[0:00] Uh, can I have a roll call please? Mayor? Pardon? Here. Vice mayor
[0:04] joiner. Here. Councillor harris? Here. Councillor ellis
[0:09] here. Councillor day here.
[0:14] I don't think she councilor. Ole
[0:20] ole here. Ole. Thank you. We
[0:24] have a quorum. Okay. Um,
[0:29] alright. Uh, sade, do you mind giving counselor stokes a phone call?
[0:35] yes.
[0:53] hello. Hi, councilor stokes. Hey.
[0:57] so this we're, the zoom hasn't started, but we are doing roll call and then we're
[1:01] gonna go into closed session. So I wanted to get your roll call.
[1:07] alright. Why is it not letting me join zoom
[1:11] so we have it in the back. He's working on getting you in the closed session.
[1:16] okay. Alright. So, councilor stokes.
[1:21] yes. Here we have a quorum. Okay.
[1:25] at this time, is there a motion to allow councilor stokes to participate remotely?
[1:29] I second. Alright. Motion's been made by councillor day and seconded
[1:34] by councilor ellis. Uh, councilor stokes. For the record, can you state,
[1:38] state where you're conducting the meeting from and why you're asking to participate
[1:42] remotely? I'm at home. I, I returned back
[1:46] home to help okay. At home for medical
[1:50] reasons. Okay. Alright. Roll call please.
[1:55] councillor harris? Yes. Mayor. Pardon? Yes.
[2:00] councilor ellis? Yes. Councilor day? Yes. Councillor
[2:05] oli? Yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes.
[2:09] motion passes. Six to zero. Okay. Thank you. Alright.
[2:14] at this time is there a motion to go into close meeting under virginia code section 2.2
[2:19] dash 3 7 11 a three eight and 29
[2:23] to discuss the acquisition with disposition of real property, where
[2:27] a discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating
[2:32] strategy of the public body. The award of a public contract where discussion
[2:37] in an open session would adversely affect the city's bargaining position. And
[2:41] to consult with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters,
[2:45] real estate contract discussions, unsolicited offer on
[2:49] city owned real estate, and 2.2 dash 3 7 11
[2:54] a one to discuss and consider personnel matters including boarding commission
[2:58] appointments, city clerk contract, hrha and
[3:02] the beacon theater. Follow up on attorney review.
[3:07] second. Second. Okay. Um,
[3:13] one question. I, um, I just noticed this, um, mr. Bassett,
[3:17] um, um, to talk about your, um, evaluation.
[3:21] do we need to add that? No, it's in the, there's just a, there's just a, uh,
[3:26] comma missing. Okay. Alright. Alright. Uh, seeing
[3:30] no lights roll call please. Councilor harris? Yes.
[3:35] may I? Pardon? Yes. Councilor ellis? Yes. Councillor
[3:40] day? Yes. Councilor stokes? Yes. Councillor
[3:44] oli? Yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes. Motion passes. Seven to
[3:49] zero. Okay. Okay.
[3:57] vice joiner. Is there any discussion?
[4:05] uh, counselor stokes on the phone? Okay.
[4:13] councilor harris? Yes. Mayor. Pardon?
[4:17] yes. Councillor ellis? Yes. Councillor day?
[4:21] yes. Councillor stokes. Yes. Councilor
[4:26] ley? Yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes. Motion passes. Seven to
[4:30] zero. Okay. Uh, certification please. Certification
[4:35] pursuant to virginia code 2.2 dash 3 7 12
[4:39] d, were only public business matters. One. Lawfully exempted
[4:43] from open meeting requirements and two identified in this closed meeting.
[4:48] motion discussed in the closed meeting. Could you ask, uh, before we do up,
[4:52] can you ask, uh, councilor stokes to mute herself? 'cause we're getting a lot of feedback.
[4:56] councilor stokes, are you able to go on mute?
[5:05] I think so. Y'all hear me? Yes. So I'm gonna hang my phone up. We can't
[5:09] hear you on zoom, but you can't all that feedback.
[5:13] can you hear me? Yes. Yeah.
[5:17] can you hear me? Yes. Can, can you hear us? Hello?
[5:22] can you hear us? Can you hear now?
[5:28] councilor stokes? Can you hear us? Yeah. Okay.
[5:32] I can hear somebody. Okay. Oh, there
[5:36] you go. Alright. All right. I'm ready.
[5:41] councilor harris? Yes. Mayor I, pardon? Yes.
[5:45] counselor ellis? Yes. Councilor day? Yes.
[5:50] counselor stokes. Can you repeat the question? It's
[5:54] certification. Okay. Yes. Councilor
[5:58] oli? Yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes.
[6:04] okay. Uh, at this time do we have a motion to appoint vice mayor joiner
[6:09] to the legislative committee and councilor oli to the crater
[6:13] planning district commission? Second. Second. So moved. Okay. Motion's
[6:17] been made by councilor stokes and seconded by, uh, councillor
[6:21] ellis. Is there any discussion seeing
[6:25] no lights roll call please. Councillor harris? Yes.
[6:30] mayor part? Yes. Councilor ellis? Yes. Councilor
[6:34] day? Yes. Councilor stokes? Yes.
[6:39] coun councilor ole? Yes. Vice mayor joiner?
[6:43] yes. Motion passes. Seven to zero. Okay. And,
[6:47] uh, before we get into our work session, uh, I'd like to, uh, introduce everybody
[6:52] to, um, our current counselor for ward seven. Um, ms.
[6:56] levia oli. Um, she comes from a background in,
[7:00] uh, hr and, um, health insurance and, uh, worked
[7:04] her way up, uh, the corporate ladder and, uh, has done exceptionally well. And we look very
[7:08] much forward to, uh, working with her, uh, during your time here. Thank
[7:12] you. Forward to learning a great deal.
[7:17] , did you want happy birthday? Yep. And then also, um,
[7:21] I'd also like to announce that I think it was his 93rd birthday. Is
[7:25] that right? Yes. Uh, a former, uh, member of city council
[7:29] and a former mayor, uh, mr. James patterson. Uh, it was his
[7:34] birthday yesterday, so we wish him a happy, healthy 93rd year
[7:38] and for many, many more. Hopefully we get him to that centurion level.
[7:43] alright. And at this time, we'll move right into our work sessions, uh, with our first
[7:48] one being from mr. Ward.
[7:54] good evening mayor by spay counsel. Um, actually, kelly davis, uh,
[7:59] deputy director of development will be presenting the your first two work sections.
[8:03] thank, thank you, kelly.
[8:15] all right. Thank you everyone. Can you hear me? Yes, ma'am. Yes. Great. Wonderful.
[8:19] alright. Our first work session for tonight is a zoning amendment request
[8:23] related to signage regulations in the city of hopewell
[8:28] zoning ordinance.
[8:35] uh, this is a brief agenda of the slide presentation. Primarily a
[8:39] background proposed changes to development standards and the b
[8:43] one district standards, and then staff recommendation. This
[8:47] zoning text amendment is proposed to clarify regulations
[8:52] in the sign ordinance and address existing inconsistencies between
[8:57] districts. But primarily it is proposed in response to requests
[9:01] that we have had from businesses and property owners for different sign,
[9:06] particularly in downtown, but also in other districts as well.
[9:10] think counsel has received some letters to this extent regarding
[9:14] the b one zoning district, and it has also come up as a result
[9:18] of a community meeting that we had with downtown
[9:22] property owners. With regards to the downtown design guidelines
[9:27] that are currently under development,
[9:31] um, I'm go moving through this briefly given the time today, but if there are any
[9:35] questions, I'll be happy to answer them. Uh, within the development
[9:39] standards section of the zoning ordinance, we are proposing changes to freestanding
[9:44] signs. The first change is to modify the sign area and
[9:48] height requirements in the b two, b three and b four
[9:53] zoning districts. The b three and b four are the most intensive
[9:58] districts that we have. And, um, the sign requirements in those districts
[10:02] are actually smaller than in b two, which is more of a neighborhood business district, like
[10:06] around broadway and, um, city point road. So
[10:10] we're making some changes to make those more consistent
[10:14] and appropriate for the districts. Uh, we've also
[10:18] had some requests along the oaklawn wood woodlawn one-way
[10:23] pair for, uh, an additional freestanding sign
[10:27] on those through lots. Council has approved some exceptions for that in the
[10:31] past, going ahead and codifying that. So if we get other businesses
[10:35] on through lots in the that corridor, we won't have to come to council for each
[10:39] of those requests. They would be subject to the same requirements as other freestanding
[10:43] signs. Um, we are also exempting small signs, four
[10:47] square feet or less from the requirement that, um, all freestanding
[10:52] signs be monument style. That's the style that looks like a
[10:56] box or a mo a monument. Um, there's an exam, two examples on this screen
[11:00] here before you basically allowing smaller signs that might be,
[11:04] um, just for a small
[11:09] business or a singular business that are smaller for wayfinding signage to be less,
[11:13] less, um, stringent requirements. There. Also,
[11:18] uh, adding additional standards for the base and
[11:22] foundation. We've had some questions as to those requirements in our
[11:26] ordinance, and so we're adding some clarifying language there. We are eliminating,
[11:31] uh, a requirement that is pretty stringent on height to width ratio,
[11:36] but instead of that, adding setbacks from the right of way to help
[11:40] drive some of the, the, um, height
[11:44] and width requirements in a different way.
[11:49] other proposed changes to general development standards for signage,
[11:54] we've started to see signs cover. This is an, this photo
[11:58] is an example where window signage covers the entire window.
[12:03] um, right now it was the, there's an exemption in the ordinance to
[12:07] exempt temporary window signs. This is really more of a
[12:11] permanent sign, so we're clarifying that that exemption, so they don't have to have a sign
[12:16] permit to have window signs, but they can only cover up
[12:20] to 25% window co, uh, 25% of the window.
[12:24] and that's really to help with public safety, being able to see into the building.
[12:28] um, and as for community appearance as well.
[12:33] and then the final change to development standards is modifying and clarifying
[12:37] the awning sign area requirements. There's some, um,
[12:42] existing potentially typos in the ordinance that are very difficult to interpret. And,
[12:46] um, so we've clarified and made that a more,
[12:51] um, made those restrictions more aligned with best practices
[12:55] for signage in the b one
[12:59] zoning district. That's our downtown zoning district, we are increasing
[13:04] the combined building signage or proposing to, these are all proposed changes
[13:08] to increase the combined building signage from 50 square,
[13:12] or I'm sorry, those are mixed up. Um, the from
[13:17] 50, the current is 50 and we would be proposing to increase it to 75
[13:21] square feet. Um, projecting signs also increasing
[13:26] slightly based off of the, the linear feet of building frontage.
[13:30] um, that's in these are specific inquiries that we have had
[13:34] from multiple property owners downtown for larger projecting signs,
[13:39] um, we're also making some changes to or proposing changes to freestanding
[13:43] signage. Um, the biggest change for freestanding signs,
[13:48] although the size is changing, um, is not requiring that
[13:52] monument style standard because we'll have the added a rb
[13:57] review. Um, and this is something that has come out of those community meetings,
[14:01] um, so that folks that want a smaller sign or a blade sign like
[14:05] or example in this photo here, uh, would be allowed
[14:09] to do that subject to a rp review. And then finally, we, we
[14:14] did add flags in the last zoning ordinance amendment, but we wanted to clarify that
[14:18] the flutter flags are not per permitted in downtown. And that was something
[14:22] that a rb had requested as well. And with that
[14:26] staff recommends approval as presented tonight. And planning commission has also
[14:30] recommended approval of this. And I'll stand ready to answer any questions.
[14:34] okay. Are there any questions for ms. Davis?
[14:40] okay. None. Alright. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[14:44] any question? Go ahead and bring up the next item.
[14:52] I guess there has to be a motion.
[15:02] it's for another day. Okay. Yeah.
[15:07] okay. Uh, moving on to work session number two.
[15:16] so we're okay? Yeah.
[15:25] are you prepared for me to start? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Mm-hmm .
[15:30] um, all right. So the second request is for zoning amendment
[15:34] for to allow urban agriculture in the city
[15:38] of hopewell. Again, the agenda for tonight briefly,
[15:43] and the background here is that the city of hopewell has initiated
[15:48] this. The planning commission initiated this request and directed
[15:52] staff to research how to allow urban agriculture
[15:56] here in the city of hopewell in a buyright manner. We've started to
[16:00] see some interest in this use throughout, um, in various parcels
[16:04] throughout the city. So we wanna, um, make sure that there's a pathway
[16:08] to do this legally. Uh, it is in compliance with the
[16:12] comprehensive plan to allow, uh, better
[16:16] access to fresh fruits and ve vegetables in the city. And so
[16:21] this was proposed as a way to do that.
[16:26] there are some challenges for urban agriculture that you all should be aware of as
[16:30] you review this ordinance. It is currently not allowed as a primary use.
[16:34] so if you see a community garden, it's an, it would be an accessory use. So we do
[16:38] allow you to have residential gardens or community gardens
[16:42] accessory to another use, but it currently is not allowed as a primary use.
[16:47] other issues are related to fencing, accessory
[16:51] structures, um, water and and electric service. Also,
[16:55] um, tied to, you can't have, if you don't have a legal use
[16:59] as well as enforcement. Um, primarily the current concern
[17:03] being that someone might fence a property for urban agriculture and
[17:08] actually try to use it for more of a junkyard condition. So we wanna make
[17:12] sure we're not allowing any nuisance conditions through this use.
[17:17] so the first, uh, we conducted a lot
[17:21] of research and actually didn't find very many good examples
[17:26] in virginia, but we did find a few and, uh, came up with
[17:30] the idea of adding what market garden, which you might also hear
[17:34] as referred to as an urban farm or commercial garden. So I
[17:38] won't re review read this whole definition to you, but the thing to
[17:42] know is that this will allow, um, cultivation of
[17:46] crops for sale or donation to public or nonprofit organizations.
[17:52] um, and it would also allow accessory educational activities
[17:57] and onsite sale and distribution.
[18:02] there's some additional definitions included in that you should be
[18:06] aware of as well, or that you will see in the packet, but
[18:10] I'm not gonna go into detail on these tonight. Um, the market garden
[18:14] use would be proposed for buyright in all
[18:19] business districts, and that is the b one, b two, b three, and b
[18:23] four districts. There are also
[18:27] some significant use standards associated with that. This is an
[18:31] amendment to the development standards to add a new section,
[18:35] uh, section h, which would have use standards for these two
[18:39] uses. Um, some of the, the use
[18:43] standards shown here would be approval of a plan when they come to get
[18:48] their business zoning approval. Uh, there's limits on the buildings
[18:52] and storage that can be on site, as well as onsite limits on onsite
[18:56] sales. We have some standards related to composting soil and
[19:00] mulch storage. Again, trying to prevent the accumulation of
[19:04] large amounts of these materials to the extent that that becomes
[19:08] the primary use over the actual farm. And then
[19:13] as well, we have included standards for maintenance and operations,
[19:17] um, including that you have to keep the site main well
[19:22] maintained and no exterior onsite equipment,
[19:26] tool storage, vehicle storage, et cetera.
[19:31] the second definition, or use that is being added to the
[19:36] ordinance is an urban agriculture indoor. This is
[19:40] a best practice that we are starting to see in zoning ordinances
[19:44] to allow folks to conduct urban agriculture in buildings.
[19:49] uh, this is proposed in all of the b districts and the
[19:53] m districts. And there are also
[19:57] some use standards proposed with this related to
[20:02] indoor uses, um, exterior storage, the
[20:06] keeping of animals, the control of odors, as well as in your
[20:10] commercial and mixed use districts requiring a portion of those, those
[20:14] spaces to still include the retail services for
[20:18] walk-in customers. So you keep that, that activated storefront.
[20:25] and with that, uh, I stand ready to answer any questions. Staff
[20:29] is recommending approval and planning commission also recommended approval. And
[20:33] I do just wanna note that the full ordinance as it's
[20:37] drafted for adoption for both this and the previous work session
[20:42] are included on your, um, on the dais as well
[20:46] as in the back for the public. Thank you. Alright.
