[0:00] healthier and more meaningful life.
[0:02] Learn more at loadstarfoundation.org.
[0:05] And from the sustaining members of this
[0:08] NPR station,
[0:10] >> it's Morning Edition on radioq. I'm Jeff
[0:12] Boser. In recent years, volunteer fire
[0:15] departments have had trouble attracting
[0:17] enough volunteers to handle increasing
[0:19] numbers of emergency calls. But one
[0:21] Virginia department seems to have found
[0:22] a new source of volunteers to fill out
[0:24] its roster. Cardinal News reporter Eric
[0:27] Solzano covered this story. He spoke
[0:29] with Fred Eckles.
[0:30] >> Eric, volunteer fire departments around
[0:32] Virginia and virtually everywhere are
[0:35] having trouble attracting and retaining
[0:38] the numbers of volunteers that they
[0:40] need. What's making it so difficult?
[0:43] >> The main figure to point here is the
[0:45] increased call volume that fire
[0:48] departments across the nation have
[0:49] experienced. Those call volumes have
[0:51] more than tripled over the last 40
[0:54] years. That leads to uh increased time
[0:57] demand on those volunteers. Also more
[1:00] training requirements to respond to the
[1:02] numerous amount of calls. The Blackburg
[1:05] Volunteer Fire Department, which you
[1:07] wrote about in your story, has come up
[1:09] with the idea of attracting students
[1:12] from Virginia Tech to serve as volunteer
[1:15] firefighters. How are they making that
[1:17] an attractive option for college
[1:19] students? The Blackburg Fire Department
[1:22] is saying that they need to invest time
[1:25] and and resources into these students to
[1:28] bring them on. That is translated into
[1:30] providing full turnout gear at uniform
[1:33] and equipment to these students with the
[1:36] initial training that is free of charge
[1:38] for a student. These volunteer
[1:40] firefighters must go through different
[1:42] kind of trainings such as fire one, fire
[1:44] two, hazmat operations and you know
[1:47] these things can be costly. So for a
[1:50] fire department to let these students
[1:52] know that they won't be charged for it
[1:53] is certainly an attractive option there.
[1:56] It's also, you know, a sense of
[1:57] community for these students. The
[1:59] station provides, you know, access to
[2:01] the internet, a washer, a dryer, a day
[2:03] room where students are, you know,
[2:05] encouraged to hang out while they're on
[2:08] call or not and and spend some free time
[2:10] there as well as studying for their
[2:12] classes while they're in university.
[2:14] Yeah.
[2:14] >> How well is it working? Are they getting
[2:16] a lot of response from students?
[2:18] >> Talking with Todd Jones, the public
[2:20] information officer there, he let me
[2:22] know that um numbers of enrollment in
[2:26] terms of the students who are coming on
[2:27] as volunteers has increased. There's
[2:30] about 60 volunteers there. 20 of those
[2:32] volunteers are college students.
[2:34] >> There is getting volunteers and there's
[2:36] keeping volunteers. Are the students
[2:38] remaining with the department for
[2:40] significant time?
[2:42] >> Yeah, certainly. It was a figure that I
[2:44] asked Todd Jones as well from the fire
[2:46] department to to understand a little bit
[2:47] more about that. He tells me that an
[2:49] estimated 95% of students who come on to
[2:53] volunteer stay on for the remaining time
[2:56] in college.
[2:57] >> Being a full-time college student and
[2:59] being a volunteer firefighter on call
[3:01] much of the time is quite a commitment.
[3:05] Do students have a hard time managing
[3:07] that?
[3:07] >> Got to talk to and meet some of these
[3:10] volunteers as well. These students, it
[3:12] seems like they're able to balance their
[3:14] time pretty well with having that place
[3:18] to go on the station and being provided
[3:21] the facilities in which they can go and
[3:23] spend their time to study. They have
[3:25] some time in between being on their
[3:27] calls and being able to dedicate their
[3:29] time to all the other things that
[3:31] they're doing at the same time. So, it
[3:32] seems like they're able to balance it
[3:34] pretty well.
[3:35] >> Eric Solarano reports for cardinals.org.
[3:39] I'm Fred Eckles. Cardinal News is a
[3:41] nonprofit online independent news
[3:43] organization covering Southwest and
[3:46] Southside Virginia.
[3:49] >> In a letter, Thomas Jefferson wrote that
[3:50] wherever the people are well informed,
[3:52] they can be trusted with their own
[3:54] government. At Radio IQ, we echo that
[3:57] every day and especially during election
[3:59] season. So, we've teamed up with the
[4:01] other NPR stations in the Commonwealth
[4:03] to create an election guide to keep you
[4:05] informed with news, candidate profiles,
[4:07] polling information, and more. You can
[4:09] find it on our website, radioiq.org.
