have been five meetings where the tenant bill of rights was created.

[17:16] The October meeting was not coordinated by RRAJ.

[17:23] It was done by the Historic Preservation Department,

[17:26] formerly Miss Kim, Kim Chen.

[17:30] And I understand there was a problem with mailing,

[17:33] but we did have neighborhood residents come out

[17:36] from the broader community.

[17:38] We will continue that ongoing tenant engagement

[17:43] as well as community engagement with the broader community every 90 days until

[17:51] redevelopment begins. We will have a meeting with the tenants and always invite

[17:57] the residents from the broader community to attend. So we again ask that you review

[18:06] this and respectfully approve on the project and it's the preliminary CUP plan. Thank you.

[18:14] Thank you. I'd like to conclude in comments you just that that again we will also be doing

[18:20] most more robust these meetings started in 2023. Great, frankly, but we're doing most more robust

[18:28] outreach to the stakeholders in the community you and I have talked about.

[18:32] Thank you, Mr. Nussmith and Ms. Hampton.

[18:36] Are there other persons present, desires of speaking in favor of this paper?

[18:47] I'm sorry, the item, this is the item on the, well, any item on the consent agenda.

[18:51] I'm sorry.

[18:52] I was going to this particular paper when you stood before I thought it was this one.

[19:03] Good evening.

[19:04] My name is Thomas Courtney.

[19:05] I live in the first district near the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Grove Avenue corridor.

[19:10] I'm speaking in support of, I believe item three, ordinance 2026-089, the proposed update to the city sidewalk snow and ice removal ordinance.

[19:21] I support this ordinance both as a resident and as a landlord.

[19:25] I have previously operated short-term rentals in the city of Richmond when the city changed its laws to regulate that activity I complied.

[19:33] I also understand that owning or managing property carries basic public facing responsibilities.

[19:39] When it snows or ISIS, I remove or treat sidewalks at my property, not only for my tenants,

[19:44] but also for neighbors, pedestrians, delivery worker students, older residents, and animals

[19:48] using the public sidewalk.

[19:50] That is why I was discouraged by what I observed during the January storm.

[19:55] In the blocks surrounding the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, certain sidewalks associated

[20:00] with the Commonwealth and VMFA facilities, including near the studio school, were cleared or treated.

[20:05] But other sidewalks associated with VMFA foundation properties, including properties along

[20:10] Grove Avenue, North Boulevard, North Colonial Avenue, were not cleared or treated sufficiently

[20:15] until I reported them through RVA-311. I raised this issue respectfully. The VMFA foundation and

[20:22] related entities are not ordinary individual homeowners. They own or control residential property,

[20:29] short-term rental property, long-term rental property,

[20:32] and institutional property around the museum area.

[20:35] When an extremely wealthy, institutional actor can support

[20:39] major capital projects, including a multi-million dollar warehouse,

[20:43] it should also be able to meet the basic neighborly duty of

[20:47] clearing and treating sidewalks that affect public safety.

[20:50] This ordinance is reasonable and necessary clarification.

[20:54] It recognizes that ICE is a sidewalk hazard,

[20:56] It clarifies responsibility and moves enforcement towards a civil process rather than a criminal

[21:02] one.

[21:03] I would also encourage Council and the administration to actively engage large institutional

[21:09] landowners, including the MFA and its nonprofit property owning entities, so that compliance

[21:15] is proactive rather than dependent on neighbors filing reports during dangerous weather.

[21:20] The goal should be clear responsibility, safer sidewalks and equal expectations for residents

[21:26] landlords, non-profits, and institutions like. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other

[21:35] persons' desires to speak in favor of any item on the consent agenda if you would come for it now?

[21:41] Welcome. Good evening, Madam President, City Council members. My name is Al Hutchinson,

[21:47] and I'm here today to ask for your support for audience 2026 slash 087 to rename the 2300 block of

[21:55] Rosewood Avenue for James Jimmy Lee Bracey.

[21:59] I was one of the track runners,

[22:00] a thousand of folks who came through Mr. Bracey's tulitch.

[22:04] Mr. Bracey was looking down upon us at night,

[22:07] probably laughing because I was the worst track runner

[22:10] he ever coached.

[22:12] But I'm in front of you because this is a feel good moment

[22:15] for Richmond, a feel good moment for the council.

[22:18] Mr. Bracey helped a lot of folks become doctors,

[22:21] lawyers, teachers, other coaches, community leaders. And he was one who poured into us. Did I make one

[22:30] dime to do this? He did it for his love of the young people like me at the time who came through the

[22:37] West End of Richmond, all over Richmond, quite frankly. But he did it for the love. And I will ask you

[22:44] tonight to really support this effort because Mr. Bracey, in my opinion, was a father figure to many.

[22:49] He was a cop tonight to many. He was a teacher to many. But most importantly, he loved us regardless of our last name, regardless of how much money we made, regardless of we came from a single

[23:02] Parenthouse. So he loved all of us. And so he represents the best of Richmond. So I would ask you tonight as the council to honor him, uplift him. And also I want to use this moment as a thanks for councilwoman Lynch for her support councilwoman

[23:18] and Robertson for her support,

[23:20] and really the West End Committee of the James,

[23:22] Jimmy Lee Bracey folks are here tonight

[23:25] to honor this, thank them for their vision

[23:27] and their leadership.

[23:28] And most importantly, I wanna thank his daughter,

[23:31] Adrian Bracey, and last but not least,

[23:35] the lady who was a mother to all of us,

[23:38] who's here tonight, and that's Miss Teresa Bracey.

[23:41] These folks not only love Bracey, but they love Richmond.

[23:47] So, Council, a lot of times you don't have an opportunity to do a feel-good story.

[23:52] And that's what tonight's about, and I just want to say thank you.

[23:56] Thank you.

[23:57] And I would invite those who are here in support of the paper and related if you could

[24:01] just stand so we could see you and welcome you and thank you for your support.

[24:06] Thank you so much for coming.

[24:08] And thank you for certainly all of your support of Mr. Beraci and all of his efforts with

[24:14] all of the young people as clearly reflected here. Thank you.

[24:20] I think that there was someone

[24:22] else in, Disarras is speaking in favor.

[24:26] If everyone else who is, Disarras is speaking

[24:30] in favor of any item on the consent agenda, if you would line up, please. Thank you.

[24:37] Good evening, Councilor Madam President. My name is Charlene Hentonak,

[24:41] to him here in support of ordinance 2026 087 designating the 2300 block of Roosevelt Avenue

[24:48] in honor of James Bracey. Thank you for making my job really really easy. I don't need to say

[24:53] anything else. I'm going to do everything that was just said, but I am representing the Westman

[24:56] Richmond Striders, which was established by Bracey in 1967. We are still going strong. I too ran

[25:02] for him as a middle school athlete and with his guidance, it took me all the way through collegiate

[25:09] That's let assembly on. So I am appreciative of you all bring this forward and act that you would please support it. Thank you. Thank you.

[25:16] Next speaker.

[25:21] Hey.

[25:23] Good evening, Madam President.

[25:25] Council members, fellow citizens.

[25:27] My name is Warren Goldsboro and I had the privilege of serving as assistant track coach of the Western strieters throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

[25:36] During those years, James Lee Bracy was far more than a coach to me.

[25:40] He was a mentor, a role model, and a friend whose influence extended far beyond track.

[25:48] I am honored to speak in strong support of dedicating a streak for Coach Bracy.

[25:54] When people think of successful athletic programs, they often measure success in championships,

[26:02] records, and trophies.

[26:04] Coach Bracy certainly helped young athletes achieve those accomplishments, but that was

[26:10] not his primary goal. His greatest achievement was building young people of character. For

[26:18] more than 50 years, Coach Gracie established a foundation rooted in values that remained

[26:23] just as important today as they were when he first began coaching. He taught sportsmanship,

[26:29] showing young athletes how to win and how to handle victory with humility and defeat indignity.

[26:41] He taught that team success was more important than individual recognition.

[26:47] And perhaps more importantly, he taught that education mattered more than in trophy, medal, or record.

[26:55] The true measure of his legacy is not found in record books, it's found in the generations

[27:02] of students, athletes, educators, business leaders, parents, and community members whose

[27:09] lives were shaped by his example.

[27:12] Many of us who stood here tonight are better people because of the time he spent under his

[27:17] guidance.

[27:22] It's a permanent reminder of a man who devoted his life to serving others and investing

[27:30] in the future of our community.

[27:32] It ensures that future generations will ask who was James Lee Bracey and learn about

[27:42] a man who impact reach far beyond athletics. I respectfully ask for your support and honor and

[27:51] coach Bracey with this street dedication and recognizing the legacy of faith, sportsmanship,

[27:58] education, and service that continues to inspire the community today. Thank you. Thank you.

[28:07] I believe, Madam President, Vice President, my name is Diane Copman, and I'm a resident

[28:13] of Hiranko County.

[28:15] I'm brand new greetings for the West End Committee.

[28:21] There are people who come into our lives and leave lasting impact.

[28:27] And for me, one of those people was my child who was a track coach, Mr. Jane Bracy.

[28:34] When I was 11 years old, I was sitting on the front porch in the neighborhood with

[28:39] my friends out of nowhere, a tall, dark, handsome man with a commanding voice walked up to us

[28:46] and asked a simple question, would you like to run track for the Western strutters? At that time,

[28:53] I had never ran on a track in a day in my life. The only running I had ever done was around my

[29:01] neighborhood. Mr. Bracer took us to the park and allowed us to run around the park to see who was

[29:09] the fastest. Before then, then he talked to my parents and asked my parents if I could

[29:16] run track. Looking back now, I realized that simple moment changed my entire life forever.

[29:26] Because of Mr. Bracer, Mr. Bracer took an interest in me and gave me the opportunity to discover

[29:34] my abilities, I never knew I had. His encouragement, guidance, and belief in me help shape me into the

[29:43] successful athlete throughout middle school, high school, and even in college. Why earn a full

[29:50] scholarship to Hampton University. Now of that, now of that, none of that would happen if Mr.

[30:00] Grace it had not walked, walked up to the group of kids on the porch and asked them a changing question. Do you want to run track? I wouldn't forever be grateful to his love, support, and willingness to invest in a young person. He saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. His belief gave me confidence, purpose and opportunity to change my future forever.

[30:29] However, Mr. Bracer touched the lives of countless people, both big ways and small ways.

[30:37] He was more than a coach.

[30:39] He was a mentor, a role model, 30 seconds, and a source of inspiration.

[30:44] His impact reached far beyond track.