[20:51] are there any, uh, questions or comments for ms. Davis? Uh, vice mayor joyner?
[20:55] yeah, I, I do have one comment and it just relates to the buildings. Just wanna
[20:59] make sure that, that we don't have a situation and I'm sure this, you
[21:03] know, you're writing the ordinance to make sure we don't have, but, you know, a hoop house
[21:07] that mm-hmm . That is in use for a little while, and then they say, oh, well I'm not interested
[21:12] in this anymore and it looks awful, and the plastic is torn and flying all
[21:16] around. I mean, I think there are examples of that along route five,
[21:20] along any virtually any corridor in the state where people,
[21:24] you know, get, they think they're gonna have a nursery or whatever, and it doesn't work out.
[21:28] and I'm just very concerned about in the city how it can go
[21:32] wrong. Okay. Yeah. Particularly for those temporary structures,
[21:37] it sounds like. Yes, yes. I'm very concerned. I will definitely take a look and make
[21:41] sure that we've addressed that or, um, look at an amendment. Yeah,
[21:45] I'd really appreciate that. Thank you so much. Mm-hmm . Thanks.
[21:49] yeah. Um, the only comment that I have is, um, I think this is exciting. Um,
[21:53] this is something actually, um, that I saw a lot of when I was, um,
[21:58] out of town and, um, you know, a lot of, uh,
[22:03] small towns on the west coast and it's, um, very popular.
[22:08] um, and I think, you know, having an ordinance that allows this, you know, that
[22:12] gives good defined parameters of which, you know, they can exercise. This, I think is gonna be
[22:16] an attractive draw, um, you know, for our city. But I do agree with,
[22:20] uh, vice mayor joiner that we need to make sure that, um, you know, when
[22:24] we allow this, that, um, that we make sure that it's, it's managed
[22:29] properly mm-hmm . Exactly. And I, I, I do support this. I think it's great.
[22:33] it's great. I'll also just note that we did meet with, uh,
[22:37] potential urban agriculture farms here in hopewell
[22:42] to help, you know, review this and make sure that we weren't missing anything. Okay.
[22:46] so we got some good feedback through that process as well. Appreciate that. Thank you so much, kelly. Thank you. Thank you.
[22:50] okay. Uh, any other comments or questions? Okay. Seeing
[22:54] none. Alright, we're gonna move on to number three. Uh, ms. Wilson,
[22:59] uh, with the executive summary for hrha.
[23:12] good evening to mayor, vice mayor, members of council. I'm lisa wilson with
[23:16] the hopewell redevelopment and housing authority. And on behalf of our board of commissioners,
[23:20] um, thank you for having us here this evening. Uh, for this brevity of time,
[23:24] we will be providing you with an overview of hr ha's operations,
[23:28] our vision, our strategic plan, and we will end it with some development
[23:33] updates. So I'll be doing the first part of the presentation, and
[23:37] the last part will be provided by our development consultant, mr.
[23:41] vars mccoy. And I do wanna say good evening to our commissioners,
[23:45] thankful for their support. And our general counsel is here, mr. Darius davenport
[23:49] as well. So, thank you again. Um, can
[23:53] she speak up please? Yes, I certainly can. Yes. So
[23:57] if we could go back to the, uh, other, the first slide. Thank you.
[24:02] so we'll start off with hr ha's vision. It's called vision 2030,
[24:07] and it was adopted back in 2013 by our commissioners. It
[24:11] was then revised in 2018. And it is basically the driver
[24:16] for what we do at hrha. Uh, our vision statement is to
[24:20] transform lives and communities by expanding access to housing
[24:24] and empowering our residents to thrive. And so we are working to
[24:28] achieve this vision. And we have some bullets summarized on the slide.
[24:33] uh, so we're seeking to redevelop our public housing. We are wanting
[24:37] to demolish in the obsolete units that we have. We're wanting to
[24:41] enhance our resident services, and we definitely want to try to expand
[24:45] any affordable housing opportunities in the city and even beyond.
[24:51] so, um, moving on to the, uh, next slide,
[24:56] uh, with vision 2030. That's basically the framework and guiding
[25:00] principle for our strategic plan, which we have summarized
[25:04] here. So this slide highlights our strategic plan
[25:09] and what we're seeking to do over the next five years. These are
[25:13] specific milestones that we're wanting to reach, and we are definitely excited
[25:17] about working towards them. As you can see on the slide, we are looking forward
[25:21] to adding additional units to our portfolio, increasing our
[25:26] resident services enrollment. And as new units come online, we are
[25:30] hoping to see some energy savings over the next, uh, couple of years
[25:34] as we do some sustainable measures and have energy
[25:38] efficient products, um, incorporated into our development. Um,
[25:43] with this, we also recognize the importance of financial stability,
[25:48] not just looking to hud for our funding, but trying to d diversify
[25:52] our revenue sources. And we definitely wanna make sure we're maintaining
[25:56] our reserves to keep ourselves solvent. And again, we're seeking opportunities
[26:00] to grow our footprint in development. So
[26:04] we go to the next slide. I'm gonna move on through, and, um, after we're finished,
[26:09] if you have any questions, we'll be happy to answer them if, if that's okay.
[26:13] alright. So this next slide, this is our operational snapshot.
[26:18] it provides an overview of the programs we currently administer, the
[26:22] number of residents we serve, and the cost to operate our,
[26:26] uh, organization. I will say that 82% of our operating
[26:31] budget is funded by hud. The remaining portion, we
[26:35] have some state funding, tenant revenue, and other miscellaneous, uh, revenue
[26:39] that helps to support our operations. Alright,
[26:44] moving on through. Yep. So this next
[26:48] slide provides examples of our capital projects. Hud requires
[26:52] every five years that we do what's called a physical needs assessment. And that's
[26:57] how we determine our capital funding, our capital, um,
[27:01] planning, what projects we're going to work on and how we prioritize them.
[27:06] so the assessment helps us identify what, um,
[27:10] requires replacement, what requires repair, and in the order that
[27:14] we do that. Uh, the good thing about this is every year
[27:19] we provide the pha plan and we make it available to the
[27:23] public where you can make comments and provide edits and really give input
[27:27] and feedback into our capital. Um, capital structuring,
[27:32] uh, some of the examples on the slide, we we're working on modernization of our units
[27:37] roof replacement as needed. Um, we are replacing appliances
[27:42] now with energy efficient appliances and we are very excited about
[27:47] the capital plans that we have for the housing authority. Alright,
[27:52] next slide. Thank you. So this is, uh, we wanted
[27:56] to share some photos of some of the units that we're working on.
[28:00] uh, what we're doing now is we are rehabbing our thomas rolfe
[28:05] and davisville apartments because we're committed to improving the quality
[28:09] of housing for our residents. Um, with me being here in this
[28:13] capacity, I'm very intentional about wanting to replace and rehab
[28:17] units with, uh, new appliances, new countertops, new cabinets,
[28:22] new flooring, new paint. Um, so every unit as we are,
[28:27] you know, ramping up our, uh, occupancy, every unit
[28:31] will be rehab to look like what we see here. And this is
[28:35] an actual unit in thomas roth. So we are very glad that we're able
[28:39] to, to do that. Alright. Um, the next slide.
[28:43] moving on down. So this is just a bit of information
[28:48] as it relates to our operations and maintenance. We have some time
[28:52] goals here for different, um, maintenance requests, different, um,
[28:56] service requests that come up from our residents. And what we're doing
[29:00] here is we're wanting to add systems and preventative
[29:05] maintenance measures so we can improve our efforts with our maintenance services
[29:10] and to improve, um, our upkeep with our aging units. Our
[29:14] units are, are quite old, right? Move on to
[29:18] the next slide. And I'm just about done. Uh, this next slide
[29:23] maybe, is there one before that one maybe?
[29:27] yeah, there we go. All right. So this slide here is just laying out
[29:31] some initiatives we have for communications, resident engagement.
[29:36] we do have some opportunity here. And these are just some things that we're planning to roll
[29:40] out to improve our way of conveying important information
[29:45] and to improve our engagement with our residents. We're really wanting
[29:49] to get feedback so we can see how we can better serve our communities.
[29:53] um, these are just some examples here. We're doing newsletters, we're working on
[29:58] doing, um, text alerts. We're wanting to reengage
[30:02] our resident advisory board, having, um, biweekly, bimonthly
[30:06] meetings. And hopefully we'll get some really good feedback, uh, about
[30:10] resident concerns so we can address them collectively. So that's what we're
[30:14] looking to do. And, uh, yep, this
[30:18] slide here, uh, this is just laying out our remediation
[30:23] plan for any health and safety concerns that we are
[30:27] running into on our properties. Um, this ties a
[30:31] bit to what we're calling black substance. If there's anything
[30:35] identified within the units, we do have a plan in place. We
[30:39] do have a dedicated funding source to address this within our thomas
[30:44] rolfe and davisville communities. So we're very glad that we do have, uh,
[30:48] those resources to address that concern. Then we're coming on
[30:52] down to the end. Uh, just wanted to, uh, let council know,
[30:56] um, some real time challenges that the housing authority contends
[31:00] with on a regular basis. Um, I do believe understanding the context
[31:05] and the climate we're in as a housing authority is paramount to our operations
[31:10] and it really informs our direction and strategic planning as we
[31:14] move forward. So with hud's ever changing regulations, political
[31:18] shifts, eroding funding, aging buildings, and
[31:22] resident and landlord needs, we're making every effort to be adaptable
[31:26] forward thinking. And we definitely wanna be aligned with our stakeholders
[31:31] as we move the agency forward. So we're committed to transforming
[31:36] housing and being the catalyst for improving our communities
[31:40] here in hopewell, and we're seeking to do that in hopewell and beyond.
[31:45] so I do wanna thank you, um, thank you for allowing me to
[31:49] provide that information to you. And actually that's the last
[31:53] bit of what I have for my part of the presentation.
[31:58] um, and if we go, probably have to go down quite a bit
[32:03] all the way down to our development section and I will turn it over to mr.
[32:07] mccourt. Yep. Right there. I'll turn it over to mr. Mccoy and then
[32:11] I'll come back if you have any questions you'd like to ask at that time too. Thank you.
[32:23] alright. Good evening everybody. Good evening. Evening. Um, picking up
[32:27] where ms. Wilson left off, um, been asked to just give a
[32:31] summary of the development efforts of hopewell redevelopment and housing authority.
[32:35] um, I'll first start off by just discussing
[32:40] the, the very kind of genesis of this. Uh, a few years ago
[32:44] started working with the housing authority and the first thing that was done was really to create
[32:48] this vision of, you know, talking about vision 2030 that was
[32:52] shared. And talk about what does that mean for development.
[32:56] um, there was an understanding years ago that, you know, hud was kind of moving
[33:01] in a direction that said there wasn't more public housing money
[33:05] coming, it, it just wasn't coming. And so with that being said, the housing authority
[33:09] began to redevelop its properties, uh, using
[33:13] other funding outside of hud to do that. Uh, most
[33:17] recently, uh, piper square, which was originally built
[33:22] in the late seventies, uh, was rehabbed, uh, what we call
[33:26] a substantial rehab. It was a $23 million project, uh, which
[33:31] resulted in completely new systems within those units. So new
[33:35] hvac, new, uh, plumbing, new fixtures, new flooring, uh,
[33:40] new lighting, you name it. Uh, top to bottom really, uh, working throughout
[33:44] the buildings as well as, uh, assigning a new, uh,
[33:48] exterior to the building so that, you know, those who were to drive through piper square
[33:52] today, uh, might not recognize it as it once stood.
[33:56] in fact, we often get asked, did we tear it down and rebuild it? Uh,
[34:00] we did not. Um, and so, you know,
[34:05] next on that, uh, this council would be familiar with, uh,
[34:09] the housing authority has also, uh, been working toward development
[34:14] of, uh, the rendezvous apartments, uh, which is located in the highland park,
[34:19] uh, highland area of the city, uh, near cavalier square. Um,
[34:23] this would be a 64 unit development. And it's currently,
[34:27] uh, in the pre-development phase, uh, much of its funding has
[34:31] been secured in just looking for that, uh, last piece of the puzzle
[34:36] to get that one started. Um, other development,
[34:40] uh, is really in the early stages, um,
[34:45] development, I'll say this, sometimes when we see new developments come online,
[34:50] um, it seems like it just kind of happens overnight, uh, the physical part of it.
[34:54] but the reality is most development takes about five to 12 years,
[34:59] uh, from concept to actual completion. And, um, you
[35:03] know, I think the work that the housing authority is doing,
[35:07] uh, is very similar to that. The, the piper square project, uh, is
[35:11] one that was began in, uh, 2018,
[35:16] if I'm not mistaken. And of course it was completed in 2024.
[35:21] so I always like to give people that lens to understand that there is a lot of
[35:25] work that's happening behind the scenes to bring those developments to fruition.
[35:30] um, unless I'll say this, that the, uh, this board
[35:34] also, um, looked at, uh, the city and,
[35:38] and really is always asking a question of, you know, how can, what the housing authority
[35:43] does work well with what the city has done. And, uh,
[35:47] one of those areas is in single family. Uh, the, the board has also been looking at
[35:51] how can the housing authority, uh, work within the single family side
[35:55] of things to bring more, uh, high quality, um,
[35:59] single family housing, you know, for sale housing, uh, to the
[36:03] city as well. Um, so yeah, I'll leave it at that and,
[36:09] okay. Okay. Um, let's see.
[36:14] uh, the first person that I have for a question is, uh, counselor stokes
[36:18] and then myself, um, then vice mayor joyner? Mm-hmm .
[36:22] okay.
[36:27] uh, ms. Stokes, if you're, yep. Okay. Uh, yeah, you're on mute.
[36:38] councilor stokes.
[36:44] oh, I'm sorry. There you go. And we, are we unmuted? Yes, you are unmuted now.
[36:50] they got new stuff up here. .
[36:54] I can raise my hand. Can you see me raise my hand? Uh,
[36:58] no ma'am. Not on that screen.
[37:02] that's what I was playing with. But at any rate, um,
[37:07] from the first presentation,
[37:12] um, what are the plans for the relocation
[37:18] of davis? That
[37:22] is, what is the timeline on the relocation of davisville?
[37:26] is there any plans for that community?
[37:34] yep. That is a great question. Councillor stokes and I will say,
[37:38] um, is to be determined
[37:42] the timeframe for when things will occur with davisville. Uh,
[37:46] we're doing things kind of in a sequence, so we're working on getting
[37:51] the rendezvous online, which we're very excited about that. Um, as mr. Mccoy
[37:55] alluded to, um, you know, we're working through some, uh, pre-development
[38:00] activities once we get the rendezvous online, that will
[38:04] give us the go ahead to begin looking at our plans for thomas
[38:09] rolfe and davisville. So I don't have a timeframe,
[38:13] uh, tonight for when that will occur, but we are
[38:17] planning to have a well, uh, well thought out, well planned,
[38:21] uh, relocation plan for the davisville residents,
[38:26] but I thought some years back that had already been put
[38:30] in place and what has caused this
[38:35] slow down with davisville thomas roth court
[38:39] and then to run it mm-hmm . Yep. So I don't,
[38:43] I mean, yi mean you just, you know, a direct answer because
[38:48] the timeframe on it and where we at now don't
[38:52] match. So make it make sense.
[38:57] okay. Alright. Let's see if I can try. So, um, as mr. Mccoy
[39:02] alluded to, when you're working on development projects, um,
[39:06] there are things that come along that you hadn't planned for. And,
[39:10] you know, you have a contingency plan where you, um, may
[39:14] have to change gears, the timeframe may change, some things may
[39:19] have delays. You may have to re redirect your focus,
[39:23] you may have to change what you had initially started to do. And it's just
[39:27] in the world of development that those are the things that we contend
[39:31] with as far as the timeframe for davisville and the relocation.