[4:16] » Support for RadioIQ comes from Acme
[4:19] Panel, providing structural insulated
[4:21] panels for new homes designed for
[4:23] comfort, energy efficiency, and
[4:26] lowcarbon footprint. Acme panel.com
[4:30] and from 16 Hands Studio Tour presenting
[4:33] the Floyd Potters Market at the Floyd
[4:35] Eco Village, November 20th through the
[4:38] 22nd. benefiting Blue Mountain School.
[4:40] Details at 16hands.com.
[4:44] And from Mutual of Omaha. From the days
[4:47] of Wild Kingdom to today, Mutual of
[4:49] Omaha has offered insurance products to
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[4:53] and dental plans. More at mutualof
[4:56] omaha.com.
[4:58] >> Marketplace morning report up in just a
[5:00] moment. A sunny start to the first full
[5:02] week of October, but we've had some
[5:04] early fog in the region.
[5:07] Building in the far southwest, much of
[5:09] it dissipated by now. We have 59° in
[5:12] Ronok, foggy in Lynchburg. Still 61°,
[5:16] 62, a little foggy in Charlottesville.
[5:18] Richmond 62° cloudy early, sunny by
[5:21] afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s to
[5:23] upper 70s. Lows in the low to upper 40s
[5:25] tonight. More sun tomorrow. Highs in the
[5:28] upper 60s to low 70s.
[5:31] >> [music]
[5:33] » Oil exporters try to normalize global
[5:36] supplies and an escape from the world of
[5:38] AI just for a bit. Marketplace Morning
[5:41] Report is supported by HPE with the HPE
[5:45] self-driving network designed to be a
[5:47] self-optimizing, self-healing, and
[5:49] self-protecting network.
[5:50] hpe.com/networking.
[5:54] From Marketplace in Washington, I'm
[5:56] Kimberly Adams. We're starting with oil
[5:58] this morning. There are signs that oil
[6:00] exports from the Middle East are
[6:02] starting to get back to pre-war levels.
[6:04] The research firm Kepler estimates that
[6:06] 40% of crude exports from the Persian
[6:09] Gulf now bypass the straight of Hormuz.
[6:11] Meanwhile, key members of OPEC have
[6:13] pledged to keep their oil production
[6:15] targets steady next month. Marketplaces
[6:18] Nancy Marshall Gendzer explains why.
[6:20] OPEC issued a press release yesterday
[6:22] with a promising headline. It says core
[6:25] OPEC members known as the OPEC plus
[6:27] countries are reaffirming their
[6:29] commitment to market stability. OPEC
[6:32] plus includes Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait
[6:35] and Oman and allies like Russia. Saudi
[6:38] Arabia, Iraq and Russia pledged to
[6:40] produce the most oil next month, but
[6:42] these are mostly paper targets. OPEC
[6:45] plus countries have been missing their
[6:46] quotas because of the war in the Middle
[6:48] East. Reuters estimates their exports
[6:50] have only reached 60 to 80% of normal
[6:54] levels in the past few months. OPEC Plus
[6:56] says it'll meet again on November 1st.
[6:59] They've delayed their annual capacity
[7:01] review that helps them settle on their
[7:03] production quotas for next year,
[7:05] including decisions on which countries
[7:07] get to produce more oil. I'm Nancy
[7:09] Marshall Gendzer for Marketplace.
[7:13] Let's do the numbers.
[7:16] [music] Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq futures are
[7:18] down in the 0ero to 3/10en percent range
[7:21] with the Dow future [music] down just 17
[7:23] points. The 10-year Treasury yield is up
[7:26] at 530%. [music]
[7:28] And since Nancy was just talking about
[7:30] oil, Brent crude is currently trading at
[7:32] $102.51
[7:34] a barrel. Marketplace morning report is
[7:37] supported by Schwab. At Schwab,
[7:39] investors get choices ranging from
[7:41] self-directed investing to [music] full
[7:43] service wealth management all in one
[7:45] place. No matter the investing goal,
[7:47] life stage, amount to invest, or
[7:49] knowhow, Schwab [music] can help. More
[7:51] at schwab.com.
[7:53] And by Ubico, makers of the Ubi key,
[7:56] securing business applications from
[7:58] fishing for organizations worldwide.
[8:00] Ubi, [music]
[8:01] powerful protection, instant access.
[8:03] More at yubico.com.
[8:07] This year has been dominated by
[8:08] headlines about artificial intelligence.
[8:11] But as the AI buildout accelerates, some
[8:14] are looking for ways to slow down. I
[8:16] found evidence of that at Makerpace NYC,
[8:19] a community workshop in New York, which
[8:21] was busy with people sewing, welding,
[8:24] drilling, making things. Some just for
[8:26] fun, but for others, it's where they
[8:28] make their living.