[30:47] He taught young people to believe in themselves, work hard, and strive to become the very best

[30:53] you could be.

[30:54] To me, Mr. Bracer meant the world.

[31:00] I want his legacy to live on forever so I ask you all to support us in doing this. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[31:17] Welcome.

[31:20] Good evening to the City of Richmond Council and to the West End Community on behalf of Bracey, Mr. James Bracey.

[31:29] My name is Mary Richardson, better known as Mary Terry.

[31:33] I live in him right home, Virginia.

[31:35] Thank you for this opportunity to come

[31:38] and just share a few words of Mr. James Bracy.

[31:43] In the Bible, it says in the New Testament,

[31:47] Jesus gave two new commandments,

[31:49] love the Lord that God, with all your heart,

[31:52] your mind, your soul, and your body,

[31:54] and the second is liken unto that.

[31:56] it says, love your neighbor as you love yourself. The word neighbor is defined as the person that is

[32:06] nearby. Mr. James Bracey, Miss Bracey, Theresa Bracey, and Adrian Bracey. This is what they

[32:14] lived by. These two commandments. Mr. Bracey was a person of great love, great influence, and I stand

[32:24] here today before you. I didn't seek myself going to college. I saw myself going to the army.

[32:32] Mr. Bracey asked. He said, you play that basketball pretty good. I said, somewhere,

[32:37] you say, have you ever thought about college? No, not really, because my parents couldn't afford it.

[32:43] It was six of us. So I said, no, Mr. Bracey said, let's give it a try. I said, well, I haven't had any

[32:50] Scouts come looking at me, and he said, don't worry about that. I got connection. Sure.

[32:57] As the time went on, I met my senior year, Mr. Bracy, being the person that he is out of L-O-V-E-L-E-L-A.

[33:06] He tells me, Meritur, I got a recruiter that's come to see you. Sure, right. No, the man from

[33:16] I'm saying, I guess things college basketball team,

[33:18] wouldn't be basketball teams coming to see you.

[33:21] I said, okay, he said, take this $2, go buy a Coke,

[33:25] a Pepsi, and have some ice water.

[33:29] That's the type of person you wait.

[33:30] So when you offer him some imagery,

[33:32] ask him to do one, Coke or Pepsi.

[33:34] Of course, he'd been a man from North Carolina.

[33:37] He asked for Coke.

[33:39] So Mr. Bracer was on point with that.

[33:41] But I said all this to say that

[33:44] because of Mr. Bracey, act of love, I was the first in my family to go to St. Augustine's College on a full basketball scholarship.

[33:55] And I would say to you, the committee, on behalf of the West End community, I ask that you all please make the street after Mr. Bracey.

[34:09] Thank you.

[34:10] thank you. The public hearing now is closed, bring it back to the body, come to one

[34:18] of the lunch. I see you lit up over there. I just wanted to thank all of the members

[34:25] of the Jimmy Lee Bracey Honor A Street Renaming Committee, the West End Striters and all the

[34:30] family members who came today. It is truly an honor to get to do this for you all and I know

[34:38] all my colleagues feel similarly and it is. It's one of the bright shining moments that we get

[34:44] to celebrate someone's legacy who left such an impact on everybody and you can tell. I think

[34:55] this is one of the largest crowds we ever had for in support of a street name. That's very telling

[35:00] it to the Hueley was. I appreciate all my colleagues support and I appreciate you all for the work

[35:04] you put in to get us here. Thank you.

[35:10] Councilwoman Robertson, you were on this, didn't know

[35:12] if you had any quick comment before I went. I want to thank Ms. Lynch and I want to thank the

[35:18] fail. I want to thank the community. Thanks for hearing your stories. What a wonderful

[35:26] experience to realize the investment that has been made and the change in your lives and

[35:36] the change that you're making in other people's lives as well. So the legacy continued to

[35:42] live. I just want to thank all of you for this really as Miss Lynch said is an honor and

[35:47] a privilege to be able to do something small just to remember the great contribution that

[35:54] just keeps right on giving and giving. Some of my best friends lived in your

[36:00] neighborhood and they too have shared their experiences with me so I'm honored

[36:05] to be a part of patron on this paper. Thank you so much. Thank you. I would like

[36:11] to thank everyone who came out. I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Mr.

[36:18] but I feel like I have some sense of this person in the extraordinary soul that he was and

[36:26] thank you for your stories. I would be honored to add my name to this paper to honor Mr.

[36:32] Bracey. Vice President Jordan. Yeah so I'd like to add my name as well and thank you to everyone who

[36:40] came out to share their stories and I hope all the coaches out in the community somehow heard this

[36:47] because their work is important and it does have impact. Thank you. Thank you. Council

[36:52] I'm in Tramble. Madam President, I'd like to add my name to it too and also thank all

[36:57] of you that came here because you all had some very, very inspiring stories that you told

[37:02] about Mr. Bracey and I think if we had more of him, maybe our city would be better off because

[37:09] it looked like he loved our city and he loved all of you and he's a role model for so many.

[37:14] So again, I want to add my name and then after that, I'd like to ask a question about ordinance 2026-089.

[37:31] Okay, thank you.

[37:33] With that, we'll have now any conversation about other papers on the consent agenda.

[37:39] I have a comment.

[37:40] Yes.

[37:41] I'm kind of upset that the mayor would put this forward when we had a horrible, horrible

[37:48] ice storm.

[37:50] And I know that it wasn't just my district, it was probably the whole city of Richmond

[37:55] was affected by the ice.

[37:58] And I know that there was a, I guess, a city of emergency that was declared and you're going

[38:05] expect my seniors, people with disabilities, and not just my seniors all over the city.

[38:12] I don't, you know, some people think you're 50 years old, you're a senior, some people

[38:17] think that 65 years senior or people with disabilities, and you're expecting them to go out

[38:23] there and shovel the ice, you're expecting them to shovel the snow.

[38:28] I know that by the grace of God, I did have somebody on that on Facebook that said

[38:35] that he would give a discount to seniors in my district and other districts so that they

[38:41] could have their sidewalk shovel. And this person came out there and we paid him to

[38:49] do mine and some others because I felt so sorry for them and they were calling me crime

[38:54] because they couldn't even get in their car to go to Dallas so go to doctor's appointments.

[38:59] And I know that many, many streets, not just in my eighth district, the mayor didn't go

[39:04] out there and send any trucks out there to even have salt, sand, or, I mean, to me, this

[39:12] is, I mean, how could you, how could you have a heart or soul or conscience to say this?

[39:20] Then you're going to find them. Do you understand how much our utilities are going up next

[39:24] month and how they've already been, how they've already went up? Do you understand how much

[39:28] There are tax rate is $1,2,400 to highest than surrounding counties.

[39:34] And now you're going to put another burden on people with disabilities, people that are

[39:38] elderly seniors.

[39:40] This is not fair.

[39:42] I just wish we would have had more of a discussion with this president, you know, everything

[39:48] else was going on during the formal.

[39:50] And I'm not going to vote for this.

[39:53] I don't care.

[39:53] $100.

[39:54] Some people, that's $100.

[39:55] Go buy the damn medicine.

[39:56] But anyway, I'm not.

[39:58] Thank you.

[39:59] I'm going to ask Vice President Jordan to speak to this paper

[40:03] as she's one of the, or one of the key patrons.

[40:08] OK, that's OK.

[40:10] Thank you, President Newville.

[40:11] Appreciate you always looking out for constituents

[40:14] just to clarify the origin of this paper.

[40:18] We had constituents who were not

[40:20] able to get out of their building who

[40:22] did have mobility and other issues because their landlords

[40:26] or it's refused to clear the sidewalks.

[40:28] So that's sort of got us looking into this

[40:30] because as it is written now,

[40:34] first of all, it's a criminal penalty

[40:36] if you do not clear your sidewalk

[40:38] with an up to $250 fine.

[40:40] And the onus is 100% on the resident.

[40:43] So what we worked with the administration

[40:46] to try and understand one, is that necessary.

[40:50] So some of the changes we're making

[40:52] is not going to be a criminal. It's going to be a civil penalty instead $250. It could be 100.

[40:59] No, that'll matter if it's an emergency. State of emergency has been declared as it was in the

[41:05] ice storm. And I think as you know, we're really a complaint driven city. So this would be for situations

[41:12] where someone is really struggling to get out of out of their home or down their sidewalk.

[41:18] This would give administration and our DPW team better tools to encourage the sidewalks being cleared.

[41:29] And there is leeway for the CEO to have leniency, depending on what's happening.

[41:36] But we thought it was important that people understood ICE is just as even trickier to navigate a snow.

[41:43] So I'm happy to talk to you more about it.

[41:46] I'm sorry if this came as a surprise,

[41:50] but I think it wasn't just the mayor's office.

[41:53] I worked on this based on feedback

[41:55] with the government constituents.

[41:56] Can I, there is flexibility,

[41:58] we're not, we're not trying to go after anybody.

[42:01] I can I just ask you one question?

[42:02] Yes, we said landlords that own like the park

[42:05] and buildings and things like that.

[42:07] Well, suppose we were not able to get to those apartments

[42:12] because I know that I had some landlords call me and reference to it because they could not get out there.

[42:18] The fix elevator, not in my district, but in another one because it was the ice was horrible.

[42:23] And then it was ice after ice after ice. So they and I mean our city trucks could even go down

[42:29] to go down our streets and handle it. So does that is going to go by like case by case per se?

[42:35] Yeah, this has built in flexibility. And again, we're in a state emergency where no one can get out.

[42:40] We're not going to be finding people.

[42:42] And DPW is not going to be going around looking for who's doing this.

[42:45] This is like a complaint driven thing.

[42:47] If it's reasonable that the tenant or the landowner or the property owner are not taking care of the situation,

[42:55] then we can apply this civil penalty.

[42:58] And there are carve outs for seniors in those with disabilities.

[43:02] And if Director Vincent is here, I welcome him at anything that may be I missed.

[43:07] But those are the high points I wanted to clarify.

[43:09] And you said the penalty went from 250 to 100.

[43:13] Yes, ma'am.

[43:14] All right.

[43:14] Thank you.

[43:14] Yep.

[43:15] Thank you.

[43:17] Councilman Gibson.

[43:19] Thank you, Madam President.

[43:22] I wanted to make a comment and a question regarding ordinance 2026-106, which is regarding

[43:30] the most be court, south redevelopment preliminary community unit plan.

[43:34] And I appreciate that this has come to the body.

[43:39] And I appreciated the comments from Mr. Olinger who spoke on this from the public.