[39:36] um, I don't have a definitive timeframe tonight because
[39:40] we've had series of delays and certain things that have
[39:44] impacted our development activities. So we wanna make sure
[39:48] we have, um, some clear, a clear path forward
[39:53] with the timeframe for rendezvous and thomas rolfe.
[39:57] and then we will certainly, uh, consider davisville and the
[40:01] timeframe for that. So it will kind of happen in
[40:05] tandem. Like these things will be coordinated together, but, um,
[40:10] you know, we'll definitely come back when we do have a solid definitive timeframe.
[40:14] um, I'll definitely come back and I can relay that, but just to try to,
[40:19] uh, to try to land this plane. I will say that because we've
[40:23] had unexpected and different things occur with our other
[40:27] projects, our other development, it did have an impact on the timing
[40:32] for davisville. So do you have future plans
[40:37] of making sure that the members of this city council are kept
[40:41] abreast? Like maybe a 30 to 60 day report
[40:45] on where you at, where, where you are with the development
[40:49] of those plans? So we don't have to ask these questions years later? Yes,
[40:54] ma'am. Yes. When we had a different set of expectations, and I wasn't
[40:58] on council then, but I followed as a constituent,
[41:02] and it, it gives me great concern, the changes,
[41:06] um, and you're not being definitive with the changes, but
[41:11] if you could keep us in the loop, um,
[41:16] we would be on top of what is happening. So when the constituents,
[41:20] the constituency, particularly public housing residents and
[41:24] our tax paying people wanna know what's happening. I thought they
[41:28] planned to do this, I thought this was gonna happen by this date.
[41:32] if we have reports or some more communication
[41:37] from him, we'd be able to properly answer our constituents, ma'am.
[41:42] okay. Well thank you for that feedback. And I do agree that, um,
[41:46] there should be timely and relevant communication as relates to our
[41:50] project. So we're, we're committing to keep council apprised of our
[41:54] updates and definitely keep you all in the loop because we want to continue
[41:58] building our relationship with the city so we can work on some additional projects.
[42:03] so we will be very intentional about keeping council abreast
[42:07] of what, what's going on. So that's a fair, fair comment.
[42:11] and I am your liaison so I can keep them abbra. Yes, ma'am.
[42:16] thank you. Thank you. Um, so I have,
[42:20] uh, two questions. Um, the first one is, um, you talked
[42:24] a lot about, um, you have the public side, public housing side of
[42:28] y'all's mission, but there's another side of y'all's mission
[42:32] in attracting new development and new
[42:37] housing. Yes. You know, here in the city of hopewell. Um,
[42:41] so what are your plans to, uh, take advantage of the
[42:45] second part of y'all mission? Um, and the reason
[42:49] I'm asking is because, you know, right now we are, you know, continuing
[42:53] to, um, you know, focus a lot of our decision making on
[42:58] making sure that, um, we are doing things that are making us look better and
[43:02] better and better. Mm-hmm . For our bond rating, um, for the bond rating agencies.
[43:07] and the two of the biggest, um, factors in that is,
[43:11] you know, the city's overall value. So the value of all assets within
[43:15] the city. Um, and then also looking at, you know, the housing
[43:19] stock. And then it also looks at, you know, median household
[43:23] income. Uh, what are y'all's plans for
[43:28] addressing the new housing and development piece?
[43:32] yeah, so what we're wanting to do is, like I said, you know,
[43:36] we're working through some of these current, uh, projects, but we're wanting to do is
[43:40] really, um, engage the city. Um, since
[43:44] I've joined the housing authority in this capacity, um, I would like
[43:48] to have discussions, planning sessions, identify some areas
[43:53] within the city that could be really ripe for development and
[43:57] see, you know, how we could, um, put together a project and
[44:01] deal to bring in the new housing. Uh, we do have some ideas
[44:05] we've discussed with, um, our consultant, mr. Mccoy about,
[44:09] you know, some areas where we could, um, could really build up,
[44:13] um, some really nice projects, really nice developments. And it would include,
[44:17] um, mixed use, um, possibly some retail.
[44:22] um, but we do have plans and would like to, uh, discuss
[44:26] those because, um, you know, ultimately we would need the city or want
[44:31] the city's blessing to move forward in those areas. But we certainly
[44:35] are, um, wanting to be very intentional about
[44:39] bringing new housing, new development, um, to the city to help
[44:43] with the, the value and to help bring up the, the asset value
[44:47] and, um, just the appeal and just the overall, um,
[44:52] aesthetic of the city. So we're definitely wanting to do that. We
[44:57] do have some ideas, like I said, there are some, some potential,
[45:01] um, areas and locations that we would like to,
[45:05] uh, discuss with the city, um, you know, in the near future. So.
[45:10] okay. Um, mr. Rogers, can
[45:14] you get with ms. Wilson and let's get a joint meeting between the, um,
[45:18] the hrha board and, uh, city council so we can start talking about,
[45:23] um, you know, some of these developments and these projects? Absolutely.
[45:27] and let's shoot for, you know, october timeframe. Okay.
[45:32] um, no better time than the present. Alright. Um,
[45:36] then the next question that I have is, um, yeah, I know that you guys have
[45:40] talked here, you know, about these, um, these new projects you've talked about a little bit about
[45:44] the capital and the maintenance and improving operations. Um,
[45:49] and I know that there's, you know, public safety and there's security issues, um,
[45:53] you know, within, uh, the housing communities and then, um, you
[45:57] know, issues I think also with individuals living in units, um,
[46:02] that are not on leases. Um, have you guys looked at
[46:06] bringing in or, uh, researching or considering bringing in a turnaround specialist
[46:11] that helps us specialize in, in housing authorities,
[46:15] um, to help you guys implement, um, some, you know, best practices and
[46:19] help, you know, further y'all's mission? Yeah, that's a great question.
[46:23] um, mayor. Pardon? We are actually,
[46:28] we're actually, um, in the process of procuring and bringing on
[46:32] a third party who specializes in exactly what you described okay. Unit
[46:36] terms, supporting our maintenance and really having a dedicated
[46:40] resource to get our units online faster, better, and that
[46:45] kind of thing. So to answer your question, yes, we are. Okay. Mm-hmm . Have you guys already
[46:49] issued out that rfp or have you guys uh, spoken with the state on
[46:53] who's on like their pre-approval list? I have not. Okay. And I
[46:57] can certainly do that. Okay. Um, 'cause I think that that'll end up helping, saving you
[47:02] a lot of time and a lot of vetting, um, and working with the, the pre-approved
[47:06] list. Thank you for that. And then it also, they also have, you know, very
[47:10] high standards of quality that, you know, you guarantee
[47:15] that you're gonna get good quality work from these individuals. Yeah.
[47:19] duly noted. Um, the folks we were talking to, you know, we
[47:23] were just looking around to see, um, what kind of resources there are. Mm-hmm . This one
[47:27] company, um, they work, they currently work with about four other
[47:31] housing authorities. So we were looking at how to piggyback off of, um, you
[47:35] know, the existing contract with them. But I will certainly follow up, uh, with the state.
[47:40] um, that's eva, right. Uh, I'll
[47:44] certainly follow up on that. Um, okay. Thank you. Um,
[47:49] uh, hold on one second. Uh, counsel, it's my, go ahead.
[47:54] is my question period up or I can still question? You can,
[47:58] um, it's just, you'll be on your second round, so I have to let, uh, the other folks go first
[48:02] that have their hands. Oh, okay. Dear. Thank you. Yeah, no problem.
[48:07] uh, so next is vice mayor joyner and councillor day, and then councillor harris. Yeah.
[48:11] and then stokes. Okay. Ms. Wilson, thank you so much for
[48:15] your presentation. I do have a couple of questions going back to the communications
[48:19] plan that you had. Yes. Can we go back to that and look at it? Could we
[48:23] get to that slide? The communications one?
[48:31] that one right there? Mm-hmm . That one. Mm-hmm . How many of these things are
[48:35] in place right now? So right now, the first one
[48:40] we do have the newsletters. Right? Right. We do have the rad advisory
[48:44] board meetings, but they're only when we call them like, okay, we'll schedule that.
[48:48] you gonna set that up? Mm-hmm . How about the resident text alert system? Is that in place now?
[48:52] so we are working on that because, um, you know, we converted to a new erp,
[48:57] uh, it's called yardi uhhuh . And we are, we are still learning their, the
[49:01] functionality and we discovered that we have that functionality
[49:05] in our existing system. So, okay. We, we haven't done it yet, but we are certainly gonna,
[49:09] that's gonna be next on our, our list. And then we do work with food
[49:14] distribution. Um, there's a local organization that, um, you know, delivers food
[49:18] to our sites. Okay. And hrj website
[49:22] portal. We're working on our, uh, website and portal now. Okay. We did
[49:26] a fresh facelift of our website, and we're still working to improve
[49:30] the, the portal. Okay. Yeah, I, I just would just like to say, I think that that's,
[49:34] this piece is really important and I think probably leads
[49:38] to most of the customer complaints, quite frankly, the
[49:43] fact that people don't know what's going on or they, they hear they get misinformation,
[49:47] that kind of thing. So I think the sooner the, you and, and the commissioners
[49:51] can make sure that this all is in place and working would be very,
[49:55] you know, very beneficial to you. The other question that I had relates to,
[50:00] and, and, um, it might be, um, something from mr. Mccoy,
[50:04] um, with regard to the rendezvous, you mentioned that about 92%
[50:09] of the funding, you have about 92% of the funding ready, the other
[50:13] 8%. How, how, what kind of dollars are we talking? And
[50:17] do you have confidence that, do you have confidence that you're gonna get that,
[50:21] that other 8%? Yeah.
[50:26] uh, yeah. I have confidence in that. I'm real, real, real glad to see you back.
[50:30] I mean, you know, because I'm happy to be, we, you know, this would, we had hoped this was gonna
[50:35] be, as I'm sure y'all did, this would've already been built
[50:39] by now if there hadn't been, you know, some waves. But we're really glad to
[50:43] have you back working on the rendezvous. Yeah, I'm happy to be back. Thank you. Good, good.
[50:47] um, and yeah, I do, I I believe the, the rest of the, um, the last mile of
[50:51] funding is on its way. Okay. Um, we, we had some really promising,
[50:55] uh, pieces that we worked on. Right. Um, the planning commission or, or the, uh,
[50:59] district planning commission has been really good. And, um, we are
[51:03] on their list. They don't get funding every year. Yeah. Uh, but they work with virginia housing
[51:08] to get I cut you off. Yeah. Um, thank you mr. Bessette for this. Um, can
[51:12] I have a motion to extend the meeting until we complete the, uh,
[51:17] public hearing? Number four. I move second. Alright.
[51:22] move. Motion's been made by councilor, uh, day, or
[51:26] excuse me, vice mayor joiner, seconded by councilor day. Uh, any discussion?
[51:30] seeing no lights roll called police count? Councillor harris? Yes.
[51:35] mayor. Pardon? Yes. Councilor ellis? Yes. Councilor
[51:39] day? Yes. Councilor stokes? Yes.
[51:44] councilor ole? Yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes. Motion
[51:48] passes. Seven to zero. Alright. Please catch mr. Set.
[51:52] thank you, mr. Such an exciting topic. , thank, but, but I do have still have one other
[51:56] question. Okay. Talk to, talk to us. You know, all your funding,
[52:01] most of your funding comes from hud. What are you hearing
[52:05] in terms of, you know, changes
[52:09] to funding? That would be, yeah, and that's my last, this is my last
[52:13] question. Sorry. Sorry for this. I'm sorry. Thank you.
[52:18] yeah, so it's real interesting. You know, we are watching things very closely
[52:23] and you know, the thing that I watch is what's called
[52:27] the, uh, you know, hud does a proration of the funding. So every year they'll say,
[52:31] hey, you're eligible for 5 million, but I look at the proration percent
[52:35] because that's the actual amount we get. And, um, I will say
[52:40] for public housing, our prorated amount, um,
[52:44] has, has decreased. Meaning they said, we'll get this amount, but the actual
[52:48] amount we get is much less. Okay. For our section eight and housing choice voucher,
[52:53] it has been funded 100%. So that lets me know
[52:57] there is a desire and a, a wishing to
[53:02] maintain our, you know, housing choice voucher rental program. Right. But not, whereas
[53:07] public housing. Yeah. Okay. That is not desirable and that's just the truth. Yeah. Okay.
[53:11] I really, I appreciate it. I think that's good for people to hear and understand what's going on. Thank
[53:15] you so much. We appreciate you coming and thanks for the commissioners to be here. We appreciate that. Thank
[53:20] you. Uh, councilor day harris, and then stokes. Aye.
[53:24] okay. Um, so I had a question about piper square. Are
[53:28] all the security cameras now working there? Um, I know at one time
[53:32] there were some that were not, and you know, this was being brought to me by constituents
[53:37] that were concerned that, you know, some of the crime may have been related to the
[53:41] fact that, you know, these security cameras were not working and,
[53:45] you know, if they, there were crime there that maybe having the cameras
[53:49] working, you know, might have led to finding out who was, you know, causing
[53:53] the crime. So I just wondered if all of those are now functioning that
[53:57] are there. Yeah, that's a great question. It was unfortunate. We had some incidents
[54:01] there, and at the time there were some cameras that were offline. We
[54:05] had some electrical issues. We, we learned that, um,
[54:10] during the redevelopment, um, parts of our project, some
[54:14] of the wires were cut. Okay. And we had to have them repaired. So we've since had those
[54:18] repaired. Um, out of all of the piper square cameras, there's
[54:22] one camera that is still offline. And we had the manufacturer,
[54:27] you know, you know how you cry, you know how they say the squeaky wheel, right?
[54:31] yep. So, you know, after my, uh, many months of crying and all of that,
[54:35] the manufacturer came to piper square and
[54:40] the camera was defective. Okay. So we had to get it replaced. So they're
[54:44] all working now though? Well, no, still waiting on the one camera.
[54:48] oh, okay. Okay. Yeah. So, but other than that, other than that one, if we
[54:52] were to pull it up, you'd be able to see, um, the majority of the
[54:57] property. So we did have an issue, but it's since, for the most part,
[55:01] been fixed. Okay. And my last question or question and
[55:05] comment, um, I think I do think that the resident advisory board is,
[55:09] is paramount because I do, you know, a lot of the, um, comments that
[55:13] I get, you know, are just feeling like they're not being heard sometimes by
[55:17] hrha. Um, when you have these meetings, are they on
[55:22] a saturday? Are they in the evening? Like, when are you doing these, you know, to make
[55:26] sure that, you know, people are able to attend and get there. And, because I just
[55:30] think that's a, a really important piece of this communication panel that you
[55:34] have here. Yeah, I agree. So with the resident advisory board,
[55:39] and a lot of these things are hud driven. Hud required, um, there
[55:43] is an application process that a resident, like there's a formal, you know, there's a form
[55:47] you have to fill out. Right. If you're interested. Um, and certainly, you know, any
[55:51] resident is welcome to join annoying. Most of the meetings
[55:55] we've had, they've been during the day, during the week, um, during our business hours.
[56:00] um, and the residents would, would meet and discuss, um, the issues that
[56:04] were on the agenda. Um, it's a formal meeting, you know, we had, we have minutes, we record
[56:08] it and all of that. But I agree, we, and that's why we're
[56:12] wanting to, um, you know, establish a regular
[56:17] meeting schedule so that, you know, we're hearing from the residents they're getting
[56:21] together and we're having some real engagement, um, so that
[56:25] we can, um, you know, keep their trust and, you know, have that comfort.
[56:30] so. Right. I do, I do think that's, you know, very important. Agreed.
[56:34] yeah. Thank you. Uh, councillor harris,
[56:39] ms. Wilson,
[56:43] what, what is, um, your concern about the problems
[56:48] that the residents are having in regard to
[56:52] recertification, recertification?