[8:34] The sawdust is flying in the maker space
[8:36] wood shop when I visit on a Tuesday
[8:38] afternoon. Scott Vancampen, executive
[8:41] director here, is showing me around,
[8:43] pointing out folks one by one who have
[8:45] come to depend on this place to run
[8:48] their small businesses.
[8:49] >> We're really super proud to be able to
[8:51] support those people uh as they get a
[8:55] foothold in their industry. Creators can
[8:57] rent tools and other resources from the
[9:00] maker space for a fraction of what it
[9:02] would cost them to buy them outright.
[9:04] Scott co-founded this nonprofit with his
[9:06] wife DB Lampman in 2013.
[9:09] >> I think 90% of the people that are here,
[9:11] freelancers that are doing it as a
[9:13] business.
[9:15] >> I meet one of these entrepreneurs, Simon
[9:18] Barry, in the sewing area. These are
[9:20] cushions for a banquet that I made,
[9:23] which is
[9:25] >> because you're you make furniture.
[9:26] >> I make furniture. Yeah.
[9:28] >> I asked Simon how important this place
[9:30] is for his business.
[9:31] >> The initial investment of opening a
[9:34] woodworking studio, whatever the all the
[9:37] tools is pretty prohibited.
[9:39] >> What kind of startup cost would you be
[9:41] looking at if you actually had to buy
[9:42] all the stuff that you're using here?
[9:46] like 20,000
[9:48] >> versus what do you end up paying monthly
[9:50] here for your space?
[9:51] >> 600.
[9:52] >> There's also a cheaper membership, a
[9:54] couple hundred a year for more limited
[9:57] access. The membership fees that Scott
[9:59] and DB collect from about 420 members
[10:02] help keep this place running along with
[10:05] foundation support from the city and
[10:07] state. There's also a limited number of
[10:09] free memberships for lowincome people in
[10:12] the neighborhood.
[10:14] Over in the metal shop, makers hammer
[10:17] away and sparks dance behind thick
[10:19] plastic protective screens amid
[10:21] soldering and welding. One of the
[10:23] artists use this place to pivot careers
[10:26] completely. Seth Cousins is a
[10:28] self-described former tech guy.
[10:30] >> 25, 30 years as a software engineer,
[10:33] product manager, delivery tech stuff.
[10:37] >> And now,
[10:37] >> uh, and now I'm a sculptor. Mhm.
[10:39] >> So, in April, I left the startup that I
[10:41] was working at and started working here
[10:44] full-time.
[10:44] >> He recalls a recent conversation with a
[10:46] younger software engineer, a neighbor,
[10:49] who said that the work had changed from
[10:51] thinking about code and solving problems
[10:54] to now babysitting AI agents that do a
[10:57] lot of the work.
[10:58] >> And I figure when they do take over the
[10:59] world, this sort of physical stuff is
[11:01] going to be the last thing that they
[11:03] take over. So, we'll be safer for a
[11:05] little bit longer.
[11:06] >> That's job safety, he says. And it's
[11:09] better than staring at a screen all day.
[11:14] But not everyone I meet here is doing
[11:16] this for work.
[11:17] >> Hi. This is so beautiful. I'm Kimberly.
[11:20] >> Kimberly. Nice to meet you.
[11:21] >> Nice to meet you also. Um could you
[11:24] describe what you're making here if
[11:25] that's okay?
[11:26] >> I'm making a uh raven.
[11:29] >> Miles Cucker is making this ornate raven
[11:32] out of steel.
[11:33] >> It's my grandson.
[11:36] >> This is great. How many of these have
[11:38] you made?
[11:39] >> This is my first bird.
[11:41] >> Oh, really? What else have you made?
[11:43] >> Uh, it's a cat, a dog, a crocodile, a
[11:47] koala, and a platypus.
[11:50] >> All for your grandkids.
[11:52] >> Yep.
[11:52] >> That's They must love these things. My grandfather used to make whirly gigs
[11:56] for us.
[11:57] >> Oh, when I was a kid.
[11:58] >> And do you still have them?
[12:00] >> I do. I do still have my whly gig. Yes.
[12:02] >> Great.
[12:03] >> I'm not sure you'd get this kind of
[12:04] moment in a room full of robots. And
[12:07] these tactile skills, says executive
[12:10] director Scott Vancampen, are even more
[12:13] valuable in our increasingly digital
[12:15] focused economy.
[12:16] >> The stuff where really we need to
[12:18] manipulate and to make decisions quickly
[12:21] and accurately.
[12:23] I don't think that robots are actually
[12:25] going to replace us.