[43:46] This is obviously, you know, in our district, we're thinking in the third a lot about public

[43:53] housing.

[43:53] There have been conversations about Gilpin Court.

[43:56] and in reviewing the master plan that was submitted for Guilpen Court, we identified

[44:07] a number of discrepancies between the housing authorities, a preliminary plan,

[44:16] and the Jacksonmore Community Plan as it stands today.

[44:24] And many of the deviations were similar

[44:30] to what Mr. Olinger brought up in his comment,

[44:34] including public, you know, green space

[44:37] and those types of things.

[44:39] And so I was wondering if I have two questions.

[44:44] One is given that this is a preliminary plan, but it is an ordinance.

[44:50] So I'm wondering, will this come to the body again as it's finalized for final vote?

[44:58] But what does-

[45:00] Authorizing at this preliminary stage, you know, what does that allow the housing authority to be able to proceed? And has the administration confirmed that this redevelopment preliminary plan aligns with the city's adopted master plan? So I'm going to go, yes and yes, but I'm going to ask because it's a long course.

[45:29] or Miss Ebert, whichever of you would like to speak to this.

[45:34] Many of the items that were raised,

[45:37] this is not a final plan.

[45:39] And as you know, as working through with Jackson Ward,

[45:44] we have many more phases and discussions

[45:49] to go through with the tenants,

[45:51] with residents in general and with stakeholders,

[45:55] but I'm going to talk to Mr.

[45:58] Falk in terms of response.

[46:01] Sure. Thank you, Kim J.

[46:03] Vonk, Director of Planning and Development Review.

[46:05] So to answer Council Member Gibson's questions in terms of process.

[46:11] This is a community unit plan.

[46:13] This is a preliminary plan which goes through a process of staff review.

[46:18] And when I say staff, it's not just PDR,

[46:20] but it's other agencies, public works, utilities, fire,

[46:23] just everyone looks at it in terms of does it comply with the master plan? And in the master plan,

[46:31] we amended it a few years ago to add priority neighborhoods. So in the master plan,

[46:35] pages 7071 talks about most be court. So we don't have a more detailed plan like Jackson Ward,

[46:43] and so we refer to the master plan to ensure compliance in terms of goals objectives that are in there

[46:48] to make a recommendation. This preliminary plan, again,

[46:53] staff makes recommendation to planning commission. Planning commission then makes a recommendation

[46:57] to this body city council. City council approves the preliminary plan. The preliminary plan

[47:03] is a framework for final plans. And I say plans because it could all come at one or as I believe

[47:12] as RHA has proposed, it will likely come in phases. Those final plans go to planning commission

[47:18] for approval. And what you're doing by the preliminary plan is, I say, framework. It's setting out,

[47:26] you know, the infrastructure, the streets, the layout, and it sets the bar in terms of how many

[47:33] units could possibly be there in terms of density. So the applicant could come back in with something

[47:41] lower, but they can't come back in with something higher. They can't propose more units. They can't

[47:46] proposed taller buildings if they wanted to do that they would have to amend this preliminary plan to reestablish the framework and a preliminary plan amendment would come back to this body.

[47:56] And so what you're approving today again sets that framework for future final plans that would come through a process of again staff reviewing and making recommendation but those approvals would be done by our planning commission based on what you're adopting today.

[48:15] Thank you.

[48:17] Yes.

[48:19] Yes.

[48:20] So regarding the points made regarding green space.

[48:25] Does the department, the planning department feel confident that what is being proposed aligns with the master plan?

[48:34] I do and I will be the first to admit it's probably over parked with that.

[48:40] I think what we worked hard on and again I understand in terms of putting a package together

[48:46] while the city doesn't have any minimum parking requirements a lot of financing agencies do

[48:51] and so what we did is try and work and all right like let's put the parking in the best places

[48:56] possible so that we can one reestablish the historic street grid in the area and two not cut off

[49:02] future development opportunities so that is we're putting these structures can at least arrange

[49:06] the parking areas and ways that in the future,

[49:09] those could potentially be either converted in development

[49:12] or converted into green space.

[49:15] I think as final plans come through, when we do that,

[49:18] we also, you know, check with what are the regulations on the books,

[49:22] you know, from our zoning ordinance.

[49:26] And so when we also talk about things like in the future,

[49:29] right, we've talked about in the new code tree canopy requirements.

[49:32] Also, as, you know, we work and plans get fed

[49:35] by public works in terms of what are the street trees going to look like, so in terms of

[49:42] what could happen in the future, I do think we left ourselves room to have improved green space

[49:48] in that area as those specific plans come through. It's maybe not all detailed here, but those,

[49:54] again, get elaborated in future final plans. Yes, I'm sorry, I just had one follow up. So you said

[50:01] It wasn't outlined here, but why would it not be established here?

[50:07] Sure.

[50:09] It's something that if I would say the body feels as appropriate to establish certain stipulations

[50:16] or conversations in terms of right, like a minimum tree canopy or other things, those

[50:23] could be conditions that are incorporated in part of the ordinance.

[50:27] As you have worked through this with planning commission, there were some amendments that

[50:31] needed to be made. An amendment that came forward that planning commission was the prohibition

[50:36] of vinyl as a material. The applicant agreed to that, and so that's part of the reason

[50:42] why it was amended. So, you know, it's up to this body, and I would ask the applicant how

[50:46] they feel about additional conditions, but that is something that this body could, they felt

[50:51] appropriate, put in there. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Gibson and Ms. Ivank. I just want to say,

[50:57] I have certainly, and Ms. Gibson been on meetings where the community has talked about additional

[51:02] green space.

[51:03] And so this is conditional use, this is not final.

[51:07] And so there will be discussions about additional green space, tree canopy, these recreational

[51:12] spaces as a part of the initiative.

[51:16] So that's ongoing conversations and meetings that will occur.

[51:21] And I'm looking because they're more than, and as you know, same thing is with Gilpin.

[51:28] They're one and done is not it.

[51:30] And there are our community residents, our tenants, our partners have really valuable input.

[51:41] And these are some of the areas that have been raised.

[51:43] And so I know it will come forward.

[51:45] Certainly, they're important items for me.

[51:48] and working with and talking with Mr. Nestoneth and Ms. Hampton, I mean, if they want to have any additional comment, but these are important components that have already been raised in terms of most people.

[52:02] So not sure if you have anything additional, but this is not the final plan and more to come.

[52:11] And there'll be other changes as well, based on feedback we get from the subsequent meetings that will be that are being scheduled.

[52:21] So Councilwoman Barbison.

[52:25] Thank you.

[52:26] Thank you, Madam Chair.

[52:28] And I want to thank Mr. Altville, his summary of the plan that is before us.

[52:35] And this development is in the seventh district.

[52:39] but across the street, I think midway street, we are six district and seven district and so

[52:46] I've been involved a lot in the meetings that have been had, the discussions and the

[52:53] communication with the residents and so forth.

[52:59] Redevelopment of our public housing communities

[53:01] these takes extremely a long, long, long period of time.

[53:08] And we have, we've spent lots of time

[53:13] as Mr. Dr. Newgill has said with community residents

[53:18] surrounding stakeholders in the community conversation

[53:22] with the MLK, middle school, and preschool,

[53:27] this right across the street from this development.

[53:31] The level of housing opportunities at price points within the development has been taken into consideration tremendously, and so it does provide opportunities for people to grow in their economically grow and still be able to live within that same community, which I think is a real plus to this development.

[53:56] So, if I met 30% area median income and I move up to 50% area median income, I will

[54:04] still be able to rent an apartment right in my same community, and get what I'm going

[54:13] to get for that increased rent or apartment opportunity.

[54:17] That is not the opportunity that provides itself in the current housing communities that

[54:23] that we're living in right now.

[54:26] And at some point, I think that the labor,

[54:30] three years, three years in the making

[54:33] of coming to where we are today.

[54:35] Lots of investment of time, money,

[54:39] revisiting, meetings, revisions and so forth

[54:43] to get us to the place that we are.

[54:46] The community is in support of this.

[54:48] There's no one from the community

[54:49] speaking in our position to this.

[54:51] There's no one in the community that spoke in that housing community, okay?

[54:58] Not talking to the surrounding community.

[55:00] I respect the fact that we have a person who's speaking in opposition that does not live in public housing.

[55:07] It's never lived in public housing.

[55:10] And at some point, I think that it's important that we recognize that this is not a last-see.

[55:19] that we entrust the integrity of the staff as well as the community when they have not spoken in opposition that they are.

[55:27] Madam Clerk, I'd like to have my name added to the paper and I would encourage my colleagues to support moving this paper forward. Thank you.

[55:36] Thank you, Councilwoman Robertson.

[55:38] Again, I thank you Councilmember Gibson for raising the question.

[55:43] and you, I mean, I've looked at the MOU and we will have the same as you have for GILP

[55:50] and it will delineate clearly.

[55:52] Well, you know, all the various components, that commitment is there, certainly myself

[55:58] and certainly with the leadership of RRAJ and the community resident, they're all in.

[56:06] and so I will ask for support of this paper.

[56:13] I'd like to be added Mr. Clerk or Madam Clerk

[56:18] and like I said much more to come.

[56:24] Would that any other items on the agenda

[56:27] that members would like to discuss at this time on the consent agenda?

[56:32] say

[56:35] none. Madam and or Mr. Clerk please call the question.

[56:42] Council is now voting on the consent agenda as presented. Mr. Bretton. Aye. Ms. Gibson. Yes.

[56:49] Ms. Jones. Aye. Mr. Robertson. Aye.

[56:52] Ms. Lynch. Aye.

[56:54] Ms. Tramall.

[56:55] I'm going to vote on I on 2026-089.

[57:00] because my colleague did explain it better and I'm probably sure she'll make sure that we follow these

[57:07] rules and also the president. So I'm going to vote aye on the consent agenda. Thank you.

[57:14] Mr. Abu Bakr. Aye.

[57:16] Vice President Jordan. Aye.

[57:18] In President Newville. Aye.

[57:20] Those papers have all been adopted.

[57:22] Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Let's proceed now with the

[57:30] We've completed. We'll proceed with the regular agenda for this evening items 15 through 17.

[57:36] The first three regular agenda items are as follows and will be taken together as a block.

[57:42] Item 15 ordinance number 2026-122 to accept a quick claim deed

[57:46] from the school board conveying a portion of 1461 Commerce Road

[57:50] and to authorize the CAO to act on behalf of the city in executing such deed.