[56:58] or are you receiving problem calls from people about
[57:02] your certification? Yeah, so, excuse me.
[57:07] that is a very good question. And for some folks, uh, recertification, that's
[57:12] just the process where our residents would, um, come in and provide us
[57:16] any updates to their, excuse me, to their income or their housing
[57:20] composition or anything like that to determine if there should be any changes in
[57:24] their rent or any of anything like that. It normally occurs on an annual
[57:28] basis. And we have had, uh, some things,
[57:33] some things to work through with the recertifications. It's tied to
[57:37] a couple things. Um, we've had transition staff, we've had
[57:41] turnover. We have the new system in place. So there's,
[57:45] um, you know, getting acquainted with the new system, getting
[57:50] our staff trained and retaining staff.
[57:54] um, and as a part of that, we've had some challenges with recertifications.
[57:58] and, um, you know, not to say I've been on an apology tour,
[58:02] but we've been making every effort to, to rectify and make it right.
[58:06] and that's, we've made some progress. Um, but, you know, we're still
[58:10] working to improve that. Well
[58:16] just want to comment, and I'm glad that you are seeking ways
[58:20] to try to, you know, to deal with that situation because,
[58:25] um, we tend to receive a lot of calls here at the council level
[58:29] in regards to recertification and other things in the, in the,
[58:33] uh, in the housing that you have now.
[58:38] and, um, and that's concern that, that
[58:42] I have myself in regards to the amount of conversation
[58:46] that I received about situations that you have in the housing right now.
[58:51] and, uh, one of them is the condition of the housing and
[58:55] there's quite a bit of comment about the condition of
[59:00] some of the housing that they're living in. And
[59:04] it's not a day that go, go back to the entire seven day week
[59:08] that I don't get a phone call from individuals outta housing talking about mold.
[59:16] and now I understand that, uh, there's been another visit
[59:21] with, uh, residents concerning mold
[59:26] in piper square, and I was wondering if you were aware
[59:31] of, uh, I just received a call just before this meeting tonight
[59:36] about mold in the buildings,
[59:40] the whole buildings from, uh, maintenance
[59:45] people. And so from our mainten, I'm sorry, from our maintenance staff
[59:49] yes. From the maintenance. And, uh, I was wondering if
[59:53] you were aware of it, you know, and I just wanted to make you aware of it,
[59:57] that that's the concern that's out there. And
[1:00:01] that's something I think that, you know, I think you're working to deal
[1:00:05] with it, you just said, I just think that we need to communicate
[1:00:09] a little bit better with the, uh, residents in
[1:00:14] regards to the fact that we are making an effort to get this thing fixed.
[1:00:19] because now you got individuals talking about health conditions and
[1:00:23] everything else that goes with if there is mold.
[1:00:28] and of course over there in pipe square you got a whole lot of mold experts.
[1:00:33] so mm-hmm. I just wanted to let you know that
[1:00:37] you do. And, uh, so I, I'm glad that
[1:00:41] you're on top of it. Yeah. Thank you for that feedback. Yeah.
[1:00:45] um, may I ask a question? Yes, sir. Ms. Wilson, you and I have, uh,
[1:00:49] worked on this situation and mm-hmm . Um,
[1:00:54] in particular, everything that's
[1:00:59] black in an apartment is
[1:01:03] not necessarily mold. You, you've had, uh, mold inspectors
[1:01:07] come out and, and, and, and in some of the
[1:01:12] apartments where they've looked in, uh, where people thought it was mold
[1:01:16] and it wasn't. Right. But let me ask
[1:01:20] throughout piper square or any of the areas,
[1:01:25] do you have retained a, um,
[1:01:29] a contractor that does regular
[1:01:33] inspection, uh, for mold because it is
[1:01:37] a health hazard for people who have respiratory problems?
[1:01:42] yeah, that's a, um, great question. And, you know, duly noted.
[1:01:46] so what we're doing, 'cause you know, we have piper square
[1:01:50] and then we have our public housing side, thomas roth davisville. So,
[1:01:55] um, understanding and knowing the issues in, in both
[1:01:59] sides, um, we're taking our courses of action for each
[1:02:03] one, you know, as we need to. What we are gearing up to do
[1:02:07] on the public housing side is we will be, um, procuring,
[1:02:12] um, someone to come in and do an inspection of all the units.
[1:02:16] um, and then we will look at any remediation plans for the
[1:02:20] public housing side, piper square, because it is a different,
[1:02:25] the, the funding and the structure is a bit different. So, um, we
[1:02:29] do have plans for piper square. Um,
[1:02:33] as of right now we're doing it on an as needed basis.
[1:02:37] so as we are made aware of the concerns, we immediately have someone
[1:02:42] come out and do testing. Um, but I do think it is a
[1:02:46] good idea to consider having some regular inspections,
[1:02:50] um, with these units. So we're looking into that. But I will say,
[1:02:55] um, because the, the funding is different, we do have to look at our budgetary,
[1:02:59] you know, our resources to see how we can best do that. But what I want council
[1:03:04] to know is that, um, it is very important to me, the health
[1:03:08] and safety of our residents. So, um, it is my hope
[1:03:12] that we will continue to show that we are concerned
[1:03:16] and want to get these issues addressed, um, as
[1:03:21] soon as we can, the best way we can. Um, so that our residents
[1:03:25] do, um, you know, they are afforded the health and safety,
[1:03:29] um, in their homes that they should have. So it's definitely our priority
[1:03:33] to do that.
[1:03:38] okay. Um, ms. Stokes, um,
[1:03:43] and I, I'd like to comment because I've experienced some,
[1:03:47] some, some discord on
[1:03:52] and, and I'm giving compliments
[1:03:56] to my fellow counselors 'cause you're asking some very good questions.
[1:04:01] but one of the things that concerned me is, yes, we have to do the
[1:04:05] inspections and we have to do all the things
[1:04:09] we are supposed to do, but you just can't bring
[1:04:13] in an out of town inspection company
[1:04:18] and expect me to allow a stranger in my house from ohio. That's
[1:04:22] not gonna happen. And there's protocol before you even get there
[1:04:26] that was not met at. Alright. And it,
[1:04:31] the residents just as, uh, councilor day touched upon,
[1:04:35] have the right to communication. Thus, the
[1:04:39] reason hud requires the resident council,
[1:04:43] resident council jumps it off public hearing and we know who's coming
[1:04:47] in our home, but I know you gotta catch up inspections, but
[1:04:52] you still gotta follow protocol and rules and respect
[1:04:57] public housing residence and anybody else, nobody's gonna let a
[1:05:01] stranger in their home for, I'm not from ohio on a
[1:05:06] two week notice or a 30 day notice. And that's not the rule.
[1:05:10] so there are things I know that has to be fixed before we can get
[1:05:14] to where we gotta get to and the residents feel comfortable with
[1:05:18] our leadership. Duly not, but thank you.
[1:05:23] and that's my comment. Okay. Thank you. Alright, well thank you ms. Wilson.
[1:05:28] thank you so much. Alright. And then, uh, mr. Rogers will
[1:05:32] be reaching out to you on getting that, uh, joint meeting together. Yes. Thank
[1:05:37] you. Uh, so,
[1:05:41] uh, in the interest of charles, uh, for, uh, number four,
[1:05:46] can you condense your, your presentation? We kind of know what's what
[1:05:50] about we kinda go , so, and, and, and I am
[1:05:54] just the sponsor. Mm-hmm . Pastor collier, this here okay. From city of refuge
[1:05:58] to do, to do it. And, uh, so I'm just setting up the okay,
[1:06:02] that's fine. Present presentation for him. That's whoever wants to do whoever does the presentation. Um,
[1:06:07] 'cause we're already at eight 15 and we haven't even gotten to the, to regular meeting. I'll be brief
[1:06:12] . Okay. It says every pastor before sermon starts. Right.
[1:06:16] pastor famous last words, . Just, just to, just
[1:06:20] to set this up, if you remember last city council meeting, I did a work session
[1:06:24] with a model from religious, uh, community services in, in new
[1:06:28] bern. When we came back from that trip, we have gone to,
[1:06:32] uh, community meetings, oc three, we've been to community center.
[1:06:37] and pastor callers and pastor boggs heard that presentation. They
[1:06:41] saw it and it resonated with them. And tonight, uh, they're here.
[1:06:45] um, he's here. Pastor boggs is on, uh, out of town. But, um, to
[1:06:49] talk about what, what they would like to propose similar in
[1:06:54] hopewell mm-hmm . If that's the end. Okay. I'll try to condense it as, as quick as possible.
[1:06:58] uh, thank you for allowing us to be here to, uh, make this, uh, brief, uh,
[1:07:02] you know, presentation before you obviously we're city of refuge, uh, hopewell. We run
[1:07:07] a, uh, recovery program for those that are struggling with addiction we've been in
[1:07:11] the city since 2018, and we've come before you
[1:07:15] to present a proposal that we have to deal with an ongoing issue
[1:07:19] in hopewell that's been addressed, that's been spoken of briefly, which is the homeless issue.
[1:07:24] so I'm trying to figure out how to move this, uh, move this cursor. Just
[1:07:28] tell me which one to hit. Just, just hit, hit this arrow right here. Okay. Here we go. Down.
[1:07:32] yep. Um, hope center missions and goals is to help
[1:07:36] to eradicate homelessness in hopewell. That's a, that is a, that is a quite
[1:07:41] the feat. Uh, you know, but, uh, you know, we have a great, uh, opportunity
[1:07:45] to try to, uh, uh, deal with the real issue here, and that is to arrest
[1:07:49] the slide into homelessness by, at risk population. We want to encourage
[1:07:53] those that are struggling with this issue, uh, to a place of upward
[1:07:58] mobility and to secure location for a point of entry where we can actually,
[1:08:02] uh, speak to them and, and deal with them, uh, at a personal level, level.
[1:08:06] and also to help to provide a personal shelter as needed.
[1:08:10] um, and I'm still not getting this thing piece
[1:08:15] I said, page down. Write this one. Okay, here we go.
[1:08:19] alright. Um, presently we're looking at, uh, our partners
[1:08:23] that help us to deal with this particular issue, which is obviously the police,
[1:08:28] the churches, uh, hospitals, district 19 hrha
[1:08:32] food pantry, and, uh, our local school system. And what we would do,
[1:08:36] we, we would, uh, gather clients information and, uh, assess their
[1:08:40] present needs and assign personal navigators to guide
[1:08:44] these individuals through the, the process. Uh, we would collect the information
[1:08:48] and report, uh, that data to, uh, those that are,
[1:08:53] uh, in, in a place that need to hear this information monthly. And we would
[1:08:57] maintain client files. Um, uh, our goal is for 25 and
[1:09:01] 26, is to provide an overnight shelter, evening meals and
[1:09:05] clothing, uh, to have a, a center and, uh, of an administrative facility
[1:09:10] present. We're looking at city of refuge, literally moving our entire operation
[1:09:14] to the second floor of the st. James, uh, church educational building. Uh,
[1:09:18] we would provide daily food and mail, uh, meal distribution, and provide,
[1:09:22] uh, that with assistance from our partners. And we would have a clothing consolidated
[1:09:27] and to a central facility where these individuals can get the necessary
[1:09:32] services that they need. Um, uh, what we would look at is developing,
[1:09:36] uh, something similar, I think that, uh, was, uh, was seen at newburn,
[1:09:40] which was develop these pods that would prevent an opportunity for
[1:09:45] these individuals to find the services that they need to help them, uh, gather
[1:09:49] that upward, upward mobility. Uh, mobility. Uh, first it'd
[1:09:53] be an education pod, uh, which, where they could pursue a ged, an eslf,
[1:09:58] uh, vsu schools, continuing education. There would be legal
[1:10:02] services pod, which would be, uh, pro bono legal support. There would be
[1:10:06] judicial process. Help many of our clients that we presently deal with, with the
[1:10:10] center, and many that are, uh, on the, you know, on the streets are dealing with legal
[1:10:14] issues and, uh, need some help there. There would be a housing pod, which would
[1:10:18] be landlord supportive housing and rapid rehousing, financial support,
[1:10:23] bankers, advisors, and financial classes. This is a goal. This isn't
[1:10:27] presently what's in place, but that would be what we would try to pursue. And then
[1:10:31] obviously, we would try to find an employment pod for job training, uh,
[1:10:36] research, uh, and finding employee, uh, partnerships presently,
[1:10:40] uh, the city of refuge with community partners, uh, are
[1:10:44] addressing the need of, of meals, uh, that, uh, we provide
[1:10:49] meals, uh, four times a week, and we have 14 plus local
[1:10:53] cong congregations and other partners that help to provide these meals. There
[1:10:57] are 35 to 40 individuals that we serve in these meals, nightly with,
[1:11:02] uh, you know, wholesome food, food that's been prepared. Uh, we have
[1:11:06] partners that we, uh, have alongside that are schools, employers,
[1:11:10] landlords, legal firms, banks, food pantries, and churches obviously, to
[1:11:14] help us to meet that need. We have volunteers and professional staff that are working
[1:11:18] together to help to provide these services. And what the benefit of
[1:11:23] this, uh, service is to reduce the homelessness, to strengthen the families,
[1:11:27] and to lower public cost. And, um, our startup requirements,
[1:11:31] and I'm trying to go as quickly as possible, is to, you know, if we get
[1:11:35] the facility that we need, is to, you know, have these set up requirements met to
[1:11:40] build, uh, you know, to have a rental, utilities, uh, shelter, beds,
[1:11:44] linens, appliances and furniture. Uh, again, continue to provide the
[1:11:48] food services and clothing, set up equipment, uh, support
[1:11:52] toolkits, and then obviously transportation to get these individuals from
[1:11:57] one location to another as needed. And ultimately,
[1:12:01] uh, what we hope to arrive at, which would be, you know,
[1:12:05] joining together with the city, with the community, with churches, with
[1:12:10] all of their entities, is to provide a process. 'cause that's really what
[1:12:14] we need. I know that there's a real major concern about, you know, how do
[1:12:18] we address this homeless issue without giving some type of
[1:12:22] solution in terms of what we can do for these individuals. There's really
[1:12:27] no hope of moving them unless you have some sort of process to provide
[1:12:31] for them. Now, I know there's a lot of different issues that we're dealing with, with this population.
[1:12:36] uh, we deal with a similar, uh, kind of scenario as we're dealing with people that
[1:12:40] are struggling with addiction. So, you know, we'd have to layer that. We'd
[1:12:44] have to get, you know, that financial support. Obviously, when you're trying to provide, provide
[1:12:49] services, there is a financial need there. Uh, we need the funding, the city
[1:12:53] partnerships, and again, partnerships with businesses and other locations. And, and
[1:12:57] we need to have a more permanent solution to the housing issue.
[1:13:02] not just providing shelter, but also providing a transitional
[1:13:06] option for these individuals to move from the shelter to a more permanent
[1:13:10] residential support system. Um, we don't know what that looks like. We
[1:13:14] have a projection, we have an idea, but this is, again, the beginning of the process.
[1:13:18] and, uh, it's a matter of working together. And I, I guess, set all
[1:13:23] of that to say this. We all want solutions, but solution does not
[1:13:27] come from one entity. That's what we've learned in the city of refuge.
[1:13:31] we need partners. We need people in the city working with us. We need
[1:13:35] private industry working with us. We need churches and faith-based organization
[1:13:40] working together collectively for the need of those that we're
[1:13:44] trying to serve. Now, ultimately, you all know that a rising tide
[1:13:48] rises all boats. And so if we can help these individuals find that,
[1:13:53] you know, the support that they're needed, uh, and some of 'em need mental help assistance,
[1:13:57] some of 'em need job training, some of them just need an opportunity
[1:14:01] to see that there is a hope beyond their present circumstances
[1:14:05] and situations. We believe there's a model there that if we pursue
[1:14:10] with the assistance of others coming alongside of us, that we
[1:14:14] can make a difference. Uh, you know, eradicating homelessness,
[1:14:19] that's a lofty goal, but we can start the process, and
[1:14:23] that's what we ultimately desire. And I know this council desires as well.