[12:26] >> He's proud to give people a place to
[12:28] build something, whether that's
[12:30] furniture, an animal made of steel, or a
[12:33] business. It is very rewarding to to be
[12:35] able to support and encourage these
[12:38] people to to really build whatever they
[12:40] want to build.
[12:43] >> You can find pictures and videos of the
[12:45] maker space [music] on our Instagram @
[12:47] marketplace APM in Washington. I'm
[12:50] Kimberly Adams with the [music]
[12:51] Marketplace Morning Report
[12:55] from APM American Public Media.
[13:00] I'm Tanya Mosley.
[13:02] >> And I'm Wana Summers. People collect all
[13:04] [music] sorts of things. Sports
[13:06] memorabilia, stamps, and antique lamps.
[13:09] If you've collected a few classic cars
[13:11] over the years, and you also love public
[13:14] radio, consider this. Donate it to this
[13:16] station and it could mean hundreds
[13:18] [music] of dollars in support. Go to
[13:20] radioiq.org and click the vehicle
[13:22] donation banner at the top of the page.
[13:30] You're listening to Radio IQ on WVTF
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[13:56] your smart speaker and online at
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[14:01] Welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World
[14:03] Service. I'm Paul Henley. Coming up,
[14:06] Spanish voters react to their prime
[14:08] minister calling a snap election as
[14:10] protests rage over a housing crisis.
[14:15] [music]
[14:15] >> I reckon we need an election right now.
[14:18] We've got to get rid of Pedro Sanchez
[14:20] straight away. He's doing a terrible
[14:22] job.
[14:23] >> The presidential elections in Brazil
[14:24] that have South America's biggest
[14:26] democracy bitterly divided. The Russian
[14:29] blogger who turned against the Kremlin
[14:31] and is about to pay the price. We hear
[14:33] about the work of three scientists who
[14:35] today won the Nobel Prize for Medicine.
[14:38] >> This is a new very profound important
[14:41] tool for new scientists [music] to
[14:43] understand the brain and diseases of the
[14:46] brain. and the humble Australian phone
[14:48] box that's been granted heritage status.
[14:51] All after the latest world news.
[15:01] BBC News with Emily Thomas. Spain's
[15:04] Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called
[15:06] a snap election. His announcement comes
[15:09] after his minority government's measures
[15:11] to tackle Spain's housing crisis were
[15:13] rejected by Parliament last Friday. In a
[15:16] televised speech, Mr. Sanchez said he
[15:19] wanted to obtain a broader majority in
[15:21] parliament to push through reforms.
[15:25] >> I have decided to convene an
[15:27] extraordinary council of ministers this
[15:29] very morning to dissolve the Spanish
[15:31] parliament and call a general election
[15:33] to be held on Sunday the 29th of
[15:35] November in accordance with the time
[15:37] frames laid down by law. The time has
[15:40] therefore come for the people of Spain
[15:42] to decide what future you want for
[15:44] yourselves and for your country.
[15:46] >> Yemen's government forces say they've
[15:48] begun an offensive on the capital SA in
[15:51] an effort to retake the city from the
[15:53] Iranbacked Houthi movement. A Houthy
[15:55] affiliated TV station reported a Saudi
[15:58] attack on SA. Mimi Swaybe has more. The
[16:01] offensive comes after a Saudi le
[16:03] coalition said it hit hundreds of
[16:04] targets as attempts to reverse the
[16:06] advances made last month. Yemeni
[16:09] officials say its forces seized control
[16:10] of positions on the Bab al-Mandab Strait
[16:13] as it drove Houthy fighters away from
[16:14] the strategic.
[16:17] >> Good morning and welcome to the October
[16:19] 5th, 2026 9:00 a.m. informal session of
[16:22] Rono City Council. City Council meetings
[16:25] will be televised live and replayed on
[16:27] RVTV channel 3 on Thursdays at 700 p.m.
[16:30] and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00
[16:32] p.m. And our meetings are video streamed
[16:35] through YouTube live at
[16:37] youtube.com/rronoteva.
[16:39] Council meetings are offered with closed
[16:42] captioning for the deaf or heart of
[16:44] hearing. This time I'll ask our deputy
[16:46] city clerk, Miss Webb to please call the
[16:48] role.
[16:49] >> Miss Powers
[16:50] >> here.
[16:51] >> Mr. Hagen
[16:52] >> here. Miss Sanchez Jones, Vice Mayor
[16:54] Magguire
[16:55] >> here,
[16:56] >> Mr. Nash
[16:57] >> here,
[16:57] >> Mr. Volison
[16:58] >> here,
[16:58] >> and Mayor Cobb
[16:59] >> here, and we are all present. Thank you.