[57:54] Item 16, ordinance number 2026-123 to declare surplus and direct the sale of a portion of the city-owned real estate at 1461 Commerce Road to

[58:04] the city's central LLC or its affiliate for $4.7 million or such lesser amount as may be provided for it herein for the purpose of

[58:12] facilitating the construction of a mixed-use development and finally item 17, ordinance number 2026-124 to declare surplus and direct the sale of a portion of the city-owned real estate

[58:24] at $14.51 commerce road to city central LLC or its affiliate for $2.6 million or such

[58:31] lesser amount as may people provide it for here in for the purpose of facilitating the

[58:36] construction of a mixed use development all three papers up or four council thank you at this

[58:41] time I invite the patron and or their designee and I think that is probably Ms. Rogers welcome

[58:51] Welcome, Ms. Rogers.

[58:55] Good evening, Angie Rogers,

[58:58] Director for the Department of Economic Development.

[59:01] I have been on behalf of the city,

[59:06] working with a school board

[59:09] and their facility staff probably for the better part

[59:12] of about the past six months on this issue.

[59:17] I think as Councilmember Robertson alluded to earlier,

[59:21] the proposed development that would take place on these parcels and the surrounding parcels

[59:30] have been contemplated for a number of years. One of the more recent hurdles that we needed to

[59:38] get over was that the city-owned parcels have two existing uses on them. One is a use by

[59:48] I wish my Richmond public schools the other is a use by the police department. The school situation presented.

[1:00:00] A particular hurdle because the schools have, according to the city attorney, what's referred to as beneficial title in state law. And so we needed to work with schools to have them surplus the parcel that's in use by them to the city before we could have the city council take up this matter.

[1:00:25] We work with them as I said over probably the better part of six months working first with their facility staff and then in February.

[1:00:37] I appeared before their facilities committee for the first time really trying to get an understanding of what it is that they needed in order to fill comfortable surplusing this property.

[1:00:53] They laid that out as really a desire to have papers on both ends, both their resolution

[1:01:03] and the city's resolution are the city's paper guarantee that they would get a relocation

[1:01:14] option that was satisfactory to them in order to do their surplus resolution. And so we

[1:01:24] worked with them over a number of months. I ended up going to their facilities committee

[1:01:29] both in February and in March. Mr. Donald presented before the entire school board in April

[1:01:38] and then they officially took up the matter in May.

[1:01:43] So this is a little bit of a special situation

[1:01:47] because of the assurances that we needed to give the school board,

[1:01:54] that they were indeed going to get to a relocation option

[1:01:59] that works for them.

[1:02:02] the development that is going to take place in this area, I think is one of the largest

[1:02:15] redevelopment efforts to happen on the south side of the city for a long time.

[1:02:22] And so that was our particular interest in pushing this forward and working with the

[1:02:29] school board toward resolution.

[1:02:33] The ultimate development will have thousands of units,

[1:02:37] over 3,000 units of multi-family rental housing,

[1:02:40] almost 1,000 units of four-sale multi-family housing,

[1:02:47] those including affordable units,

[1:02:50] it will have grocer and civic amenities.

[1:02:54] So this is a major redevelopment board

[1:02:57] the outside of the city. I will say to Councilmember Gibson's particular question earlier,

[1:03:07] our understanding is based on existing code. We are allowed to do a surplus and direct

[1:03:15] that conveyance in the same paper. I think some of the confusion maybe has come about is because

[1:03:23] the existing code allows more than one way to do this and as most of you know, I think

[1:03:33] all of you know because we've been having meetings and talking about a new inventory

[1:03:39] surplus and disposition process that will start to clean up some of that confusion that's

[1:03:45] caused by having more than one way to do this.

[1:03:48] And so we are obviously anticipating to come back before you all later this year with that but our understanding is that the existing code does allow us to proceed in the way that we're proceeding with this and because we have had this lengthy conversation with the school board to move this along.

[1:04:13] We are presenting it in this way and in hope you'll look upon it favorably.

[1:04:17] Thank you, Ms. Rogers.

[1:04:19] With that comment, we will now have a public hearing on the papers, and I would invite

[1:04:26] all of those present desires of speaking in opposition to the paper if you would come

[1:04:32] forward.

[1:04:37] Seeing none, all present desires of speaking in favor of the paper if you would come forward.

[1:04:47] Seeing none, the public hearing is now closed.

[1:04:49] bring it back to council for discussion councilman Gibson.

[1:04:55] Thank you Madam President thank you

[1:04:57] Ms. Rogers for the comments. So I want to be clear about our existing city law that defines the

[1:05:11] rules for surplus. It is section 860 and says no offer bid or proposal for the purchase of city

[1:05:20] own real estate shall be sought by solicitation whether by invitation for bids or request for

[1:05:27] proposals or auction unless and until the council shall first have adopted a resolution declaring

[1:05:33] such real estate to be surplus. So I think that the city code is quite clear and essentially what

[1:05:43] the body can do which it has done on multiple occasion is to say we want to ignore this law

[1:05:50] right now we're going to go ahead and do it this way this time.

[1:05:55] And so as these items have come to the body during my tenure, I have not voted in support

[1:06:03] of that because this law exists for a reason which is to ensure that we are doing our due diligence

[1:06:10] to ensure that we are being competitive in how we sell public land.

[1:06:16] Now, it is a sensitive item having been on the school board for me, because when land

[1:06:29] is owned by the schools, and I believe that the ownership is unique in this, so understanding

[1:06:36] that this is unique, but I think that we just have a history of proceeding with these types

[1:06:45] of deals in a way that I don't believe serves our students best and which is again why

[1:06:53] I believe we have that law in the first place.

[1:06:56] So I remember in 2013 the West Hampton School was surplus and and that sale again should

[1:07:07] have gone back to the school district instead of selling instead of gaining the money of

[1:07:13] a true sale, the city leased the property to bonds accords for $5,000 a year for 60 years.

[1:07:23] And that type of agreement certainly didn't do a service to our students.

[1:07:30] Recently, the same thing happened with the real school property when it was sold to,

[1:07:34] or to Planned Parenthood for $10 I believe.

[1:07:39] during my tenure on the board, I learned that the Arthur Ashe building was being

[1:07:44] marketed for development. I learned about this in the paper. The city was asserting

[1:07:50] that despite the fact that the facility was owned and managed by the school district

[1:07:55] that the city had full authority to transfer the property for the development

[1:08:00] without the agreement of the schools. So there was a majority on the board who

[1:08:05] push back on that and our legal counsel at the time with recuse themselves

[1:08:12] essentially we had to find pro bono legal representation and thankfully the

[1:08:19] schools were able to ensure that the $5.3 million that you know went back

[1:08:26] into the schools. It wasn't easy and so there's a history of the schools getting a

[1:08:31] short end of the stick by default. In this case, I just think that we have to be very careful

[1:08:45] with this repeated practice of surplusing property without having gone through to ensure

[1:08:53] that we're getting the best deal and so I also want to ensure that for future

[1:09:03] properties that are outright owned by the schools that we don't follow the

[1:09:11] same path of not giving ensuring the schools get what they need by default.

[1:09:22] The

[1:09:23] I plan to vote against this particular item.

[1:09:28] I appreciate the interest in development.

[1:09:32] Don't get me wrong.

[1:09:34] But I also believe that we have a responsibility

[1:09:37] to holding the laws that we have in place off topic.

[1:09:45] There have been questions about that media

[1:09:48] have brought up regarding the the buyer on this and without digging too deep into that. I do

[1:09:55] think it we want to ensure that the city has done its complete due diligence and how the land is

[1:10:01] going to be used. But my hesitation here is in the repeated practice of ignoring or essentially

[1:10:11] suspending our laws regarding the procurement and sale of existing city property. Thank you.

[1:10:17] Thank you, Councilwoman Gibson.

[1:10:19] Any other discussion relative to the paper?

[1:10:23] Seeing none, it missed Madam Clerk

[1:10:26] or Mr. Clerk, if you would call the question.

[1:10:28] Council is now voting on all three ordinances,

[1:10:31] ordinance number 2026-122, 2026-123,

[1:10:35] and 2026-124, as read, Mr. Breton.

[1:10:39] Aye.

[1:10:40] Ms. Gibson?

[1:10:41] No.

[1:10:42] Ms. Jones?

[1:10:43] Aye.

[1:10:43] Ms. Robertson?

[1:10:45] Aye.

[1:10:45] Ms. Lynch?

[1:10:46] Aye.

[1:10:46] Ms. Trammell, Ms. Abu Bakr, Vice President Jordan, and President Nubil, those papers have been adopted.

[1:10:55] Thank you. Let's proceed to item 20 and yes, if you would read that paper.

[1:11:03] The next regular agenda item is item 20, ordinance number 2025-282 to amend city code by adding there in a new section, concerning a deferral program.

[1:11:11] For certain real estate taxes pursuant to it in accordance with Code of Virginia Section 58.1-3219, that paper is before council.

[1:11:20] Thank you.

[1:11:20] I would invite the patron if you would like to provide comment prior to our beginning public hearing, patron or patrons.

[1:11:28] I think that Chief Patron Councilwoman Albavacker.

[1:11:32] Sure. I will keep it short and sweet because I think this probably could have been on the consent agenda.

[1:11:37] This is in response to what will be coming, which is a real estate tax assessment, unfreeze

[1:11:50] in two years and an absolute need and desire for us to be responsive to residents and taxpayers

[1:12:01] of the city. This has been about seven months in the making with some amendments and I am pleased to see many of my colleagues join me in coming up with some sort of tool.

[1:12:17] I don't think this is the last tool in the toolkit, but it is certainly a piece of it as we think about, you know, we're claiming that this week is anti displacement week.

[1:12:29] And so I think it is important that we are creating anti-displacement legislation that runs the full spectrum of the the socioeconomic economic spectrum in the city.

[1:12:40] So I am pleased that we are passing this.

[1:12:43] Thank you, councilmember Apobocker. With that, we'll proceed with the public hearing.

[1:12:49] Do we have persons present, desires of speaking in opposition to this paper if you would come forward?

[1:12:55] Seeing none, do we have person's present desires of speaking in favor of the paper if you would come forward?

[1:13:07] Seeing none, the public hearing is closed, bring it back to the body.

[1:13:12] Madam Clerk or Mr. Clerk, I'd like to be added as a patron on this paper.

[1:13:18] And any other comment discussion?

[1:13:24] Seeing none, we will call the question.

[1:13:27] Council is now aboding on ordinance number 2025-282S presented Mr. Brighton.

[1:13:33] Aye.

[1:13:34] Ms. Gibson.

[1:13:37] Yes.

[1:13:38] Ms. Jones.

[1:13:39] Aye.