[1:14:27] so, uh, that's sort of in a nutshell, very quickly
[1:14:32] trying to be the honoring of your time. I'm willing to, you
[1:14:36] know, take any questions if you have any tonight. But thank you again for letting us
[1:14:40] present this to you tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Are
[1:14:44] there any questions for pastor collier? I just have comment. Mm-hmm
[1:14:48] . I'm just, I'm very excited about this. Like, I, I'm really, can they see me? My,
[1:14:52] I'm so excited to see something. You know, they got a raise hand button on they
[1:14:57] coming together now, so this is great. Agree. Uh,
[1:15:01] counselor stokes, did you have anything that you wanted to say? Oh, I,
[1:15:09] okay. Can y'all hear me? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yes.
[1:15:15] do you have any comments on, on this? I,
[1:15:20] I, I did. I didn't know whether I'm sitting here. ,
[1:15:24] I told you this new stuff over here, but, um, sitting there trying to,
[1:15:30] okay. Just let me know when I can speak now.
[1:15:35] now, yes. Okay. I'm,
[1:15:39] I'm impressed with what I've heard tonight. Um, I'm really
[1:15:43] impressed with the coordination of the different
[1:15:48] services and the landlords and the feeding and the,
[1:15:52] that's very impressive. Um, and so
[1:15:56] I just wanted to make that comment. Thank you, city of refuge for the work
[1:16:00] you've putting in, and, um, just looking forward to
[1:16:04] working with you and the different projects that you
[1:16:09] have planned for this. I, this is something I'm very interested in.
[1:16:14] thank you, councilor sta. Thank you. Alright. Thank you pastor callier so
[1:16:19] much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay. Uh, our last one,
[1:16:23] uh, mr. Bassett.
[1:16:27] thank you, mr. Mayor. Uh, so what
[1:16:31] we have here is a proposed, um, it's
[1:16:35] kind of an omnibus ordinance that would
[1:16:40] bring together in our code of ordinances,
[1:16:44] uh, nuisance. Right now in our code, we only have
[1:16:49] nuisance, uh, for the purpose of grass and weeds. Uh, otherwise
[1:16:53] we don't have a public nuisance ordinance within the city of hopewell.
[1:16:58] um, and you know, as I was going to draft
[1:17:02] that for council's consideration, I noticed that
[1:17:06] there's this whole list of related items,
[1:17:11] uh, criminal blight, spotlight, derelict buildings, inoperable
[1:17:15] vehicles that are all, in many cases, uh,
[1:17:20] old using old fashioned language being unclear, but also
[1:17:24] just existing all over in the code of ordinances. And so
[1:17:28] this would, besides creating a nuisance ordinance beyond
[1:17:33] grass and weeds, it would modernize the other ones and bring them all
[1:17:37] together in the same place in the city code of ordinances. And the reason why
[1:17:42] you would want them to all be together is that these are
[1:17:47] all different ordinances, uh, tools
[1:17:51] that are used by and enforced by
[1:17:55] typically the same individuals. Like this is the building inspector and the, and
[1:17:59] the, um, and the zoning inspector. Um,
[1:18:04] and so that's why, you know, anyone looking for any
[1:18:08] of these, like if, if the zoning inspector's bringing a case in
[1:18:12] court, oftentimes what we're bringing is a case
[1:18:16] that has a little bit of zoning violation,
[1:18:21] a little bit of inoperable vehicles, a little bit of something else under this
[1:18:25] ordinance. So that's the reason to, to bring them all together. I will say
[1:18:29] with the nuisance ordinance as recommended
[1:18:34] here in this draft, it would give the ability
[1:18:38] for not only the director of public works
[1:18:43] zoning, but also the building official, the chief of police and the
[1:18:47] fireman to pursue nuisance uh, uh, enforcement
[1:18:51] where needed. Okay. Yeah. That was just the biggest thing that
[1:18:55] I just wanted to make sure, is that we are putting teeth in here where, you
[1:19:00] know, we haven't really had it in the past that, you know, we can remedy
[1:19:04] a lot of these issues that are chronic across the, the city. Yeah,
[1:19:08] absolutely. And I mean, public nuisance is a big tool that localities
[1:19:13] have mm-hmm . And, uh, it's, it's available to us here in the city
[1:19:17] of hope, while we just haven't taken advantage of it. Yeah. Great.
[1:19:22] thank you, mr. Bassett. Are there any questions for, uh, the city attorney? Mm-hmm.
[1:19:27] okay. Seeing no lights. Thank you. Alright, now we're gonna go into
[1:19:32] our regular meeting. I'm gonna go ahead and call this meeting to order.
[1:19:36] uh, have a roll call, please.
[1:19:41] mayor, I part, mayor I pardon? Here. Vice mayor joiner. Here.
[1:19:45] councilor harris. Here. Councilor ellis. Here. Councilor
[1:19:50] day. Here. Councilor stokes.
[1:19:54] here. Councilor oli. Here we have a
[1:19:58] quorum. Okay. At this time, uh, we'll have the prayer by pastor collier,
[1:20:03] uh, followed by the pledge of allegiance, by myself. Please rise.
[1:20:09] let's bow our heads. Father in heaven, we just come before you
[1:20:13] today in need of your guidance and your wisdom and direction. We
[1:20:18] thank you for the city council and for the work that they're putting in, lord, to help
[1:20:22] this city. We pray, god, grant them wisdom, grant 'em
[1:20:26] guidance and discernment on the things they should do. And upon those
[1:20:30] things, they should not. And I pray, god, that you would bring unity to this council,
[1:20:35] bring unity to this city so that those that they serve, god
[1:20:39] would be able to receive all that they have need of. We ask your blessings upon this time,
[1:20:43] and we ask it in christ name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[1:20:48] a pledge flag of the united states of america
[1:20:53] and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
[1:20:57] under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[1:21:04] okay. Uh, is there a motion to amend the regular meeting agenda
[1:21:09] to move the city manager report, uh, to in front
[1:21:13] of the information presentation section? So moved. Second. Okay.
[1:21:17] uh, motions made by vice mayor joiner and seconded by councilor ellis. Is
[1:21:21] there any discussion? Seeing no lights? Roll call please.
[1:21:25] councilor harris? Yes. Mayor. Pardon? Yes. Councilor
[1:21:30] ellis? Yes. Councilor day? Yes. Councilor stoke?
[1:21:35] yes. Councilor oli? Yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes.
[1:21:39] motion passes. Seven to zero. Okay. At this time, is there a motion to
[1:21:43] adopt the consent agenda? I'll second it.
[1:21:49] any discussion? Seeing none. Roll call please.
[1:21:55] councillor harris? Yes. May I part? Yes.
[1:21:59] councilor ellis. Yes. Councilor day? Yes. Councillor
[1:22:03] stokes. Yes. Councilor ole? Yes.
[1:22:08] vice mayor joiner? Yes. Motion passes. Seven to zero. Okay,
[1:22:12] mr. Rogers, the floor is yours. Okay. Chief
[1:22:16] taylor has his, uh, monthly report.
[1:22:23] good evening, mr. Mayor. Good afternoon, madam vice mayor,
[1:22:27] members of city council. I'm here to give you the september crime summary.
[1:22:32] and our first slide, uh, is, uh, crime stats. And these
[1:22:36] stats are through august the 31st. And,
[1:22:41] uh, uh, murder, rape, robing, aggravated assaults.
[1:22:45] um, we had 63 in 2024. We
[1:22:49] had 60 in this year, so forth. So we're minus three,
[1:22:53] which were violent crime right now with damn minus 5%.
[1:22:58] but let's go back to, uh, I wanna talk about the murders.
[1:23:03] and then you see in 2024, we have four. And
[1:23:08] on your slide tonight, it's showing five. But since this
[1:23:12] report was done, we had an additional homicide, which
[1:23:16] takes our total to six. And the
[1:23:21] 800 block of chestnut is still under investigation.
[1:23:26] uh, we're looking at, it was not a random act. Uh, we're getting all
[1:23:31] the facts together to hopefully we can, uh,
[1:23:35] bring whoever was responsible for justice. Uh,
[1:23:39] the recent, uh, homicide on raleigh street,
[1:23:43] uh, fortunately we was able to make an arrest
[1:23:47] in that incident within 24 hours of it, of it being reported.
[1:23:52] uh, so overall we have sex, but we have made tremendous
[1:23:56] strides and making arrest on the persons responsible
[1:24:01] for these homicides. The other, uh,
[1:24:05] one that I want to focus on was the robberies, where you see in 2024,
[1:24:09] we had three. In 2025 we had 12.
[1:24:13] and as I reported previously, these, uh, uh,
[1:24:18] there is no individual patterns or group or individuals. These are individual
[1:24:23] robberies that things are being stolen from bikes to
[1:24:27] phones. And we had an incident where a juvenile even, uh, stole
[1:24:31] a car from a neighbor, and he was caught and arrested for it. So we are, we are
[1:24:35] looking into these individual robberies, uh,
[1:24:39] and, um, doing what we can to, to solve 'em. Um,
[1:24:44] I'm here to report, you know, in the past the aggravated assaults had been going
[1:24:48] up, um, reported that we at a minus 22% in aggravated
[1:24:52] reports, aggravated assaults. I'm sorry. So that's good news.
[1:24:56] and going to, uh, arson, burglary, larson, motor vehicle thefts,
[1:25:01] um, property crime, I mean, at the
[1:25:05] total, uh, property crimes, uh, it was, uh,
[1:25:09] a total that we are down, uh, minus 26%,
[1:25:15] uh, arson, we had three, it still remains at three.
[1:25:19] reakfast we had 22 we're down 18 minus 18%. Uh,
[1:25:23] larcenies was 201 and twenty twenty four, a hundred and seventy four,
[1:25:28] and 2025, which is minus 12%. So we're minus 12%
[1:25:32] in, in also on the larcenies. And a good thing to report is
[1:25:36] the motor vehicle thefts. 'cause that was one of the major issues that we had in the past. And I'm
[1:25:41] happy to report that motor vehicle thefts overall are down minus 65%.
[1:25:46] uh, our property crime, crime total, uh, minus 23%
[1:25:50] and total major crime is minus 23%.
[1:26:00] moving on to my next slide, uh,
[1:26:04] the opiate overdoses. I'm still happy to report
[1:26:08] that since we started reporting these, uh, incidents and
[1:26:12] from 2020 through 2025 we're in the lowest,
[1:26:17] uh, opiate failed or non-fatal, uh, incidents that
[1:26:21] we, when we, we started reporting this. So that's a good thing.
[1:26:28] uh, verified shots fired. Uh, 2024, we
[1:26:33] had 33 and 2025, we had 39. As
[1:26:37] I continue to reiterate that, once we
[1:26:42] get these calls of verified shops fired, we go back in the area, we knock on
[1:26:46] doors, uh, the next day we do outdoor roll calls, uh, knock
[1:26:50] and try to get as much information we can from neighbors to find out who,
[1:26:55] uh, is responsible for them and also any forensic
[1:26:59] evidence that we can, uh, collect. So we, uh,
[1:27:04] always looking at how we can reduce these verified shot calls,
[1:27:13] our neighborhood watch meetings. Uh, I'm gonna want to talk about these because I want
[1:27:17] to talk about national night out. And I want to talk about, you know, we
[1:27:21] got, uh, we got city point, we got farmingdale, we got cobblestone, we got ,
[1:27:25] we got ward seven, uh, ward three, ward two, and ward four.
[1:27:29] and the reason why I mentioned these, 'cause I'm gonna talk about national night out because I want,
[1:27:34] 'cause we, we gonna have this at the community center, and I want to get the information out that all
[1:27:38] these groups that are, that I'm just reporting that they show up
[1:27:42] and we want to get the information out that they come out for national night of.
[1:27:47] and my next slide on hiring recruitment. Uh, currently we have 12 vacancies,
[1:27:52] uh, and two dispatch vacancies. The two dispatch vacancies was,
[1:27:56] uh, because we, uh, in, uh, increased staffing to increase it
[1:28:00] to two additional dispatch positions that we're trying to fill. Uh,
[1:28:05] four uncertified recruits are still in the academy. They started july the seventh,
[1:28:09] and they will be graduating december the 19th. Uh,
[1:28:14] hopefully we'll all forward will graduate. Uh, the group recruitment
[1:28:18] team will be going to bright point community college on september 17th,
[1:28:23] and they also will be going to virginia state university for safety there
[1:28:27] on september 17th as well. And under the background invest
[1:28:31] background investigation, we had 13 applicants, including one pre-certified
[1:28:37] and two dispatch applicants are in the process and all.
[1:28:41] officer 30th, we had a all day testing event that was held at credit academy.
[1:28:45] we had 12, uh, candidates that participated and five
[1:28:49] candidates passed.
[1:28:55] next slide.
[1:29:00] and then you can go to the next slide. Uh, downtown
[1:29:04] community engagement. Uh, we're continuing our foot patrols downtown. Our
[1:29:08] business checks downtown, uh, continue to interact with our ci
[1:29:13] citizens and business owners downtown. Uh, the beacon theater overtime, uh,
[1:29:17] that we had was scheduled for september the fifth. We're continuing traffic
[1:29:21] enforcement on east randolph road and, uh, also on app street. And that's
[1:29:26] continued by the police and sheriff's department. And, uh, bike patrols,
[1:29:30] uh, are scheduled. We had, uh, some scheduled for the month of september, but
[1:29:34] after this month, uh, we were discontinue the bike patrols because that
[1:29:38] was, uh, focused on the spring and summer months. And we will do bike
[1:29:42] patrols, uh, during special events and on special occasions
[1:29:46] until spring and summer.
[1:29:53] uh, community engagement officers, uh, we continue to have him, uh, attend
[1:29:57] the hr ha commissioner's meetings every monthly meetings that he, he attends
[1:30:02] and share information with hr ha staff, uh, national night
[1:30:06] out, back again, october 7th from 5:00 pm to eight. And
[1:30:10] we're gonna have it at the community center. Uh, the police department will
[1:30:14] be, uh, having the grill out. We'll be, uh, cooking hot dogs. Uh,
[1:30:18] we will have our booth set up. We'll be giving information, giveaways and,
[1:30:22] uh, other items there for our citizens.
[1:30:26] uh, also this, uh, event, uh, we
[1:30:31] are working on, uh, getting this out on facebook. Uh, we have a flyer out, uh,
[1:30:35] this week. And my focus is I'm
[1:30:39] want to get out, get with my community engagement officers to talk once
[1:30:43] again to the block captains to make sure they are
[1:30:47] inform of the date and time and, and get a gauge of how many,
[1:30:51] uh, citizens and their awards will be participated.
[1:30:56] and in, uh, with, in the beginning stage of a, a
[1:31:01] business watch group. And, uh, community engagement officer
[1:31:05] has been working with city staff and they started out in the west side of the city.
[1:31:09] and they, uh, went to the local, uh, hotels
[1:31:14] to discuss their concerns and partnership and
[1:31:18] communicating with, with the, uh, business districts in the west side.
[1:31:26] traffic concerns, uh, speed bumps. Um, mr. Mayor, you
[1:31:30] brought this up at our last city council meeting, I did some research and
[1:31:35] I also reached out to our public works director and our fire department
[1:31:39] director. And for the sake of time, I'm not gonna go into all the details, but, uh, the, from
[1:31:43] the public works standpoint, uh, they were not
[1:31:47] in favor of the speed bumps. And if we go to section 33 14
[1:31:52] obstructing the street with gate chains, et cetera, right now,
[1:31:56] as the ordinance read, we would have to pass a ordinance to authorize,
[1:32:01] uh, speed bumps in residential because it reads right now council may authorize
[1:32:05] speed bumps and parks, playgrounds, and other recreational areas.