[17:02] We have uh three uh items for action
[17:05] this morning. The first is a
[17:07] communication from my office requesting
[17:09] that the council convene in a closed
[17:10] meeting to discuss vacancies on certain
[17:13] authorities, boards, commissions, and
[17:15] committees appointed by the council
[17:17] pursuant to section 2.2-3711A1, 2-3711A1
[17:20] code of Virginia is amended. Uh for
[17:23] those uh interested, the boards and
[17:26] commissions we'll be considering
[17:27] appointments for are listed in the
[17:29] agenda. Need a motion and second. Please
[17:32] >> move the motion.
[17:34] >> Council members Vol and Powers. Madame
[17:37] Clerk, will you please call the role?
[17:39] >> Miss Powers
[17:41] >> here. I [laughter]
[17:43] >> Mr. Hagen.
[17:44] >> I.
[17:44] >> Miss Sanchez Jones.
[17:45] >> Hi.
[17:46] >> Vice Mayor Magguire.
[17:47] >> Hi. Mr. Nash,
[17:49] >> I
[17:49] >> Mr. Vison,
[17:50] >> I mayor Cobb,
[17:52] >> I and the motion is adopted. A
[17:54] communication from the city attorney
[17:56] requesting that city council convene in
[17:58] a closed meeting to consult with legal
[18:00] counsel regarding a certain legal matter
[18:02] requiring the provision of legal advice
[18:04] by the city attorney concerning contract
[18:06] obligations involving a city-owned
[18:08] facility in the central part of the city
[18:10] of Rono pursuant to section 2.2-3711A8
[18:15] code of Virginia is amended. I'll
[18:16] entertain a motion and second, please.
[18:18] >> So moved. [snorts]
[18:19] >> Second.
[18:20] >> Thank you, council members Hagen and
[18:22] Bison. Madame clerk, will you please
[18:23] call the role?
[18:24] >> Miss Powers.
[18:25] >> Hi.
[18:26] >> Mr. Hagen.
[18:27] >> Hi.
[18:27] >> Miss Sanchez Jones.
[18:29] >> Vice Mayor Maguire.
[18:30] >> Hi.
[18:30] >> Mr. Nash.
[18:31] >> Hi.
[18:32] >> Mr. Volison.
[18:33] >> Hi.
[18:33] >> And Mayor Cobb.
[18:34] >> I. The motion is adopted. And lastly, a
[18:37] communication from the city manager
[18:38] requesting that city council convene in
[18:40] a closed meeting to discuss or consider
[18:42] the disposition of publicly held real
[18:44] property in the northwest area of the
[18:46] city where discussion in an open meeting
[18:48] would adversely affect the bargaining
[18:50] position or negotiating strategy of the
[18:53] public body pursuant to section
[18:55] 2.2-3711A3
[18:58] code of Virginia as amended. I'll
[19:00] entertain a motion and second please.
[19:01] >> I moved the motion.
[19:03] >> Second.
[19:04] >> Thank you. Council members Powers and
[19:06] Bolison. Madame Clerk, will you please
[19:08] call the role?
[19:08] >> Miss Powers.
[19:10] >> Hi.
[19:10] >> Mr. Hagen.
[19:11] >> Hi.
[19:12] >> Miss Sanchez Jones. Vice Mayor
[19:14] Magcguire.
[19:14] >> Hi.
[19:15] >> Mr. Nash.
[19:16] >> Hi.
[19:16] >> Mr. Volison.
[19:17] >> Hi.
[19:17] >> And Mayor Cobb.
[19:18] >> Hi. And the motion is adopted. At this
[19:21] time, I'm going to recess our council
[19:22] meeting and turn the meeting over to
[19:24] Vice Mayor McGuire, who also chairs our
[19:26] legislative committee.
[19:29] >> Thank you, Mayor.
[19:31] I will call to order the October 5th
[19:34] meeting of the Rono City Legislative
[19:36] Committee
[19:38] and ask our clerk to please call the
[19:40] role.
[19:41] >> Mr. Hagen
[19:42] >> here.
[19:43] >> Miss Sanchez Jones
[19:44] >> here.
[19:44] >> Mayor Cobb
[19:45] >> here.
[19:46] >> Mr. Nash
[19:47] >> here.
[19:47] >> Mr. Volison
[19:48] >> here.
[19:49] >> Miss Powers
[19:50] >> here.
[19:50] >> Miss Appel
[19:51] >> here.
[19:52] >> Mr. Kaknes
[19:53] >> here.
[19:54] >> And Chairman Magcguire
[19:56] >> here.
[19:58] >> Thank you all for being here today. Um,
[20:00] I'm going to quickly run through uh the
[20:03] agenda and then I hope we can jump right
[20:04] in. We will be joined again by uh
[20:07] Clayton Cox and Scott Binkley, our
[20:08] federal legislative
[20:10] advocates. Uh we'll hear from Mr.