[1:13:40] Ms. Robertson.

[1:13:41] Aye.

[1:13:42] Ms. Lynch.

[1:13:42] Aye.

[1:13:43] Ms. Trammell.

[1:13:44] Aye.

[1:13:45] Ms. Abu Bakr.

[1:13:46] Aye.

[1:13:47] Vice President Jordan.

[1:13:48] Aye.

[1:13:49] And President New Bill.

[1:13:51] Aye.

[1:13:52] That paper has been adopted.

[1:13:54] Thank you.

[1:13:54] We will proceed with item 20.

[1:13:59] One, if you would read that paper.

[1:14:01] The last regular agenda item for this evening is item number 21,

[1:14:04] ordinance number 2026-059,

[1:14:07] to amend City Code,

[1:14:08] concerning the Department of Emergency Communications,

[1:14:10] preparedness and response,

[1:14:12] to require the Department to route E911 calls

[1:14:15] for emergency medical services to the Richmond Ambulance Authority.

[1:14:18] That paper is a four council.

[1:14:21] Thank you.

[1:14:21] to Madam Clark and I'll defer to Lee Patron to start, but I will also invite the administration

[1:14:32] as well as other persons present, so I'll start with you, Ms. Trammell.

[1:14:41] I know if you wanted them to go for us, but I'll go for us.

[1:14:44] I think your preference, let me know.

[1:14:47] You can let me know your preference.

[1:14:48] I just think that we have been talking about this over year and a half at our Public Safety

[1:14:54] to meet.

[1:14:55] Back and forth, the CEO.

[1:15:00] Chief Decker of the Richmond ambulance authority has been there over and over, laid out all this stuff. I have all the papers right here. They're back up what I'm saying. And to me, I mean, we have done decide by a side comparison. We've done this. We've done that. Everything that we've been asked for. And that's why I'm asking my colleagues. This past is paper tonight. And so we can move forward. I think it's a, it is something that's definitely needed. Thank you, Councilwoman Trammel.

[1:15:29] I see Mr. Donald moving forward with

[1:15:37] comment relative to this from administration.

[1:15:42] Welcome, Mr. Donald.

[1:15:47] Good evening, Council.

[1:15:49] Listen, I would just start with a quick thank you for you continuing to have robust conversation

[1:15:55] about this.

[1:15:56] I think I heard Councilmember Tram will mention that we've been talking about this for a while.

[1:16:01] I think that's important because I think you recognize the importance and the impact that

[1:16:07] it will have on residence if we don't get it right.

[1:16:10] And so I think we have looked at it.

[1:16:13] I think the council has pretty much

[1:16:16] signaled the position and the direction

[1:16:18] that you would like to go.

[1:16:19] And I think from our conversations earlier,

[1:16:22] just what I would add is just making sure

[1:16:24] we have an appropriate implementation plan

[1:16:26] so that we can get it correct.

[1:16:28] I think that's the only thing that I have to add.

[1:16:30] I think we are excited in your focus on good government

[1:16:34] and getting this correct, getting it right

[1:16:37] and making sure that if we're going to make an adjustment we do so in a way that makes sure

[1:16:43] that we do have that implementation period. I know that what I will close with is that we've

[1:16:51] also talked about what co-location looks like. I think the Robert Bob report said that those cost

[1:16:57] would save the city upwards of about $3 million. I think in reading what our partners at RAA provided

[1:17:04] it, it was around a little under $2 million. So either way, some significant cost savings.

[1:17:10] And so as we go through implementation and we look at it generally, there's just opportunity

[1:17:15] to make sure we get it right. And so I know that you have all been committed to that and

[1:17:19] we want to make sure to be as supportive as possible of those activities. So if you have

[1:17:23] any questions I'll take them, but otherwise I'll think that would highlight our position.

[1:17:29] Thank you, Mr. Donald. You're going to be here just in case there are questions

[1:17:34] questions once we conclude the public hearing.

[1:17:37] Oh, yes, ma'am.

[1:17:38] I can stand right in the back if you seek a little low for me.

[1:17:41] Right.

[1:17:41] I can see you there.

[1:17:43] Yeah.

[1:17:43] Okay.

[1:17:45] At this point, we will proceed with the public hearing.

[1:17:50] Are there persons present, desires of speaking in opposition to this paper if you would come

[1:17:56] forward?

[1:18:00] Seeing none, are there persons present, desires of speaking in favor of this paper if you

[1:18:05] will come for it.

[1:18:17] Afternoon, even in members of Council.

[1:18:20] My name is Chip Decker.

[1:18:21] I'm the CEO of Rich for Namaste Authority.

[1:18:24] I wanted to make a couple of points about this paper.

[1:18:28] I want to reiterate and make it clear that when I think, when somebody dials 911, they're

[1:18:36] looking for the right resource and the right place and the right amount of time.

[1:18:43] And they're national and international standards for determining if you're being successful at this or not.

[1:18:52] And they're used by dispatch centers across the country, including the Richmond Ames Authority and the Department of Emergency Communications.

[1:19:01] So anything outside of those standards should be considered, you know, subjective opinion based.

[1:19:07] and the data that is accompanying this paper is it apples to apples comparison

[1:19:18] it is not up for interpretation emergency medical dispatch was performed at a

[1:19:23] higher level under Richmond Amos authority than it is today according to the

[1:19:29] accepted standards. That's not my

[1:19:33] opinion, it's just what the data

[1:19:35] shows. It's now been two years since

[1:19:42] the change was made and DC

[1:19:47] stopped sending emergency medical

[1:19:51] collars to the ambulance authority.

[1:19:54] And I don't think it's worked as

[1:19:56] expected based on the data.

[1:19:59] So, I believe that the paper provides for a reasonable transition period in order to implement

[1:20:08] the changeover back to the AMS authority.

[1:20:12] And I think it can be achieved within that 30-day period that the paper says.

[1:20:18] I look forward to working with the ECPR Director Will Beances for in order to make this a smooth transition

[1:20:27] for the betterment of the system.

[1:20:34] So on behalf of the Richmond M.

[1:20:37] Authority Board of Directors,

[1:20:38] who has voted to be supportive of it,

[1:20:44] returning to the Hamilton Authority.

[1:20:47] And even the Paramedics and the EMTs that I've spoken to about this

[1:20:51] that have seen the change.

[1:20:56] and would like to see it revert back.

[1:21:02] I ask for your support because it's the right thing to do for the community.

[1:21:09] And it's the right thing to do for our patients.

[1:21:13] Thank you, Mr. Decker.

[1:21:16] Seeing no others, desires of speaking in favor of the paper, the public hearing is now closed.

[1:21:22] bring it back to the body for discussion. I can't tell who's I'm

[1:21:33] sorry I'm looking

[1:21:34] at my numbers. Councilwoman Gibson and then Councilwoman Lynch. Thank you Madam

[1:21:39] President. I wanted to thank Councilmember Tramo for bringing this paper to the

[1:21:55] The number of calls, the percentage of calls that were not being answered within the required time period.

[1:22:10] People have an emergency and they need and expect the phone will be picked up.

[1:22:16] And the way that we measure whether that happens is not a number based on some rubric we've

[1:22:26] defined.

[1:22:27] It's defined by the authority that measures this.

[1:22:34] And according to that authority, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, it's bad

[1:22:42] If it's 10%, if it's really bad, if it's over 10%, if it's like, ours is at 29% of

[1:22:53] non-compliance, right? So we're essentially off the charts and non-compliance right now.

[1:22:59] Today people are in an emergency and almost a third of them are not having the calls picked

[1:23:07] up within the required, the mandated timeframe. Our city today is out of compliance.

[1:23:19] So I would say

[1:23:22] we're talking about an implementation plan. My question is, what was the implementation plan

[1:23:30] created two years ago, or whenever that decision was made to change it? And what did that look like?

[1:23:37] because based on these numbers, the implementation plan to change it in the first place did not work.

[1:23:46] It simply did not work because if it did, we would not be out of compliance at 29 percent.

[1:23:54] Full stop.

[1:23:58] From where I stand, this is really not a big discussion.

[1:24:01] We need to make sure that the phone gets answered and we had a group that was able to do that.

[1:24:07] but where only 6% of the calls were not getting picked, I mean like 6% of the calls were not

[1:24:12] compliant. Today, 29% of the calls were not compliant. Like this is not, there's not

[1:24:20] room for a lot of discussion from where I stand. We need to make sure that our residents

[1:24:25] are heard in a timely manner. And I urge the board, I mean this body council to move forward.

[1:24:34] Thank you. Councilwoman Lynch? Well said, Councilmember Gibson, Ditto and Amen.

[1:24:43] You know, I want to thank our public safety committee members for working on this and bring it to light.

[1:24:51] You know, when we first, you know, kind of ask the question, is it working or is it not?

[1:24:56] It took us almost six months to get the apples to apples data that eventually led us to that conclusion.

[1:25:03] We knew that we were seeing an uptick and constituent concerns and complaints of lack of timely response, but we didn't know just how bad it was until we really started cracking into that walnut.

[1:25:19] And we are, it is, we would be negligent not to make a change and not to push forward or something.

[1:25:24] I do want to see Odee's, I'm sorry.

[1:25:31] Donald's point about implementation, thoughtful implementation for this.

[1:25:35] For this move, our committee members and our committee will be working on a thoughtful kind of subsequent either resolution or ordinance to kind of give more guidance about co-location and what those options might look like and look forward to working with the administration.

[1:25:52] to continue to track that and see those members drastically improve and quickly. Thank you.

[1:26:02] Thank you. Councilman Bretton.

[1:26:06] I know that with all of our legislation, it is important that we are being thoughtful about implementation for success.

[1:26:12] And so I just wanted to ask the members of the Public Safety Committee,

[1:26:15] If you all have considered whether for the specific change in this legislation, if the 30-day implementation time will be adequate in order for us to perform the change in this legislation.

[1:26:33] I think we believe in the language. There's enough flexibility to allow us.

[1:26:40] It doesn't, it doesn't require full structural, you know,

[1:26:44] executed change in 30 days, so we can, we have a little bit of flexibility

[1:26:49] and how that rolls out to, to satisfy the language of the bill.

[1:26:55] Thank you, Councilwoman Jones.

[1:26:57] Thank you, Madam President.

[1:26:59] And thank you to the Public Safety Committee for your work on this.

[1:27:05] These questions aren't meant to formulate a debate.

[1:27:08] And while you have worked on it for a year, kudos, we don't, I personally am not here to

[1:27:14] debate with you.

[1:27:15] I have a responsibility just like every council member on this site is to ask questions.