[1:32:12] my next slide was, uh, concerns from the fire chief that he's here. I'm
[1:32:16] not gonna read all the details, but his concerns was, uh, move
[1:32:20] with extreme caution, uh, concern about the response times
[1:32:25] and, uh, equipment, uh, worse maintenance issues.
[1:32:30] and we talked about, uh, he talked about some, uh, maybe some recommendations
[1:32:35] on narrowing the streets. And, um, once
[1:32:39] again, uh, the issue was response time and response time is
[1:32:43] critical. So that's a matter that, uh, city manager
[1:32:48] can discuss further, if so, desires with the directors and yeah.
[1:32:52] see, can we come together and, and, and make a decision? Yeah.
[1:32:59] uh, truck route. Uh, councilor harris, you brought that up at our
[1:33:03] last, uh, meeting and I looked into that. Sorry for the delay, sir.
[1:33:07] uh, the concern was the 18 wheeler utilizing the street as a cut through
[1:33:12] on, uh, reverend cw harris street. And what has
[1:33:16] happened. I worked with the director of public works and new signs have been
[1:33:20] posted on, uh, e on randolph road east and westbound
[1:33:24] at randolph road and reverend cw harris street. And if you look at it, I do have
[1:33:28] some photographs of the pictures on here. And also,
[1:33:32] uh, new signs were posted if you, on reverend curtis harris
[1:33:36] street for the businesses, uh, the power plant, the lawn care
[1:33:41] that if they making that left turn onto reverend cw harris street is
[1:33:45] sign is a sign that says no truck route. No, no through traffic there, no
[1:33:49] truck traffic. So they, they, they are informed that
[1:33:53] they can't make their left turn. They need to make the right and go down winston churchill.
[1:33:58] and also, we did post this on, uh, facebook, this
[1:34:02] updated information and my last slide on
[1:34:06] solutions, uh, about the speed bumps. My recommendation was amend
[1:34:10] the ordinance to allow speed bumps on city streets. Uh, if you
[1:34:14] so desire, uh, for currently or in the future considerations.
[1:34:19] uh, we, we'll be doing direct patrols in the location where speeding is reoccurring
[1:34:24] in enforce the speed limit. Uh, we are utilizing
[1:34:28] our speed trail with radar to show motors there. Speed to
[1:34:32] tell 'em they need to slow down. Uh, we we'll have,
[1:34:36] uh, several special operations will be held throughout the year, uh, focused
[1:34:40] on speeding violations and, and holding these
[1:34:45] speeders account. And our future goal, um,
[1:34:49] it's a goal is, uh, to have a traffic safety enforcement unit
[1:34:54] to enforce the traffic laws and, and educate the citizen, the hopewell.
[1:34:59] and lastly, we, we talked about ski speed cameras and
[1:35:03] unfortunately speed cameras, uh, on the virginia code, uh, only
[1:35:07] allowed in work zones or in high traffic fatality
[1:35:11] areas in, in the state. So unfortunately
[1:35:16] we won't be able to do move forward with speed cameras because against
[1:35:20] virginia code. That, uh, concludes my presentation and
[1:35:24] I'm here to answer any questions that you may have of me. Okay.
[1:35:29] uh, vice mayor joiner, and then myself. You just answered one of my questions 'cause
[1:35:33] I was asking about the, uh, traffic safety division, you know, the traffic division.
[1:35:37] that, that my question kind of goes back. Can, can you go back to
[1:35:41] the, um, I'm just confused about the vacancies and
[1:35:46] where we stand with the p you know, people that are in the pipeline and
[1:35:50] that kind of thing. Can you just, I mean, I, can you clarify for me?
[1:35:54] um, let's see. Okay. Right here. So we've
[1:35:58] got 12 sworn vacancies, but we've got four recruits. So if
[1:36:02] those four recruits come in, will they fill the 12? No, ma'am. No, no ma'am.
[1:36:06] okay. It's 12 current vacancies we have. Okay. So,
[1:36:11] okay. So the, but we, we've got people, we've got, um,
[1:36:16] folks that are in background checks and that kind of thing. Yes. Those could potentially fill
[1:36:20] that. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Alright. And, uh, we just had a, a final, uh,
[1:36:25] uh, meeting with one of our, uh, applicants and
[1:36:29] we will be offering him, uh, the, the job tomorrow.
[1:36:34] okay. And hopefully he'll he will accept. Okay. And, um, yeah,
[1:36:38] 'cause I, you know, petersburg is up to, they've, they're fully staffed now, or
[1:36:42] I think I saw some things there was fully staffed. I just would love to see us get a
[1:36:46] little bit above that 12. And I know you have the same goals. I mean, it's, it's not that we
[1:36:50] have different things we wanna get accomplished, I was just kind of confused about where we
[1:36:55] stood on the, you know, who was in the pipeline, who wasn't. Um,
[1:36:59] and, um, that's, that's basically it. Thank you so much. Thanks for, thanks
[1:37:03] for, and thank you for, um, you know, for following up
[1:37:08] in such a, in, in such a thorough manner with regard to the speed
[1:37:12] bumps and that sort of thing. I do have one thing that does relate to traffic and that
[1:37:16] is maplewood avenue. I thought we talked about
[1:37:20] a while back about making, you know, that a one way street
[1:37:24] and that kind of thing. You can barely, I could, I can barely get through.
[1:37:29] I mean, with a car and I don't know how a safety vehicle can get down there.
[1:37:33] we've talked about this, we have no, not made, there's nothing happening. There's
[1:37:37] been, I don't see any action being taken. Well, and I, that's maybe not your alleyway,
[1:37:42] but, well, uh, I, I, I want, we had a concerned
[1:37:46] citizen, a concern about the, uh, stop sign violation and the
[1:37:50] speeding. So that has been a focus for the last, uh,
[1:37:55] sub couple, about a week, week and a half. Well, I know, I know. Which, I know exactly which,
[1:37:59] I know which intersection you're talking about. And we are, thank you very much by the way. We have been focusing
[1:38:03] on that maplewood and, uh, brown avenue and also
[1:38:08] will, uh, those crepe myrtles. That, that, that on.
[1:38:12] uh, I think, I think, yeah, I think there might,
[1:38:16] I know either brown, cedar level, whatever. I know, but I think they, they had 'em cut back so we can see that
[1:38:20] stop sign a little bit better. Exactly. Exactly. You get that right on maplewood. Yeah. But the maplewood,
[1:38:24] you know, maplewood is just a real problem. Once you get with the parking on both sides, you just can't
[1:38:29] barely get a piece. We still, uh, are looking at that. We'll focus in on that. Alright.
[1:38:33] and we'll, working with public works on, appreciate that on some ideas and how we can
[1:38:37] make that treated better. I know. Thank you so much. I know it's a, it's, I know, it's a
[1:38:41] tough one. Thank you very much, chief. I appreciate it. I note that we will have that discussion
[1:38:45] internally okay. Okay. To try to sub down a solution. Thank
[1:38:49] you. Thank you so much. Um, first question that
[1:38:53] I have is, um, I understand the concerns, um, you know,
[1:38:58] from public works and from, uh, police, excuse me, from fire, um,
[1:39:02] about the speed bumps. Um, but what analysis was done to find out
[1:39:06] how these other localities, um, especially in northern virginia
[1:39:10] and the richmond, uh, pretty much, well richmond itself are
[1:39:14] putting these speed bumps or speed humps, whatever they're calling 'em these days. Um,
[1:39:19] and they're not impacting their response time, or
[1:39:23] is it really impacting their response time and they're accepting that risk?
[1:39:28] um, that that's a free for all for anyone? Um, well,
[1:39:32] I, I would've to do a little bit more research and work with the fire chief to get more, uh,
[1:39:36] information and get back with you unless, uh, fire chief
[1:39:41] can or public court can answer that. He's just excited that he has
[1:39:45] a question that's not waste. No, I'm good to stay in my seat. . Um,
[1:39:49] so speed, humps, speed tables, speed bumps, they all have different application
[1:39:53] mm-hmm . Right? Um, not every situation is the same. They don't have the
[1:39:57] same warrant. So, um, it's something that a traffic engineer can look into.
[1:40:02] they all represent compromises to response times for the
[1:40:06] fire chief, for police, um, that that's
[1:40:10] something for counsel to consider. Mm-hmm . Um, relative to speed bumps, they're
[1:40:14] probably the most abrupt, um, chief hits one, he's gonna know it, and then I'm
[1:40:18] gonna know it 'cause his truck's gonna be in my shop. So, um, and people
[1:40:22] will know it. They're loud. They're, they're meant, they do their job and they do it well. Um,
[1:40:27] the other problem with, um, traffic calming measures like that, they
[1:40:31] present challenges during snow, snow duty. Um, they tend to get ripped
[1:40:35] right off the asphalt from the get-go. Um, so they present maintenance and replacement
[1:40:40] challenges. Um, but that's what I know about traffic calming measures.
[1:40:44] um, chief, do you have anything else? Yeah,
[1:40:48] the only thing that I would add is that, you know, the nfpa, you know, the national standard on
[1:40:52] on that just absolutely, um, recommends that they're not used
[1:40:56] whatsoever, um, because of the impact. I mean, it's, there's been a number of studies done on
[1:41:00] the impact to response times, whether or not other jurisdictions have decided to ignore
[1:41:04] that data and, and choose instead to have those traffic calling measures. Apparently they, that's
[1:41:09] what they've decided to do. But the nfp standard, you know, forbids them to
[1:41:13] be used, uh, in regular streets, um, because of the impact to response times. And
[1:41:17] that is based on studies and data. So, um, I'd have to go back and get all that pulled
[1:41:21] all that for you from nfpa, but, but that definitely is the case. Um,
[1:41:25] and, and obviously, you know, the impact to our apparatus, you know, we've, we've
[1:41:30] had, um, axles come out from underneath an engine, uh, just because of the, the
[1:41:34] impact of all the railroad tracks that we have in the city and everything else. So this would just add
[1:41:38] to that problem that we have as far as just the, the, the, the condition. You know,
[1:41:42] certainly the railroad tracks are one of the, the most, uh, impactful, I guess to our apparatus.
[1:41:47] but this would just add something else that would again, you know, cause a maintenance issue
[1:41:51] and, and challenges for us. That's all I had to add. Okay. I just, I'd like
[1:41:55] to know, you know, how the, the other localities and, you know, and maybe what it is, is they're
[1:41:59] just accepting the risk, you know, I mean, that that's a perfectly legitimate,
[1:42:03] you know, um, argument or whatever that they're,
[1:42:07] or position that they're willing to take. But I would just be really curious to see, you know,
[1:42:11] especially, you know, alexandria, arlington, um, you know, richmond, what they've
[1:42:16] just done. Um, and either, you know, just
[1:42:20] accepting the risk or if it's something that they have found a way to work around it
[1:42:25] without compromising, uh, their response times. I mean, I, I just, I think it's
[1:42:29] worth, you know, the time to go through that level of analysis and research just
[1:42:33] to find out what they're doing. I agree. I think this would be a good question for,
[1:42:37] uh, the virginia municipal league. Mm-hmm . At the parole's board board
[1:42:41] to, to ask, uh, to pose the question and see what other communities
[1:42:46] are doing in state. Excellent. Yeah. So we will do that. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Great. Um,
[1:42:50] other question is, I know on here we talked a little bit about speed cameras and I know that they're allowed
[1:42:55] to be put in school zones. Um, like what we have, um, can, you know, the localities
[1:43:00] designate more school zones, so if there is a well established,
[1:43:05] um, like a private school, like a western christian school
[1:43:09] or a broadway baptist that are on very, um, busy. Very,
[1:43:14] yeah, busy. Thank you. Busy visible high traffic roads, you
[1:43:18] know, can we create a school zone there and then allow
[1:43:22] for, you know, cameras to go in, because I mean, we have some, you know, a lot of issues,
[1:43:26] um, up and down 15th avenue, um, I think that's what a cut through on
[1:43:31] 17th or 20th, somewhere right there mm-hmm . Mm-hmm . And then of course, you know, on, on broadway.
[1:43:35] and, um, I know, you know, personally, you know, several folks that have
[1:43:39] had accidents, uh, where 15th and broadway come together and they're either shotgunning
[1:43:43] through 15th to go straight, or they're shotgunning broadway
[1:43:48] going straight through. Okay. Well, chief, I don't mean to steal your thunder,
[1:43:52] but I think I have an answer okay. For you, mr. Mayor. Um, so it doesn't matter whether
[1:43:56] it's a private or a public school mm-hmm . Uh, the restriction on the use of speed
[1:44:00] cameras is just to, it has to be a intersection
[1:44:04] that has a marked crosswalk and is within a thousand feet
[1:44:09] of a school property. Okay. Okay. So a private school
[1:44:13] is, yeah, a private school would, would be eligible. Okay.
[1:44:17] there, um, you know, me per, I would love for this to
[1:44:22] be brought back to city council. Absolutely. Um, and, you know, not just the,
[1:44:26] you know, for these two, but let's, I look in, you know, holistically across the city
[1:44:30] and, you know, see where, you know, there are schools that are in high traffic
[1:44:34] areas that we know have problems with speeding, and that we can, uh,
[1:44:38] you know, implement, uh, this. Okay. Excellent.
[1:44:42] and I think that'll give some, uh, cause of relief for some speeding issues for the fire
[1:44:46] chief and, uh, public works director,
[1:44:51] but not totally yet. I still wanna see the analysis. . Um,
[1:44:56] okay. Uh, anyone else have any, uh, questions?
[1:45:00] okay. See you. None. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, chief. You're welcome. May I, uh, couple
[1:45:04] of, couple of points mm-hmm . On the city manager's report, um,
[1:45:09] hopewell was, uh, very pleased to sponsor or host rather,
[1:45:13] a round table with senator warner on water
[1:45:17] and wastewater infrastructure needs in the region. Among those
[1:45:21] present, the mayors of richmond and petersburg, as well as
[1:45:26] leadership from chesterfield and henrico county, uh,
[1:45:30] congresswoman mcclellan, senator ed, and delegate coya,
[1:45:34] who were, uh, were present, uh, along with 50 plus other leaders
[1:45:38] and, and experts from around, uh, from the region. The
[1:45:42] principal discussion was, uh, the current state of water
[1:45:47] and wastewater infrastructure, uh, in the region, principally
[1:45:51] about hopewell, the hopewell water renewal. Uh,
[1:45:55] the senator suggested that leaders continue the discussion and,
[1:45:59] uh, come back within 60 days, uh, with, uh, some
[1:46:04] ideas of how we could work together to, uh, approach,
[1:46:08] uh, state and federal agencies for additional water
[1:46:13] resources. You and the vice mayor were, were present and part of that discussion. And,
[1:46:17] and, uh, since that meeting, the mayor has,
[1:46:21] um, uh, picked up on senator, uh, warner's, uh,
[1:46:25] suggestion and has in, uh, reached out to the other mayors
[1:46:30] and other leaders about, uh, coming together to explore
[1:46:35] our collective options as a region. And so, apparently,
[1:46:40] hopefully in the next couple of weeks, we will get together and, and see
[1:46:44] how far we can go with that. Yeah, we, um, our, uh, lobbyist
[1:46:49] firm, dbs, um, you know, they're taking the lead of, you know, coordinating and organizing,
[1:46:54] um, you know, these folks, these subject matter experts that are going to be,
[1:46:58] um, a part of this working group. Um, we've already got representatives, uh,
[1:47:02] from petersburg, uh, from prince george hopewell,
[1:47:07] um, let's see, colonial heights.
[1:47:11] no, no. Um, we, we did, we got a representative from the capital region,
[1:47:16] capital area regional military alliance, which, you know,
[1:47:20] represents, um, you know, some of fort lee's interests. Um, we've also got,
[1:47:24] um, some subject matter experts, uh, from the state, um, as well
[1:47:28] as from the private sector. Um, we got a lot of, uh,
[1:47:33] pe engineers, which is very exciting. Um, so, you know, they're
[1:47:37] working on getting their first meeting, which is going to be kind of like a organization, get to know you,
[1:47:41] uh, who you're gonna, you know, be working with. And then they're going to, you know, transition
[1:47:45] over, uh, into, you know, a lot of virtual meetings and coming
[1:47:49] up with those, uh, federal and state policy, um, proposals and recommendations
[1:47:54] that we can give to, uh, delegate coyer, uh, senator ad. And then also,
[1:47:58] um, more importantly, uh, senator warner and congresswoman mcclellan.