[20:12] Winters regarding one of the housing uh
[20:15] items.
[20:17] Perhaps turn it over, get an update from
[20:19] our RCPS friends if they'd like to share
[20:21] anything. But the goal for today is
[20:22] going to be uh getting this draft
[20:26] document that everyone on council has a
[20:28] copy of. Um if anyone in the audience
[20:30] does not but would like to follow along
[20:32] I have extra copies we can pass that to
[20:34] you. Um what we are working to finalize
[20:38] are our top priorities for the
[20:40] legislative agenda and then under each
[20:42] bucket
[20:43] uh there are also positions. The idea is
[20:46] that we will have a final
[20:49] one pager that lists all of our top
[20:51] priorities very similar I hope to the
[20:52] very nice document that our friends at
[20:54] RCPS put together. We will then have a
[20:56] document that includes all of our
[20:58] positions and then we will have a
[21:00] document that we will use on our side um
[21:03] that includes all of the um code
[21:05] amendment language so that when we're
[21:06] meeting with our legislative officials
[21:08] and they say, "Well, what does this
[21:09] mean? You want to support legislation to
[21:12] allow localities to establish anti-rink
[21:15] gouging ordinances or whatever." we will
[21:16] have um our talking points, but I don't
[21:18] want um I want to keep to based off of
[21:21] the feedback from our delegates and our
[21:23] senator and our lobbyists that we uh
[21:25] keep this to a one-page document. So,
[21:28] that's the goal. At the end of this
[21:29] meeting, I hope to turn this over to the
[21:31] city attorney, the city manager's office
[21:34] uh and Mr. Bryant and his team to
[21:36] finesse this and turn it into a final
[21:38] document that is ready for us to approve
[21:40] at our next meeting. What we have to do
[21:43] today is we can go through I believe we
[21:45] have consensus on a number of the top
[21:47] priorities. Right now we have I think
[21:49] five. Delegate Rousul was clear and
[21:51] asking us to keep this to three to six.
[21:53] So five I think is right there in that.
[21:56] Um I'm going to go through each of these
[21:59] uh and we can discuss those. If we have
[22:00] consensus I'll put a check mark where we
[22:02] don't. We should have discussion
[22:05] and then on any items that have been
[22:07] recently added we received feedback on
[22:09] Friday and over the weekend. um from
[22:12] staff and the mayor. So there are a
[22:13] couple of items in here that are in
[22:14] italics. Uh these are not uh
[22:19] these are suggested. So therefore
[22:21] discussion today, their inclusion in
[22:23] this in italics does not guarantee or
[22:25] indicate that they are going to be in
[22:27] the final. I'm adding them here for the
[22:29] group's discussion because I have not
[22:31] had a chance to review them and council
[22:32] has not had a chance to review them. So
[22:34] this is our opportunity.
[22:36] So, to jump right in before I start,
[22:38] does anyone have any um Oh, and I'll
[22:40] also say um I'm not I'm gonna make uh
[22:42] Miss Keeny, let me know if I need a
[22:43] motion um to approve our minutes at the
[22:45] next meeting.
[22:47] >> Need a motion.
[22:48] >> Okay, great. Thank you. We'll do that at
[22:49] the next meeting.
[22:51] Does anyone have any questions about
[22:52] this before we jump in?
[22:58] Okay, great. Well, the first uh item on
[23:01] the list was housing. Our priority ask
[23:04] is uh well actually I'll yeah I'll do
[23:08] this and then we can turn it over to our
[23:09] friends on the phone. I don't know the
[23:11] best way to jump through this. Um the
[23:14] first item is housing. We are seeking
[23:16] reintroduction of HB181 which would
[23:18] allow the creation of affordable
[23:19] dwelling unit program. Uh this is a
[23:22] state program. We need action from the
[23:24] state to allow Rono to be added to that
[23:26] list. There was a bill put forward last
[23:28] year. uh there is a study uh to look at
[23:32] this that is being conducted right now.
[23:35] This cannot pass if it is not uh we this
[23:37] cannot take effect if it's not acted on
[23:39] again in this session. So if this
[23:41] remains our priority, we have to include
[23:43] it. The caveat here is that the bill
[23:45] last year called for a study to look at
[23:47] what this would um what this would mean
[23:50] for Ronoke. That study does not come out
[23:52] until November. So I'll turn it over if
[23:54] anyone uh would like to say anything
[23:56] about the housing piece of this. I'm
[23:57] just not sure how that intersects
[23:59] directly that we won't get the results
[24:01] of the housing study until November, but
[24:03] we're asking to put this on our
[24:04] legislative agenda right now. So, that's
[24:07] the only piece I'm not sure of on the
[24:08] housing priority. So, I'd open that up
[24:10] for discussion and clarification.