[1:27:20] And so the questions that I'm asking are specific to not so much of an implementation plan,

[1:27:27] but a lot of unanswered questions.

[1:27:29] And so I don't need to be educated or over contextualized on what we've done.

[1:27:34] I have simple questions.

[1:27:35] My first question is what critical events have occurred that triggered

[1:27:40] separation calls in us as such an immediate need.

[1:27:44] So we say we have the data, but I would like to know what has happened that has caused

[1:27:49] us to say that we need to do this now in 30 days.

[1:27:53] I get the compliance, but what are we not saying?

[1:27:56] Because the narrative is that folks are unsafe.

[1:27:59] And if we are not going to talk about public safety, then we should not be penalized for wanting

[1:28:04] to know these questions before making a major decision.

[1:28:08] So it's not that no one supports.

[1:28:09] It's not that we're here to debate or challenge anything

[1:28:13] that anybody is saying.

[1:28:14] But these are questions that I'm being asked

[1:28:16] and I'm asking the questions.

[1:28:18] What, what critical events have occurred

[1:28:21] triggering separate call centers as such an immediate need?

[1:28:24] And my second question is, when there is a temporary outage

[1:28:28] in these call centers, who are handling these calls?

[1:28:30] These are legitimate questions that I would like to know

[1:28:33] before we move with these decisions.

[1:28:38] Councilwoman Abobacher.

[1:28:42] Thank you, Madam President.

[1:28:44] First and foremost, to my colleagues' questions,

[1:28:49] I can speak to, there's a number of anecdotal stories

[1:28:55] of where there have been misdiagnoses

[1:28:59] on calls we have heard from those directly

[1:29:02] in multiple public safety meetings

[1:29:05] and in our public safety, two public safety hearings on this particular topic, to be clear,

[1:29:13] again, the calls still go through DEC.

[1:29:19] That does not change.

[1:29:22] What changes is at the point where DEC brings in Richmond Ambulance Authority for medical calls.

[1:29:30] Really, this builds capacity for DEC because RAA is taking those medical calls off their plate sooner in the process.

[1:29:43] Again, to my colleague's point about the apples to apples data that we have from both October 1st, 2024 through March 31st, 2025.

[1:29:55] and prior to that when RAA was the second area.

[1:30:00] We have that data that shows that 29% noncompliance with DEC, 6% noncompliance with RAA. Again,

[1:30:08] we can talk about this a lot more, but we've been going at this for a very long time. And so I just,

[1:30:18] I want to say that I'm grateful that we have an abundance of expertise in both DEC PR and in RAA.

[1:30:26] and I do want to allow those people who are subject matter experts both in

[1:30:31] medical and police and fire dispatch to be able to lead in their areas of

[1:30:35] expertise and I think that this really does in fact reflect that.

[1:30:46] Was there any additional comment?

[1:30:49] Madam President, yes let me just say that I am on the board and you and I can work

[1:30:54] together with these questions and I can take it to the board and also the CCAO

[1:31:00] he's also on a board with me and I know that every time I bring something to the board they

[1:31:07] help me understand better and they answer my questions. So if you want me to take some

[1:31:14] things back to the board I'll be more than glad to do it. We can work together, okay. Thank you.

[1:31:20] Councilwoman Robertson.

[1:31:23] Thank you, Dr. Newville.

[1:31:25] So if

[1:31:32] I'm, the information that we are putting out right now is related to non-compliance and

[1:31:38] the percentage of non-compliance is very, very disturbing, extremely disturbing.

[1:31:46] And it suggests to me that if non-compliance is at that percent level that it gives me a

[1:31:59] reason of discomfort as it relates to the total E911 emergency call system.

[1:32:10] Does this not just about the ambulance authority if we are speaking to a non-compliance to this

[1:32:19] level and I would like if you will, Madam President, Mr. Donald to help us understand

[1:32:28] what are the real issues and is it just calls not being the procedural process not being

[1:32:41] and follow it,

[1:32:44] as it is currently existing to get calls for emergency

[1:32:50] ambulance services from the ambulance authority or do we have a larger

[1:32:58] problem that

[1:33:02] unfortunately I'm set to be having this conversation in

[1:33:07] the public arena because tonight if I need a police

[1:33:14] or if I need a fire or I need an ambulance, I'm not feeling very good about a

[1:33:23] non-compliance rate at the rate that you speak that we are being told. This is

[1:33:28] very very frightening and I really need a little bit more insurance as to where

[1:33:37] we are. What is the magnitude of this problem and how we what are we doing and

[1:33:42] how do we move forward because I want to know that every person that pick up

[1:33:50] that phone and call can be confident that someone is answering and getting

[1:33:56] them the service that we are that we are paid for to be in place not I'm not

[1:34:02] if and if this is a lack of resources I want to know that as well. This is

[1:34:07] really critical. Thank you. Thank you councilmember Mr. Donald

[1:34:12] All right. The question. Great questions and comments again by the council and I think it illuminates

[1:34:20] why we want to make sure to get it right the first time. And well, I'll say the second time

[1:34:24] because I know you dealt with this a couple of years ago before the abool administration.

[1:34:29] And I would also encourage us, you know, not to forget the lessons that you did learn a couple of

[1:34:34] years ago when you made the change initially. I think, you know, we're talking about how we correct

[1:34:41] this issue and I think you want to just do so long-term.

[1:34:45] A couple of years ago I think you identified some similar challenges and you made the decision to

[1:34:51] bring it back in-house. I think it can work either way but I think the key is you have two entities,

[1:34:59] one internal one external and that key to really have the most efficient level of service delivery

[1:35:07] is co-location. So we're talking about one part of that today. And I think her

[1:35:12] council member, Abu Bakr, highlight some of the challenges and the need for

[1:35:17] us even with the anecdotal information for us to just be able to think I don't

[1:35:23] want to miss culture but unload and provide that medical cause a little bit

[1:35:28] quicker. There's one part of it and I think that's what you're determining today.

[1:35:32] And I just think part two of that is co-location, where you clear up some of the resources so that you can make those additional investments.

[1:35:42] So I would, you know, encourage both Anne, you know, you move forward. It sounds like you have the appetite and the political will to make sure that we get the cause transfer and you provide us enough time to be able to do that.

[1:35:59] and then that part, too, that we don't want to forget is the co-location that provides us

[1:36:04] called savings, but what's most important in just saving money is actually ensuring we

[1:36:10] have resources to invest back in the system and resolve some of these problems and enhance it.

[1:36:15] So actually, it sounds like you're kind of talking about, we're talking about them both separately,

[1:36:21] but they're really one holistic improvement to the system and an investment in good governance.

[1:36:26] and again the administration supports that I think the only piece that we are highlighting

[1:36:31] is that we want to make sure that we have we have it done right and we have the appropriate time

[1:36:37] to to transition appropriately. So I think again we're in lockstep with the council which we're always

[1:36:44] trying to be and I think this this provides us that opportunity. So I will hold and answer an

[1:36:50] I'm sorry, there's one piece I did want to answer.

[1:36:53] Just a great question is, if that phone rings

[1:36:56] is somebody going to answer it in an emergency,

[1:36:59] and the answer is yes, could calls be done

[1:37:03] more quickly and more efficiently

[1:37:05] through this process for which you're proposing?

[1:37:08] There's a possibility that that be the case.

[1:37:10] And so I think that's why we would support that,

[1:37:13] again, co-location those, all the whole process,

[1:37:17] and we need, again, of both ends.

[1:37:20] So I would also say, I don't remember the date,

[1:37:24] but I went by and spent the full day

[1:37:27] with our call center and studied it from suit to nuts.

[1:37:32] And what we saw is that, I mean, while I was there,

[1:37:36] there was somebody that had an emergency occurred during that time

[1:37:40] and the response time was excellent,

[1:37:43] so much so you didn't even hear about it on the news.

[1:37:46] And it was a difficult situation, referred quickly,

[1:37:51] transferred, approached really, and within a matter of minutes,

[1:37:55] our first responders were on scene.

[1:37:57] So it worked exactly the way that it was supposed to do in crisis,

[1:38:01] and that's not just an observation.

[1:38:03] I was there sitting in and helping to take calls that day,

[1:38:07] as well as a member of the council's staff,

[1:38:10] staff, Mr. Steve. I apologize I don't remember his last yes yes so you know we we

[1:38:18] have seen the process work and so I don't feel danger from that observation and

[1:38:25] multiple observations that day I think we're in great position to receive calls

[1:38:30] and mitigate any issues and I think what I'm hearing the council say is good is

[1:38:36] great but we want the best that we can provide and I think our response to that is right on we're

[1:38:42] hit to support it but we also believe the data says co-location is a big part of that and so having

[1:38:48] both would be amazing. Thank you, Mr. Donald, Vice President Jordan. Thank you, President Nubal.

[1:38:56] Appreciate all the comments that we've already had and just to hone in a little bit more on what

[1:39:01] comes next. I would like to understand better how we got here and I know the

[1:39:08] Public Safety Committee has had the benefit of over a year of discussion but

[1:39:11] for some of us we're we're trying to get caught up to speed here.

[1:39:16] What

[1:39:17] didn't we get right when we made this change that was based on you know

[1:39:21] consultants recommendation and it wasn't just about cost savings so are we not

[1:39:28] supporting DEC to the extent that it needed to with training or with the number

[1:39:34] staff that was required because that's probably going to be an ongoing

[1:39:39] issue regardless of what we do with this paper and I just want to make sure

[1:39:43] that you know everyone who is in that department knows that their work is vital

[1:39:46] and we appreciate it. It's a huge hugely stressful role with high burnout, high

[1:39:52] turnover. If we need to be putting more resources into that staff

[1:39:57] regardless of what we do with this paper like I think we're having this

[1:40:00] conversation and we need to understand what is happening in DEC because it might

[1:40:05] not be a medical emergency might be something else and do they have the

[1:40:08] tools to respond quickly because if the data is saying that we're not where we

[1:40:12] want to be how do we get there for those calls so I would appreciate any

[1:40:18] response from administration or from DEC on that question thank you I'll start

[1:40:24] with one of the patrons but I'll certainly invite the administration for

[1:40:29] comment as well Councilmember Dilanche. Not to, I don't want to speak for the

[1:40:34] administration of the stakeholders but I mean you bring up an excellent point

[1:40:37] and I think we're hoping to address that with the subsequent paper that comes

[1:40:42] forward. One suggestion might be to maybe hat because it's actually I mean

[1:40:48] trust us we know it's a very complex. Just the the the

[1:40:53] We're going to, between the organizational structure,

[1:40:56] the accreditation requirements,

[1:40:59] and then how DEC operates today,

[1:41:02] stands all that, right?