[1:48:03] uh, so this is very exciting stuff, um, very, very, uh, exciting.
[1:48:07] um, and it, like mr. Rogers said, it was a great, um,
[1:48:12] round table discussion that we had. Excellent. Um, and, you know, we
[1:48:16] got a lot of great compliments, um, forward, you know, the city putting their best
[1:48:20] foot forward and, um, you know, bringing a lot of these folks together. Um, so
[1:48:24] thank you, mr. Rogers, uh, and your, your staff for, you know, pulling
[1:48:28] this off and, uh, you know, really shine a good light on hopewell. Okay. Next
[1:48:32] point. Next week is our council retreat. Mm-hmm .
[1:48:37] and, uh, our executive assistant has been in contact with you
[1:48:41] to work out logistics. If there's anything remaining, feel
[1:48:45] free to call her. But we will start on monday
[1:48:50] at 11, um, am uh, at the hilton doubletree
[1:48:54] andn in and in williamsburg. So we've, we've been in contact with
[1:48:58] each of you about transportation arrangements,
[1:49:02] and, uh, you also have some assignments, at least
[1:49:06] one to read the book that we have given you, uh, which will be
[1:49:11] discussed as a part of our, our team building, uh, at, at the,
[1:49:17] it's a great book so far. Don't ruin the ending for me. I got 25% more to go.
[1:49:21] okay. It's a great read, this great book. Terrific. And, um, you guys have
[1:49:25] gotten, uh, councilor oli? The yes. The book? Yes. Excellent. Great.
[1:49:29] yes. Mm-hmm . Uh, council and directors have been invited to
[1:49:34] a senior leader's workshop for emergency preparedness,
[1:49:39] uh, training on september 23rd,
[1:49:43] uh, and by being hosted by fema and will be conducted
[1:49:47] by fema, uh, our emergency
[1:49:52] fema federal emergency management agency.
[1:49:56] um, and, uh, robert, uh, williams,
[1:50:00] our emergency, uh, preparedness coordinator, will reach out
[1:50:04] to council members to facilitate your registration if you have not done
[1:50:08] so already. I've done that already, and we would appreciate your, uh,
[1:50:12] uh, your participation. And for department directors,
[1:50:18] the message is, sign up plain
[1:50:22] and simple. Okay. Wanna see you there. Uh, and,
[1:50:26] um, I'll be there. And, uh, I, I think this is very important, uh,
[1:50:30] seminar, uh, with respect to national night out.
[1:50:34] um, it's always, uh, one of my favorite activities
[1:50:38] for a city to do, and I hope that, uh,
[1:50:43] uh, most of us can, can attend and be present. I
[1:50:47] will encourage department directors as well to, to show up
[1:50:51] and, and, uh, be present. Not much to do. Just be
[1:50:55] available, you know, we're not doing a dog and pony pony show or anything like
[1:50:59] that, but I think it's good for, for government to meet the citizens,
[1:51:04] at least on that night, and, and, uh, learn a lot about what's
[1:51:08] going on in the community and, and, uh, um,
[1:51:12] focus on one hope. Well, moving forward. So,
[1:51:16] uh, I hope you will attend. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[1:51:22] okay. Uh, moving on to, uh, information presentations. Uh,
[1:51:26] mr. Passeth, mr. Mayor,
[1:51:31] members of council, as you know, staff conducted a talent search for city clerk.
[1:51:35] the city received 79 applications,
[1:51:39] interviewed seven of those applicants, and shortlisted two of them for counsel
[1:51:44] to conduct interviews with one of those candidates. Uh, ms.
[1:51:48] michelle, alicia howard is here with us tonight for counsel's consideration for appointment.
[1:51:52] okay. Alright. At this time, do I have a motion,
[1:51:57] uh, to approve or to appoint, uh, ms. Va
[1:52:01] sheila howard to be the city clerk for the city of hopewell.
[1:52:05] so moved. Oh, man, you goes passed. Um, motion
[1:52:09] was made by vice mayor joiner and seconded by councilor day. Is there any
[1:52:13] discussion seeing no lights? Roll call, please.
[1:52:18] councilor harris? Yes. Mayor. Pardon? Yes. Councillor
[1:52:22] ellis? Yes. Councillor day? Yes. Councillor stokes.
[1:52:30] you're, you're muted. Councilor stokes.
[1:52:38] counselor ole? Yes. Vice mayor
[1:52:42] joyner? Yes. Alright. Motion passes. Six
[1:52:46] to zero. Congratulations ms. Howard, welcome to the team. Yes. And,
[1:52:50] uh, we look forward
[1:52:54] to having you up here on the d in two weeks. Yes. Looking forward to it.
[1:52:58] thank you all so much. All thank you. And I'm looking so forward to working with
[1:53:02] all of you. Thank you. Same here. Thanks. Same. Mm-hmm . Okay.
[1:53:08] moving on to, uh, communications from citizens. Um, madam
[1:53:12] clerk, do you mind reading the statement, please? A communication from
[1:53:16] citizens period limited in total time to 30 minutes is part of the order
[1:53:21] of business. At each regular council meeting, all persons addressing the
[1:53:25] council shall approach the microphone, give their name, and if they reside
[1:53:29] in, hopewell, their ward number and limit comments to three minutes.
[1:53:33] no one is permitted to speak on any item scheduled for consideration
[1:53:37] on the regular agenda of the meeting. All remarks presiding
[1:53:42] all remarks shall be addressed to the counsel as a body. Any
[1:53:46] questions must be asked through the presiding officer. Any person
[1:53:50] who makes personal impertinent abusive or slanderous
[1:53:55] statements or incites disorderly conduct and counsel chambers
[1:53:59] may be barred by the mayor from a further audience before council and removed,
[1:54:04] subject to appeal to a majority of council c rules, 4 0 5
[1:54:08] and 4 0 6. Okay. Uh, the only person that I
[1:54:12] have signed up for tonight is ms. April jones. Tyler,
[1:54:28] good evening. My name is april jones. Tyler, I'm in ward two.
[1:54:32] um, so first I would like to address you all with a question, um,
[1:54:37] of concern. So, uh, the first question is, uh,
[1:54:41] I've been trying to do a follow up, um, conversation with the city manager.
[1:54:45] um, unfortunately, uh, through the secretary, I'm unable to do a
[1:54:49] follow up. So, um, my question for you all tonight is, uh, what is the process
[1:54:54] to do a follow up when I contact the city manager's office?
[1:54:59] and, um, also, um, my issues
[1:55:03] that I would like to discuss tonight is with public housing. Um,
[1:55:08] so the first issue is I, me and my two children, um,
[1:55:13] ages are, uh, three and four. Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Um,
[1:55:18] three and four. Um, we have been moved into
[1:55:22] a home that was never inspected. Um, also my lease contract was
[1:55:26] breached. It was, um, the year dated 2024. I
[1:55:31] received a, um, tenants rights and responsibilities until the year of
[1:55:35] 2025. Um, their ified information on the calculation
[1:55:39] worksheet, all zeros. Um, I have passed
[1:55:43] cockroaches, spiders, paint, pulling off the wall as of today. Um, there's been water leaks,
[1:55:47] water leaks in my ceiling, no proper air ventilation, um,
[1:55:54] with me. Um, there's mold in mildew present. Um,
[1:55:58] in my bathroom, uh, my son's teacher, a nurse, uh,
[1:56:02] wrote a letter regarding webb's bug bikes on his arms. Other tenants have been faced with
[1:56:06] rats, ceiling falling on their couch. Similar issues. I'm also speaking up for other tenants as
[1:56:11] well. Um, I've been trapped in my screen door a total of
[1:56:15] six times. Um, to me this is a safety hazard. I have attended
[1:56:19] a total of four board meetings. Nothing resolved,
[1:56:23] um, to add, um, they will not provide me with
[1:56:27] my project based voucher information. Um, the recertification, they had me
[1:56:31] do, uh, required information from my kids. Daddy does not live with me. Um, also
[1:56:36] I requested for my recertification information, um,
[1:56:40] if I could have that in writing, that was refused to me by, um, the housing
[1:56:45] authority. Um, I'm supposed to be transferred. Um,
[1:56:49] and the housing authority will not provide me this information. I'm needing this information to, uh,
[1:56:53] provide to my gss worker. They need this in order to have me,
[1:56:58] um, transferred. And that's, um, that is all
[1:57:02] that I have to share with you all tonight. Thank you. Okay. Um, get
[1:57:06] our name? Yeah. We got your, your phone number here. Um, yes, sir. I'm gonna pass
[1:57:10] this along to mr. Rogers at the end of the meeting. And I'm gonna ask him, um,
[1:57:14] you know, to give you a call yes, sir. Or to have, uh, or to, you know, make sure
[1:57:18] that you know someone with, um, the hopewell redevelopment housing authority
[1:57:23] addresses all of your issues. Thank you. And I also, excuse me, I didn't mean to I'm sorry. Go
[1:57:27] ahead. I'm sorry. Um, and I also have other at tenant information. Um, if by
[1:57:31] any chance can I pass that along to him? Yes. As well. Mm-hmm . Um, because
[1:57:35] they're afraid of retaliation, so I told 'em I will, you know, speak up on their behalf as
[1:57:39] well tonight. Okay. Thank you much for your, thank you. Thank you.
[1:57:44] okay. Uh, that's all that I had signed up for tonight. Uh, moving
[1:57:49] on to our public hearings.
[1:57:53] point of order, mayor. Okay. I
[1:57:57] didn't get to vote regarding the clerk or make a discussion 'cause I had technical
[1:58:02] difficulties. What is the process?
[1:58:07] 'cause I don't want, I want my vote and
[1:58:11] comment recorded appropriately. Okay.
[1:58:15] I mean, you can make, and we can just add it to the record. When do
[1:58:19] I make it? Yeah, just go ahead and make it now.
[1:58:23] okay. Um, on the vote for the city clerk,
[1:58:28] my comment would've been, um,
[1:58:34] I did not like the due process that was done
[1:58:38] during the selection. Um, other city clerk,
[1:58:43] I think we should have considered more, uh,
[1:58:47] of the applications and
[1:58:51] given some preference to our tax paying residents.
[1:58:56] um, so my vote was no. Okay. And I wanted it
[1:59:00] recorded as such. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Mm-hmm . Um, and,
[1:59:04] uh, sade, please, uh, have my comment, uh, you know, added to
[1:59:09] the official minutes, um, that, you know, this process,
[1:59:13] uh, was a very thorough process in which we utilized our,
[1:59:17] um, staff and our subject matter experts, uh, to make sure that we
[1:59:21] were getting the best of the best. And, uh, we were not
[1:59:25] allowing any, uh, personal, uh, conflicts of interest, uh, to
[1:59:30] cloud our judgment. Thank you. You're welcome. Okay.
[1:59:35] uh, let's see here. Moving on. Um, well, we do have, uh, some
[1:59:39] folks sign up on public hearings. Did, uh, these, this is, uh,
[1:59:45] pauletta. Jarret. Yes, sir. Did you wanna talk during
[1:59:49] communications from citizens or the actual public hearing? Um,
[1:59:54] I'm gonna pass her right now and I apologize. I'll speak with you later. Um,
[1:59:58] jared's wife. Oh, okay. Okay. Mm-hmm . Okay.
[2:00:03] um,
[2:00:08] calm, I guess it's maybe commissioner jones harris,
[2:00:14] I think. Okay. They were hr check. Alright. Um,
[2:00:18] and then a mr. Michael mayo.
[2:00:23] okay. Did you wanna speak on the public hearing or communications from, or, or communications
[2:00:27] from citizens? Mr. Mayo's an applicant.
[2:00:32] oh, he's an applicant. Okay. Alright. Public hearing. Okay. Just wanna make sure. Alright.
[2:00:36] alright. We're gonna move back on to our public
[2:00:40] hearings now. Uh, madam clerk, will you please, uh, read the statement
[2:00:44] while mr. Rupert comes up to the mic?
[2:00:51] oh, I'm sorry. I'll read it for you since I got it here. Uh, each person
[2:00:55] addressing the counsel shall step to the microphone, give their name, locality
[2:00:59] and phone number, and limit, limit comments to three minutes or less.
[2:01:03] no person shall be permitted to address counsel a second time until all others have
[2:01:08] been heard once. And no one shall speak more than twice on any subject in any
[2:01:12] one meeting. All remarks shall be addressed to council as the body and not any member
[2:01:16] thereof. No person other than the council and the person
[2:01:21] having the floor shall enter into any discussion, either directly or through
[2:01:25] a member of council without permission of the mayor, uh, no
[2:01:29] question shall be asked of a council member, including the administration,
[2:01:33] except through the presiding officer, mr. Roofer,
[2:01:38] uh, mr. Mayor, vice mayor, members of council. Um, as you know,
[2:01:42] back in july, I brought to you a presentation about, uh, an
[2:01:46] increase in our, uh, ems fees. Um, as
[2:01:50] I discussed then, our ems fees are, are far behind all of our neighbors
[2:01:54] surrounding us. And, um, this would bring us, uh, uh,
[2:01:59] back into, uh, up to a, a level that would, um, allow us to
[2:02:03] get additional revenue, um, to support our operations in the fire department.
[2:02:07] um, basically, as you can see in our draft ordinance that, um,
[2:02:12] uh, the city attorney, uh, helped us draft, you can see that we're basically,
[2:02:17] um, increasing it to 135% of me medicare allowables.
[2:02:21] um, so that allows that rate to basically be adjusted each year as medicare
[2:02:25] adjusts their rate. Um, we also discussed, um, uh, some
[2:02:30] options for relief for our citizens. Uh, they can, uh, do an
[2:02:34] annual subscription for $69 that allow them to not see a bill from us if they
[2:02:38] are them or any of their household are transported, uh, on an ambulance. As
[2:02:42] well as, uh, some relief given to them as well if, uh,
[2:02:46] they apply for, um, uh, reduced rate. Uh, and that's based
[2:02:50] on the poverty level that's published every year also by, uh, health and human
[2:02:55] services. And so, uh, we, uh, that is what is presented
[2:02:59] tonight. Um, if you'd like, I can go back through that presentation or that's
[2:03:03] alright. Okay. Okay. Uh, we're gonna
[2:03:07] go ahead. Well first, uh, are there any questions for mr. Rupert or chief rupert before we
[2:03:11] open up the public hearing? Seeing no
[2:03:15] lights? Alright, I'm gonna go ahead and open up the public hearing. I do not have anyone signed
[2:03:20] up on this. Uh, is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak on this?
[2:03:25] no. Okay. Public hearing is now closed.
[2:03:30] uh, is there a motion, uh, to approve the fee change, uh,
[2:03:34] ordinance, uh, for fire ems as presented tonight? So, move.
[2:03:38] okay. Motions made by vice mayor joiner and seconded by councillor day. Is there any
[2:03:43] discussion? See no lights. Roll call please. Councill
[2:03:47] harris, may I pardon?
[2:03:51] yes. Councillor ellis? Yes. Councillor day? Yes.
[2:03:56] councillor stokes? Yes. Council oli?
[2:04:00] yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes. Motion passes. Six to
[2:04:04] zero. Okay. Uh, moving
[2:04:08] on to public hearing number two. Uh, ms. English.
[2:04:21] good evening. Good evening. Evening. Janelle english, director of finance for the school
[2:04:26] division. I'm here for, um, dr. Hackney. Um, we
[2:04:30] have a public hearing tonight for a supplemental appropriation to amend the fiscal year
[2:04:34] 26 budget school's budget, um, by the amount of $778,650,
[2:04:41] which is additional state and local funding. Um,
[2:04:45] the school division's original budget was approved by city council on april 22nd, 2025.