[24:15] » Vice Mayor,
[24:16] >> Mr.
[24:18] November, like next month,
[24:20] >> correct?
[24:20] >> Okay. Not the
[24:21] >> Yeah, not 27.
[24:22] >> I was worried that's what they were
[24:24] thinking. I know that this has been a
[24:25] the study has been a contentious part of
[24:27] this whole legislative part of it. Um I
[24:30] think what I' I've heard is that they're
[24:32] going to be looking at uh what this
[24:34] program has done in other localities and
[24:36] then also looking at what Richmond has
[24:38] done in their area
[24:40] >> which seems to be um favored by the the
[24:43] homebuilders.
[24:44] >> Um I would just suggest that we also
[24:46] reach out to the homebuilders
[24:47] association uh about this issue. Mhm.
[24:50] >> Um but I definitely think that uh this
[24:53] is something we've heard from the the
[24:54] citizens on multiple times that they
[24:56] would like to um
[24:59] to have an affordable dwelling unit
[25:01] program here in the city and I think
[25:02] it's worth being a priority yet again.
[25:05] >> Thank you, Mr. Bison. Before I turn it
[25:06] to Mr. Hagen, I agree. The question
[25:08] though is how do we uh handle the study
[25:11] not being out yet and the inclusion of
[25:12] this item on our legislative agenda, Mr.
[25:14] Hagen?
[25:14] >> Which was what exactly what I was going
[25:16] to point out. like I would be con like
[25:18] I'm in favor of this in general but if
[25:20] the studies suggest that hey this may
[25:22] not be a good idea we won't know that
[25:24] until um November or if it is you know
[25:29] neither good nor bad then we are going
[25:31] to have to weigh it. So that would be a
[25:33] question if it's not necessarily
[25:34] supportive but kind of a neutral stance
[25:37] on the report. So that's the only
[25:39] concern that I would have about
[25:41] approving it pending um any sort of
[25:44] review by this body. How about uh we
[25:47] just remove that last pending a
[25:49] supportive recommendation. Um you know I
[25:52] think even if it uh I think we can
[25:56] approve it today and if we need to if it
[25:58] does come out in a negative form or that
[26:00] we find some reason not to try and
[26:02] continue to go forward with this that we
[26:04] can amend it uh at a future meeting. But
[26:07] I do think that this is an important uh
[26:09] legislation and uh delegate Rul is the
[26:12] one pushing it and if you don't get
[26:14] support from the locality then how are
[26:15] we going to expect the state to take us
[26:18] seriously about this this ask?
[26:21] >> I'll turn it over to Mr. Winter if he
[26:23] has any thoughts. I think what Mr. Vison
[26:25] is suggesting is that we leave this
[26:27] included uh and if we don't get a
[26:30] positive recommendation from the study
[26:32] that we would amend the legislative
[26:34] agenda sometime later this fall. All
[26:37] right. Thank you very much. I'm open to
[26:39] that. Mr. Winter, do you want to share
[26:40] anything?
[26:41] >> Sure. What I'd like to do is uh take you
[26:43] through a presentation. Um I think given
[26:46] our TV audience kind of give a little
[26:48] bit of background about HB 181 um as
[26:51] well as uh toward the end of the
[26:53] presentation kind of give you an update
[26:54] as to where we are uh working on the
[26:57] study. Okay. Um I did uh give you a
[27:02] update on the presentation. I made some
[27:04] slight tweaks to the presentation. U it
[27:07] is there in content pretty much but you
[27:09] know just some uh so you have the
[27:11] updated version. and I can be sure that
[27:12] you get an electronic copy.
[27:20] So, good morning, Vice Mayor Maguire,
[27:22] chair of this legislative committee,
[27:24] Mayor Cobb, members of city council,
[27:27] Miss Turner,
[27:29] city manager, and other guests of the
[27:31] legislative committee. My presentation
[27:33] this morning is a general overview of
[27:35] the Virginia General Assembly House Bill
[27:38] 181, an ordinance for the purpose of
[27:40] developing an affordable dwelling unit
[27:42] program in the city of Rona.
[27:47] My presentation this morning will walk
[27:49] you through these six presentation
[27:51] topics. A brief background of Virginia
[27:54] Bill House Bill 181. An overview of the
[27:57] bill. The primary two features or
[28:00] purposes that shape the scope of work.
[28:03] The analytical framework in which we are
[28:05] working under. In essence, the maximum
[28:07] possible benefit or capacity to produce
[28:10] ADUs,
[28:11] a review of the scope of work being done
[28:13] to complete the study required by the
[28:16] Virginia General Assembly, and what we
[28:18] have accomplished to date.