[1:41:03] It's a lengthy deep dive.

[1:41:07] If we bring a subsequent paper forward,

[1:41:10] which we have, we're working on now,

[1:41:13] to kind of help guide, again,

[1:41:15] to help guide kind of the co-location discussion,

[1:41:17] and then the larger, broader discussion on DEC,

[1:41:21] see and how the how they how they interact hence, you know, going forward, could would would

[1:41:27] you all be amenable to us maybe bringing that back to an or an OD meeting so that the

[1:41:32] full body can ask all the questions kind of get all those details and maybe that's a better

[1:41:36] way to to address it. So thank you. Mr. Donald, I thought I saw you.

[1:41:46] Okay, I thought I saw

[1:41:47] you wavy or nodding in agreement. Okay.

[1:41:54] I guess I would just really would welcome some

[1:41:57] assurances that 30 days is an adequate amount of time or current EC staff to be trained about

[1:42:04] when that when they are now shifting over calls.

[1:42:12] Mr. Donald, are you coming forward or I'm saying

[1:42:16] comment. My understanding is once we vote tonight it's 30 days I mean there's some flexibility but that

[1:42:22] But if I was a risk correctly, Ms. Lynch, you're talking about coming back with a implementation

[1:42:32] plan that delineates.

[1:42:37] Correct.

[1:42:38] And there's enough flexibility in language.

[1:42:40] It's not a shall have it flipped over in 30 days.

[1:42:44] So I mean, there's a little flex.

[1:42:45] Okay.

[1:42:46] I think that we fully agree with that because there seems to be understanding with the council that it does not have to happen within 30 days because of the language within the ordinance.

[1:43:01] And so we believe with additional time and of course we have to bring that back. So the council members proposal for us to come back at a future meeting where we can clarify that aligns.

[1:43:14] As long as we're just making quadruple, sure, that, of course, you know, we need more time.

[1:43:22] So being held to that 30 days would be unrealistic, but it does not say shale.

[1:43:27] I think it says may, if anything, so that gives you the flexibility.

[1:43:31] And I would defer to, I'm not a lawyer, I just act like one on the weekend.

[1:43:36] So, you know, whatever timeframe is most appropriate, we would abide by that.

[1:43:43] but I think that's that's the key is if we have that flexibility no problem at all we're

[1:43:48] fully in alignment with the council thank you so I just would like to comment I concur with my

[1:43:56] colleague who says that we would be negligent not to make a change based on the data that the committee

[1:44:03] has brought back to us however as someone who has had the experience of having to reach out to

[1:44:12] our public safety professionals and have had unfortunate loss of life as a part of that experience.

[1:44:21] This is not something that's perfunctory so I would look to the public safety committee

[1:44:29] working with the administration after this approval to make sure that we have a solid plan

[1:44:36] for implementation and that we are clear and able to convey to the public what that will

[1:44:44] look like and what the expectations are and what co-location and training, etc.

[1:44:50] And so I'm hearing that that would be the case from the administration as well as from

[1:44:57] committee members and so with that.

[1:45:00] And no further discussion. I don't see any other folks lit up. I'll ask that the question gets called. With that provisor, that that will be the case. Just looking because that seems to be between the full committee for committee. Madam Clerk. Council is now voting on ordinance number 2026-059 as presented. Mr. Breton. Aye. Ms. Gibson. Yes.

[1:45:29] Yes. Ms. Jones. Ms. Robertson. Hi. Ms. Lynch. Hi. Ms. Tramble. Hi. Ms. Abu Bakr. Hi. Vice President

[1:45:38] Jordan. Hi. And President New Bill. Hi. That paper has been adopted. Thank you. And I'd like to

[1:45:44] thank the committee. This is a serious matter in our city. I mean, this is and I you've treated it

[1:45:52] as such and I appreciate your willingness to work with the administration to really articulate a

[1:45:59] a solid plan of implementation so that we all will know and the quarter million people

[1:46:06] and our community will know exactly how we will move forward. So thank you.

[1:46:11] Madam President, I wanted to say that I know this is a very, very important committee.

[1:46:16] All of our committees are important, but I know public safety is definitely because it affects everybody

[1:46:21] in the city of Richmond, all of our city employees, all of that. And I know that my colleagues

[1:46:26] so I worked very well with the one public safety and my, anyway, but anyway, if you have

[1:46:32] any questions or whatever, all you got to do is bring it to us.

[1:46:35] And I also said that I'm on the board with the Rich Financial Authority.

[1:46:39] I can take those questions back to them and bring back the answers to you or to the full

[1:46:45] body.

[1:46:45] Thank you.

[1:46:46] Thank you all.

[1:46:47] Thank you.

[1:46:48] I appreciate that.

[1:46:49] And I'm hopeful that maybe by July, O.D., there would be an opportunity for some preliminary

[1:46:56] report to come back. And I don't want to force it. I want it to be something that is real,

[1:47:02] that is something that we can actually implement. So if that can be a day fine, if not,

[1:47:08] please inform me so we can get that on the calendar for what would be an appropriate date.

[1:47:13] So with that, Madam Clerk, I'm going to, we have a couple of papers for amending,

[1:47:19] so if we could proceed with those.

[1:47:22] Members, before you as a motion to amend item 19, ordinance number 2025-231, which authorizes

[1:47:29] a special use of 3219 Tuxedo Boulevard for the purpose of up to five single-family

[1:47:34] detached dwellings upon certain terms and conditions, the proposed amendment would modify

[1:47:38] the number of dwellings and the plans. Councilmember O'Robertson, would you make the motion

[1:47:42] to amend and continue this ordinance for the June 22nd council meeting?

[1:47:47] Mr. Brett and will you second that? Second. Thank you. Council is now voting on the motion to amend and continue ordinance number 2025-231 to the Monday June 22nd Council meeting has stated Mr. Bretton. I miss Gibson. Yes, Ms. Robertson. Miss Lynch.

[1:48:04] I miss Tramble. I miss Abobacher. I vice president Jordan. I and president new bill. I that motion has been approved. Thank you.

[1:48:13] Next before you is a motion to amend item number 22, ordinance number 2026-090, which amends city co-concerning the city's rights and authority and concerning labor management dispute and impasse resolution to modify collective bargaining procedures and the proposed amendment would further modify collective bargaining procedures.

[1:48:33] Councilmember Trammell, will you make the motion to amend and continue this ordinance for the June 22nd council meeting?

[1:48:40] Council Member Gibson will you second that motion please second. Thank you. Council's voting on the motion to amend and continue ordinance number

[1:48:47] 2026-090 to the Monday June 22nd Council meeting as stated. Mr. Bretton. Aye. Miss Gibson. Yes. Mr. Robertson.

[1:48:56] Miss Lynch. Aye. Miss Tramble. Aye. Miss Abu Bakr. Aye. Vice President Jardin and President New Bill. Aye.

[1:49:03] That motion has been approved. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Let's at this time proceed with the approval of the minutes.

[1:49:11] The minutes to be approved are from the Monday, May 26, 2026 informal and formal city council meetings at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

[1:49:19] If there are no corrections or amendments, then the minutes will be approved as presented.

[1:49:22] Those minutes have been approved. Thank you. Let's proceed with the introduction of new legislation.

[1:49:27] Members, new pieces of legislation, items number three, 327 on a list before you are here

[1:49:33] by I introduced as presented a copy of the list that is available for public inspection

[1:49:37] at the rear of the room and an electronic copy and copies of the new legislation will

[1:49:41] be available on the city's website on Tuesday, June 9th.

[1:49:44] Thank you.

[1:49:45] Thank you, Madam Clerk.

[1:49:47] At this time, we'll proceed with reports and announcements, Councilwoman Tremel.

[1:49:54] Thank you, Madam President.

[1:49:56] This Thursday, on June 11th, at 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., we're going to have our APE District meeting at the SAAD Light, Restaurant Lounge 4,000 in Richmond Highway.

[1:50:06] Our guest speaker is going to be Scott Morris. He's going to talk about public utilities, and that's a good thing.

[1:50:12] Because a lot of people are going to call on me because they've gotten their utility bills and they said that they are just too high.

[1:50:20] And I know that Scott has been going around, well, every time we call him, he goes around,

[1:50:27] he fixes all the meters because we do have, in Southside, in our 8th district, a lot

[1:50:31] of old meters, that the, you know, the busted, the water's running, and we're just thankful

[1:50:37] that he always takes our calls, and he has a crew that goes out there if not that night, the

[1:50:42] next day to fix them.

[1:50:43] Also we're going to have, oh my goodness, there's a developer that's going to come there

[1:50:48] Number two and talk about another development that's going on in our district.

[1:50:52] I think we have now a total of 11 developers, which I know back in 1998, I couldn't get a

[1:50:58] developer to even return my phone call, either to even come into our eighth district.

[1:51:05] I know that these smoke alarms in my colleague right there, my colleague.

[1:51:11] I might have to give this to her, because my colleague, she loves the firefighters too.

[1:51:17] and our police officers, they work together.

[1:51:19] Those sisters and brothers, they work together.

[1:51:21] And if you need a smoke alarm, they will come to your house

[1:51:24] or come to your apartment and they will make sure

[1:51:26] that you have a work in smoke alarm

[1:51:28] and right now it's probably the only thing

[1:51:29] it's for you in the city.

[1:51:31] You can always call, go to the nearest fire station,

[1:51:34] they'll make an appointment to come out there.

[1:51:35] And also I want to thank our fire chief who went out there,

[1:51:39] he was telling me the other day he went out there

[1:51:41] to one of the mobile parks on Richmond Highway

[1:51:43] And most of those, I believe all of them, maybe 30 to 40 mobile homes did not have any smoke alarms and they put them up for them.

[1:51:55] And that's a good thing and I know my colleague, I'll let her talk about that.

[1:51:58] But anyway, I appreciate our firefighters and our police officers working together and all that they do.

[1:52:05] If you have any questions you can call my home at 804-233-7382 again my home 804-233-7382 or you can call my personal cell 804-240-5-0-5-0-5-0-8-0-4-240-5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0 thank you, Madam President.

[1:52:22] Thank you, Councilwoman Tremble, Councilwoman Oppobocker.

[1:52:26] Thank you and I still defer to my colleague as the Queen of Public Safety.

[1:52:33] But I do enjoy working with our firefighters and all of our public safety officers.

[1:52:43] This Wednesday we've got the West River Hills neighborhood association meeting at 7 p.m.