[2:04:50] and since then we've received an additional state grant in the amount of $40,650
[2:04:55] for a, um, it's a school security officer grant and we must
[2:04:59] carry over state and local funds that we've received in fiscal year 25
[2:05:04] that were reserved to provide a retention bonus to our employees in the amount of $738,000.
[2:05:10] so these funds will increase the total, um, school operating
[2:05:14] fund to $72,574,676.
[2:05:21] that's it. Okay. Alright. Are there any questions, uh, for ms. English
[2:05:25] before we open the public hearing? Seeing no lights?
[2:05:30] alright, we're gonna go ahead and open up a public hearing. Um,
[2:05:36] ms. Jart, this is your opportunity if you wanna speak. Well
[2:05:41] on this topic. I mean, like on the, on this topic? Yeah. On the
[2:05:46] school? Yeah. On the school system. No, I don't have, all my children are, are out of the house.
[2:05:50] okay. So this is my first time being here, so now I, I'm getting a feel of it. I'm
[2:05:54] gonna start being more visible, um, because I just
[2:05:58] need to be more visible. Okay. Alright. Thank you. Thank you. Mm-hmm .
[2:06:03] okay. Uh, I don't have anyone else signed up. Is there anyone the audience would like to speak on this
[2:06:07] public hearing? Okay. Seeing none,
[2:06:12] I'm go ahead and close the public hearing. Uh, is there a motion to
[2:06:16] approve the resolution to amend the fiscal year 2026 hopewell
[2:06:20] public school supplemental budget appropriation as presented tonight?
[2:06:25] so move, I'll second it. Uh, motions made by vice mayor joiner
[2:06:29] and seconded by myself. Any discussion? Seeing
[2:06:33] none. Roll call please. Mayor. Pardon? Yes. Councilor ellis?
[2:06:37] yes. Councillor day? Yes. Councillor stokes?
[2:06:41] yes. Councilor oli? Yes. Vice mayor joiner? Yes.
[2:06:45] motion passes. Six to zero. Okay. Moving on to public hearing
[2:06:49] number three.
[2:07:10] good evening again. Uh, tonight we have a conditional
[2:07:14] use permit request to construct single family dwelling on
[2:07:18] non-conforming lot actually consists of two, two parcels,
[2:07:23] excuse me. Uh, 0 1 3 1 5 9 5 and 0 1 3 1 6 0 0
[2:07:30] also identified, uh, or actually located on south 19th avenue.
[2:07:34] the applicant is vets housing llc. This property's located
[2:07:39] in ward five and zoned r two.
[2:07:44] uh, the nonconformities with this particular, uh, lot are both in the
[2:07:48] width and the total square footage. Uh, it's just smaller on both
[2:07:52] the applicant's proposing to build a one story single family dwelling. Three
[2:07:56] bedroom, two bath, 1,352 square foot.
[2:08:01] a single family home, oops, lemme
[2:08:05] back up. Just got some elevations here of
[2:08:09] what the proposed house will look like. Uh, front and rear,
[2:08:14] left and right. The applicant is proposing
[2:08:18] to construct, uh, this dwelling, which is larger than the average single family
[2:08:23] dwelling in that neighborhood. And that average size is 1075
[2:08:27] square feet. Applicant's proposing vinyl siding, uh, it's
[2:08:32] consistent with other homes in the neighborhood and as required by the
[2:08:36] ordinance, the dwelling will meet all district setbacks.
[2:08:41] staff is recommending approval of the conditional use permitt application with the following conditions
[2:08:46] that the two lots will be combined through the administrative re subdivision process.
[2:08:51] uh, 12 inch minimum eaves along all roof edges,
[2:08:56] uh, 20% tree canopy, driveway of asphalt
[2:09:01] or concrete brick or stone foundation on all four sides
[2:09:05] along with front foundation plantings. And essentially that the
[2:09:09] applicant will construct the home as presented to you. This evening
[2:09:14] planning commission, uh, agreed with staff's conditions.
[2:09:18] they recommended approval three to zero at their public hearing.
[2:09:23] uh, the department has not received any comments and no comments were
[2:09:28] presented at the planning commission, public hearing either. I'm
[2:09:32] available for any questions that you may have about this application and the applicant
[2:09:36] is also here this evening. Uh, mr. Mayo. Okay.
[2:09:41] are there any questions for, uh, mr. Ward before we open up the, uh,
[2:09:45] public hearing? Okay. Seeing none? Yes.
[2:09:49] oh, I'm sorry. Yes, ma'am. I pressed it twice. Sorry, because that didn't
[2:09:53] work. Okay. Am I done off? Hold it, that's what it is. Gotta hold it. Okay. Yeah. Can you hold
[2:09:57] it for me? Make sure it's working okay. Now it came up okay. Okay.
[2:10:01] I just pressed it. I didn't hold it. That's okay. Yeah, if it doesn't come, we'll just wave me down. New
[2:10:06] person. Sorry, , I apologize. Yep. Yes, ma'am.
[2:10:10] um, so I'm concerned about a real
[2:10:14] lack of privacy and room
[2:10:18] for the person who's gonna live in this house.
[2:10:22] I, I want them to be happy because when you buy a home, there's an expectation
[2:10:27] that you have some privacy, some safety,
[2:10:31] uh, security, and some room to entertain
[2:10:36] in your yard and not be interrupting other neighbors. I,
[2:10:40] I'm just trying to understand why we
[2:10:44] think this exception should be approved because of those reasons. That's
[2:10:48] why the rule is there to begin with, is to provide more space
[2:10:53] for people. So our ordinance allows
[2:10:57] for the construction of homes, single family homes on
[2:11:01] non-conforming lots. It's in our ordinance and it's a provision that,
[2:11:06] uh, states essentially you can construct a house on these
[2:11:10] somewhat smaller lots. They may not be as wide as the minimum standards or they
[2:11:14] may be, uh, not meeting the total square footage. And
[2:11:18] the ordinance allows to go through this process so that you as a
[2:11:22] city council can attach certain conditions to the approval. Um,
[2:11:27] these are, these conditions here that are listed at the end.
[2:11:31] um, everybody up here is probably really tired of seeing
[2:11:36] 'em 'cause they come through on every single application. Um, this is pretty
[2:11:40] much the standard that, uh, staff and, and I would assume counsel
[2:11:44] has agreed upon as, as preferred conditions for approval. So,
[2:11:49] um, I'm not sure if that really answered your question a
[2:11:53] hundred percent, but as the way staff
[2:11:57] perceives it is, as long as an applicant is meeting the requirements,
[2:12:02] we are going to recommend approval. And in this particular case,
[2:12:06] this applicant is meeting the requirements set forth in the orders,
[2:12:11] they're required to meet the district setbacks, even though it might be a little shorter or
[2:12:15] narrower a lot, they still have to meet setbacks.
[2:12:19] does that answer your question or?
[2:12:23] um, I'll, I'll do some more research and follow up as we have other
[2:12:28] issues. I personally, in my neighborhood and others,
[2:12:32] mcing houses just on,
[2:12:37] on very small postage lots. And I, I post to stamp lots
[2:12:41] and I, I'm not in favor of that as a whole. And
[2:12:45] we talk about it's, it could be a first home for,
[2:12:49] uh, a starter family home and this kind of thing. Mm-hmm
[2:12:53] . But they turn into to rental property almost
[2:12:57] always their rental property. They're not, it's not like we're
[2:13:02] housing somebody who has a hardship and, and couldn't otherwise afford
[2:13:06] a larger home or a larger space. We're turning it into rental property and,
[2:13:10] and I, I don't like the fact that we continuously do this.
[2:13:14] so, but thank you for explaining that you have some protocols that you've used
[2:13:18] in the past and that this meets the standard for your protocol.
[2:13:23] absolutely. And we can, we can discuss this further offline too, if, you know, at a later time if
[2:13:27] you'd like more information. I would. Absolutely. Okay. Are
[2:13:31] there any other questions or comments? Okay. I'm go
[2:13:35] ahead and open up the full hearing. Um, mr. Mayo.
[2:13:46] good evening. My name is michael mayo. I'm the director of vet's housing. Uh, what
[2:13:50] our mission is, is we aim to provide subsidized housing for
[2:13:54] our veterans and affordable housing for the public. And we believe this
[2:13:58] project will be, um, the perfect opportunity to provide, um, a single
[2:14:02] family home at an affordable price point for like a,
[2:14:07] a new family, um, or a, um, someone that's looking to
[2:14:11] retire and downsize. Um, this particular one, we are not looking to,
[2:14:15] um, rent out in any way. Um, we typically only rent, uh,
[2:14:19] our multifamily new construction projects 'cause we're able to capitalize on, on
[2:14:23] our, uh, scale, uh, to get the price down. Um,
[2:14:28] other than that though, we think this would be, you know, a great opportunity for a family to
[2:14:32] get a home at affordable price and for the city to collect additional
[2:14:36] revenue. Um, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer.
[2:14:40] okay. Uh, are there any questions for the applicant? Uh, yes ma'am.
[2:14:45] can you tell me more about your veteran program? 'cause I'm very pro veteran
[2:14:50] and so I'd like a little bit to know a little bit more about your veteran program
[2:14:54] that you're offering. Yeah, so we're, we've partnered with, um, housing
[2:14:58] redevelopment, you know, to, um, provide housing with their,
[2:15:03] you know, utilizing the, the hud vash program. So,
[2:15:07] um, we focus on with that program to capitalize on economies
[2:15:11] of scale. We typically will only do multifamily, um, so that we can get our price down
[2:15:15] to be able to afford to do it. Um, so on this one, since it's a single family home, just
[2:15:19] a single lot, we're just looking to provide an affordable home for people.
[2:15:26] okay. Uh, vice mayor jordan. Yeah, I guess my question is then
[2:15:30] your company name seems a little bit,
[2:15:35] so you really aren't focused on veterans at all? Not
[2:15:39] really. I, well we are, um, that is our focus
[2:15:43] on this particular lot. Um, we were able to get, you know, at a, um,
[2:15:47] really great price. Um, so we went ahead, we wanted to go ahead
[2:15:51] and develop it and, um, provide a, a nice home for someone. So, so, but you're
[2:15:55] not working directly with any veterans groups? I mean, like, so this, this
[2:15:59] house is not slated for a, a veteran to, you
[2:16:04] know, a veteran to purchase or anything like that. And your multi-family
[2:16:08] businesses, I mean, are, are you focused on, on
[2:16:12] veterans? I mean, what, what veterans group do you partner with? Well,
[2:16:16] we work with the, with the hud vash program. So they're the ones that provide the, the
[2:16:20] housing vouchers, um, for, for veterans. Okay. And we are fairly
[2:16:25] new. Our company just started this year, so we are up and coming, getting off the
[2:16:29] ground, but we did just secure, um, a five acre, um, development
[2:16:33] on the south side of richmond that we are gonna do all multifamily and provide
[2:16:38] I see. Solely to veterans. Okay.
[2:16:42] alright. Okay. Um, are there any other questions?
[2:16:48] all right. Seeing no lights. Thank you sir. Thank you. Is there anyone else in the
[2:16:52] audience, uh, that would like to speak on this public hearing tonight?
[2:16:57] none. Okay. I'm, go ahead and, uh, close the public hearing.
[2:17:01] um, I think, uh, yeah, out of respect for,
[2:17:05] uh, councilor ley for just starting, um, and if
[2:17:09] you're amenable to this, um, is everyone okay with just tabling this item?
[2:17:13] so then that way, you know, you could be, you know, spun up or you do your, I have questions
[2:17:18] too, research that you'd like to do and we can, uh, put it as our unfinished
[2:17:22] business item at the next meeting. Thank you. Okay. Anyone stay with that s yeah.
[2:17:26] yeah. Okay. Alright. Um, uh,
[2:17:31] mr. Bassett, do we need a motion for that or is that good enough?
[2:17:35] no, no. You don't need a motion to carry it over to another okay. Another meeting. Okay.
[2:17:40] alright. So we'll do that as our first time of unfinished business at the next
[2:17:44] meeting. Uh, public hearing number four,
[2:17:54] I need you to drive this one. Thank you. Uh,
[2:17:58] mayor, vice member members, members of council, thank you for this opportunity to speak on this public
[2:18:02] hearing. Um, I'm here tonight to, um,
[2:18:07] hold a public hearing for the sale of 6 33 epps street.
[2:18:12] and this is, uh, this is a conforming lot, but it's a
[2:18:16] little interesting story. So, uh, this is in b village.
[2:18:20] there was a, a house here in the past and
[2:18:24] through some circumstances that I'm not, uh, fully up to speed on
[2:18:28] what happened, I believe it was a blight situation. Based on some
[2:18:32] of the records I was able to find, the city acquired this lot, um,
[2:18:37] lot 6 3 2 a and they, um,
[2:18:42] they acquired this lot. And then also there's a, there's a right of way beside
[2:18:46] it that's shown here in this picture in your calf, in your, um, your,
[2:18:51] um, action form there, counsel action form and, uh,
[2:18:55] incorporated that in 2017, uh,
[2:19:00] into a larger, uh, property, this was done around the time
[2:19:05] that the stream restoration project was done. Mm-hmm . On riverside.
[2:19:09] and I believe that some of the acquisition of these lots was associated with that. Okay.
[2:19:14] so one of the things that we do in economic development and tourism is, is we try to
[2:19:18] find, um, land the city has in surplus that's not producing tax
[2:19:22] revenue. And we, and we, uh, open that up for people to
[2:19:26] purchase. This was, uh, actually an unsolicited offer. We, we were not
[2:19:30] advertising this, um, but, um, mr. Nathan davenport
[2:19:35] and his company, um, made us an unsolicited offer, which,
[2:19:39] um, we, um, reviewed, enclosed session and
[2:19:43] I'm here tonight to have the public hearing, uh, for the
[2:19:48] contract approval, uh, that you have in your package. Uh, this
[2:19:52] is for $13,000 and the applicant,
[2:19:56] um, who will be if, if approved tonight by this public hearing,
[2:20:01] uh, they will be working with the city attorney's office
[2:20:05] and planning and zoning essentially to reestablish that lot
[2:20:09] that you see there. That was, uh, incorporated in 2017
[2:20:14] into a larger parcel. His intent is to build
[2:20:18] a single family home for sale. And as I said, it, it
[2:20:22] will be a conforming lot basically as it was before 5,200
[2:20:27] square feet in b village at the end of up street. So, a little bit
[2:20:31] of a long story, but at the end of the day, what the city's gonna get is a house back on
[2:20:35] the lot, uh, that was torn down and a family in
[2:20:39] there paying taxes and eating at waves and
[2:20:44] getting coffee from the coffee shop. And there you go.
[2:20:48] so I'm, I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Okay.
[2:20:52] are there any questions for, uh, mr. Bennett? Okay.
[2:20:56] seeing no lights when we go ahead and open up the public hearing,
[2:21:00] um, I don't have anyone signed up for this one. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak
[2:21:05] on this? Alright. Seeing none
[2:21:09] public hearing's now closed. Alright. Is there a motion to,
[2:21:13] um, approve the contract sale? Uh,
[2:21:17] parcel slash tax id number 0 6 6 0 6 2 5 2
[2:21:25] mfk properties llc as presented tonight.
[2:21:30] so move second. Alright. Motion's been made by vice mayor joiner and second by,
[2:21:34] uh, councilor ellis. Is there any discussion seeing no
[2:21:38] lights roll call please. Councillor harris? Yes. Mayor. Pardon?
[2:21:43] yes. Councillor ellis? Yes. Councillor day? Yes. Councillor
[2:21:47] stoke? Yes. Councillor oli? Yes.
[2:21:52] vice mayor joyner? Yes. Motion passes. Seven to zero.
[2:21:56] okay. With that our meeting automatically adjourns. Thank you very much.