[1:52:48] at the usual spot, West River Hills United Methodist.

[1:52:51] On Saturday we have the Forest View Cemetery cleanup so you can still sign up to volunteer

[1:52:57] for that.

[1:52:58] And then also on Saturday we've got Cedarhurst, the newest neighborhood association in the fourth

[1:53:05] district. We'll be having their picnic next to 5,400 bonds or lane. The rain date for that will be June 14th

[1:53:13] though I don't not think it's going to rain. Next Tuesday, we've got back-to-back neighborhood

[1:53:18] associations for us till at the Presbyterian Church. And then Southampton change, it will be at

[1:53:25] Boyd Realty Group, which is at 6784 Forest Hill Avenue.

[1:53:30] So you can go there.

[1:53:32] As always, you can reach my office, 804-646-5646,

[1:53:38] or sera.ababocker.arva.gov, and Timmy.sibert-s-i-v-e-r-d

[1:53:43] at rva.gov.

[1:53:45] Thank you.

[1:53:45] Thank you, Councilmember Ababocker.

[1:53:47] Councilmember Robertson.

[1:53:53] Great.

[1:53:54] Good.

[1:53:54] Thank you.

[1:53:55] I have three announcements, I think, four.

[1:54:02] So with the first one, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, there's going to be hell on June

[1:54:08] the 18th from 9 o'clock to 1230 at Midtown Green, which is at 2401 West Lee Street, City

[1:54:17] Abagement Office of Agent and Disability Services and Partnership with VCU Health, Span Center,

[1:54:23] Henrico County and Chesafield County. With additional information, please call the City

[1:54:30] of Richmond Office of Agent and Disability Services at 804-646-1082. Also, the mayor

[1:54:42] that had press release this week earlier about displacement and several events that had

[1:54:48] being held to provide services to ensure that people can stay in their homes and services

[1:54:56] at the city is providing to assist.

[1:54:59] In addition to that, I wanted to announce that eviction, diversion, onsite support.

[1:55:05] This event is limited to return redevelopment housing authority residents who live in public

[1:55:11] housing.

[1:55:12] That event will be happened on June the 9th from 1 o'clock 151 15 to 245.

[1:55:22] So on June 9th, it will be at Armstrong Renaissance Community 1665.

[1:55:28] Third street is a third street, a third street probably in Churchill.

[1:55:36] I'm sure Dr. Neil Bill that's in the 7th district hosted by the Richard redeveloped

[1:55:41] and Housing Authority, and Southside Community Development

[1:55:45] and Housing Corporation called Nicole Douglas

[1:55:49] at 804-780-521-0, or Ms. Hampton,

[1:55:56] at Richembourg Development Housing Authority,

[1:55:59] at 804-780-4358, anyone that is having problems,

[1:56:06] meeting their rent payments, they are behind

[1:56:08] and subject to eviction.

[1:56:10] This is an extremely important opportunity to get services to prevent that.

[1:56:18] We also, there's an event that will be taking place on June the 26th.

[1:56:23] All beyond the bars, mental health, intellectual disabilities, chronic illness,

[1:56:30] and justice service summit.

[1:56:32] That will be held at the Richmond Justice Center at 1701.

[1:56:36] on Fairfield Way, hosted by our own Richmond City Sheriff's Office for more information

[1:56:44] called Catherine Green, 804-646-01400 for additional information and registration.

[1:56:53] And lastly, how in pockets have in our second phase to ask your rent, that will be held

[1:56:59] at the Ann Hardy Community Center on June 27th from 10 o'clock a.m. to 12. That's at 1,000 Pollock Street.

[1:57:11] You may contact my office at 804-646-7964 for additional information. Thank you very much.

[1:57:20] Thank you. Councilwoman Gibson. Thank you, Madam President. Just a few updates.

[1:57:27] I wanted to share our next district meeting will be June 17th at 6 p.m. at Holton Elementary

[1:57:33] School will be joined by fire chief Segal and we're finalizing other elements of our

[1:57:40] meeting and as always light refreshments will be provided we'd love to see the community

[1:57:45] there. On Tuesday June 9th at 6.30 p.m. there'll be a civic association hosted by the Rose

[1:57:53] Delosific Association, that will be at 1704 West Liburnum Avenue, and that same evening,

[1:58:00] the Battery Parks Civic Association is hosting their quarterly meeting, which will be at

[1:58:06] 2803 DuPont Circle at the Stone House. On June 16th at 630, at the Waldorf School, there

[1:58:15] will be a community meeting regarding a potential closing or partial closing, pardon me, of the

[1:58:21] The right of way on Brooklyn Parkway and Robin Hood Road, this is in the Sherwood Park community.

[1:58:29] We have heard several concerns from residents regarding this closing, and so we encourage

[1:58:33] folks to come out and ask questions and share their thoughts with the school.

[1:58:38] And as always, please email our office if you have any questions or concerns.

[1:58:43] My email is canya.gipson at rva.gov and you can reach

[1:58:47] Serrandon Elliott at Serrandon.alliot at rva.gov with any thoughts you have.

[1:58:53] Thank you so much.

[1:58:54] Thank you, Vice President Jordan.

[1:58:57] Thank you so much, President Newbel.

[1:59:00] The main news for the second district is that we will be out in the district.

[1:59:04] We have a summer district meeting to be scheduled after we have a little more information on

[1:59:12] when draft three of Code Refresh is going to be coming out that will be a subject specific

[1:59:18] district meeting probably sometime in July. From now until the end of August though you can

[1:59:25] expect to see myself and second district second district liaison spin Phillips and out in the district

[1:59:31] we're going to be on your block backing doors providing materials on different services at the city

[1:59:38] We're really excited to get back out on the street.

[1:59:41] Additionally, if you have a group and you would like us to come meet with you.

[1:59:45] We meet with neighborhood associations routinely, but if you have a group that would like to

[1:59:49] hear more directly from our office about Code Refresh or any other topic, please reach out

[1:59:55] to our office so that we can get on your calendar.

[1:59:58] And if you have any.

[2:00:00] Issues, the issues, please reach out to us either by phone, 804, 646, 6532, you know, or via email.

[2:00:09] And that, either myself, Catherine K. T. H. E. R. I. N. E. Dot, Jordan, J-O-R-D-A-N, at rba.gov.

[2:00:17] And always, please, CC, liaison, Sven. Philipsen, P-H-I-L-I-P-S-E-N, at rba.gov. And we'll do our

[2:00:26] best just issue with whatever city issue you're having.

[2:00:29] Thank you so much.

[2:00:30] I look forward to seeing you out in district.

[2:00:32] Thank you.

[2:00:33] Just a few announcements.

[2:00:35] We have several civic associations

[2:00:37] who will be meeting tomorrow.

[2:00:40] So the next Union Hill Civic Association meeting

[2:00:43] will be held tomorrow at 6.30 p.m.

[2:00:47] at the Challenge Discovery Building

[2:00:49] at 24 or 5 Jefferson Avenue.

[2:00:52] The Fulton Civic Association will meet tomorrow

[2:00:55] at 6 p.m. at the Powertown Community Center located at 5051 North Hampton Street.

[2:01:02] And the Churchill Association will meet on Tuesday, June 9, at 6 p.m. at the Easton Library located at 25th in our street.

[2:01:11] Please come out and join with the members of the Civic Association for current updates and opportunities for involvement and engagement in our community.

[2:01:22] On Wednesday, June 10th, we will have a press conference at Shimorazo Elementary School 3000 East Marshall Street.

[2:01:31] In this press conference, the mayor, the superintendent school board representative myself will be announcing our upcoming annual RVA Eastern Music Festival.

[2:01:44] and it is for the last several years the opportunity to raise funds to purchase

[2:01:53] musical instruments, art supplies and materials for the children in our school

[2:01:58] in the east end and always we certainly partnership with the symphony and a

[2:02:02] variety of partners but now we have a cadre of children who because they've

[2:02:08] had the opportunity to have access to instruments who will be performing and

[2:02:14] So I'll be the person in the back with the tissue crime because we have so many of our children coming forward and we have our children who will display their artwork, which is really phenomenal.

[2:02:26] So again, Wednesday, June 10th, Shimburasa Elementary School, 3,000, he's Marshall Street at 11.30 a.m. June 10th at Saturday, June 13th, the 2 o'clock PM at the East End Library, 1200 North 25th Street.

[2:02:42] There will be a June 10th event and it is title and the meaning of freedom, history,

[2:02:51] memory, and civic responsibility, a free public lecture by VUU professor Clive Tensley,

[2:02:59] Saturday June 13th at 2.

[2:03:02] Then on June 13th and 14th, we had the June 10th celebration honoring and answer-store

[2:03:11] ancestors by the Legbock Folklore Society. It will on June 15th we'll be starting with the

[2:03:17] torch lit night walk along the trail of enslaved Africans at 6 p.m. and gathered the devils half

[2:03:25] acre 1500 East Franklin Street and then on June 14th from 2 to 7 at the Shaco bottom African

[2:03:32] and burial ground, 1,500 East Franklin Street,

[2:03:36] please feel free to come out and join.

[2:03:40] Juneteenth celebration on Friday, June 19th,

[2:03:45] at the Main Street Station, the head house.

[2:03:48] This is the underground kitchen.

[2:03:51] We'll celebrate, and it's called

[2:03:52] this celebration of freedom.

[2:03:54] Chefcraft, that food and vibrant cocktails,

[2:03:57] honoring independence, culture, and community.

[2:03:59] it will start at 5.30. And last but not least, you certainly heard that we have a significant

[2:04:08] number of events, SAIL 250, City of Richmond and the Virginia Museum of History and Culture,

[2:04:16] a proud department hosting Richmond SAIL, FASSA SAIL, Virginia 2060, affiliate harbor,

[2:04:23] kickoff, central Virginia's countdown to America's 250th anniversary.

[2:04:28] Richmond will host several impressive tall ships June 12 through 14.

[2:04:33] Please feel free to call for more information each of the dates in terms of when the tall ships will be here at the intermediate terminal, starting well June 12 through 14.

[2:04:49] So for more information, please feel free, you can reach out to my office and my liaison will be able to direct to 6804-6463012, or you can call Mr. Patterson at 804-2417-544, or you can call me at 804-544-378-377 for more information.

[2:05:11] With that, the agenda for the formal meeting of the Richmond City Council has been accomplished

[2:05:19] and the meeting now stands adjourned.

[2:05:21] Thank you everyone.

Richmond City Council Formal Meeting - June 8, 2026

Agenda

Transcript