[28:24] In 2026, the 2026 session of the
[28:27] Virginia General Assembly, legislators
[28:29] enacting HB 181 to add the city of Rono
[28:33] to the list of localities authorized to
[28:36] adopt an affordable housing dwelling
[28:38] unit ADU program. The bill was sponsored
[28:41] by delegate Sam Rasul and approved by
[28:44] the governor on April 13, 2026 with
[28:47] conditions
[28:48] that the with the following condition
[28:50] that Virginia housing analyze the
[28:52] capacity of an ADU program for Rono.
[28:56] will be the seventh community to
[28:58] have an ADU program if approved. Other
[29:01] communities improve improve other
[29:03] communities include Alberal and Lowden
[29:06] County, Alexandria, Charlottesville,
[29:08] Fairfax, and false church.
[29:11] There was an amendment to the bill
[29:13] requiring Virginia Housing
[29:15] to analyze the capacity of an ADU
[29:17] program for Rono.
[29:19] Virginia Housing
[29:22] contacted the city of Rono and the
[29:24] consensus between Virginia Housing and
[29:26] the city of Ronok was to work with
[29:29] Virginia Housing was to contract with
[29:30] the Virginia Housing Research Center who
[29:33] also partnered with Housing First in
[29:35] order to do the study.
[29:41] The passage of HB181 gives Rono specific
[29:44] authority to establish an ADU program by
[29:47] amending its zoning ordinance to allow
[29:49] for the development of ADUs. The general
[29:51] assembly also passed House Bill 867
[29:54] which expands the authority to all
[29:56] localities by July 1, 2027.
[30:00] The expanded bill HB867
[30:04] expounds more on HB81 to address lot
[30:07] size, establishment of an affordable
[30:10] housing trust, conversion of commercial
[30:12] space to multif family housing, and
[30:15] financial incentives for ADU
[30:16] development. It is my understanding that
[30:20] although HB861 go 867 goes into effect
[30:23] July 1227,
[30:26] Rono is the test for HB181 for eventual
[30:29] implementation by other localities.
[30:41] The scope and eventual study is shaped
[30:43] by two things. First analysis of HB181
[30:46] for the provision of affordable housing
[30:48] in Rono and secondly the trigger of the
[30:51] reenactment clause which evidence of the
[30:54] study for the Virginia housing general
[30:56] assembly to for the reenactment
[30:58] decision. In essence the study will help
[31:01] tweak the bill and eventual passage
[31:04] based on the information that they uh
[31:06] discovered in the study when it's
[31:08] completed.
[31:14] As stated previously, Virginia Housing
[31:16] has engaged Virginia Center for Housing
[31:19] Research at Virginia Tech.
[31:22] Thank you.
[31:29] In collaboration with Housing uh Forward
[31:32] Virginia to support the statutoily
[31:33] required analysis and to produce a
[31:36] deliverable suite achieving the
[31:37] following three things. inform the
[31:40] reenactment decision. Support Royal
[31:43] Oak's eventual program design. Contri
[31:46] contribute method methodology to the
[31:49] best practice documentation that can
[31:51] benefit other Virginia communities
[31:54] considering an ADU unit ADU program.
[32:00] The analytical framework. The analytical
[32:03] framework for the study in essence will
[32:05] hopefully produce the following. Project
[32:07] projected unit production will produce
[32:10] the following pardon me. Projected unit
[32:13] production, depth of affordability,
[32:16] durability of affordability,
[32:18] geographic distribution, [snorts]
[32:21] developer uptake, alignment of unit mix
[32:24] with documented housing needs or goals,
[32:26] and the administrative feasibility of
[32:28] the program.
[32:31] [snorts]
[32:34] Excuse me. The scope of work that
[32:36] Virginia Center for Housing Research
[32:38] will conduct consists of these seven
[32:40] task and deliverables.
[32:43] [snorts] Task one, policy and statutory
[32:45] review. The the deliverable policy and
[32:48] statutory memo as authored by Virginia
[32:52] Housing. Um
[32:55] task number two, RO housing market gap
[32:58] analysis. Task number three, ADU
[33:00] exchange calibration analysis. This is
[33:02] one of the things that I'm pretty much
[33:04] looking forward to because it allows us
[33:06] with an Excel spreadsheet to put a lot
[33:08] of data into that information to kind of
[33:10] see what it comes up with. So, we're
[33:12] looking forward to that. Task number
[33:14] four, additional documentation and best
[33:16] practices.
[33:18] Task number five, stakeholder
[33:20] engagement. Task number six,
[33:22] implementation, capacity assessment.
[33:25] Task number seven, program design,
[33:27] recommendations, and final summary
[33:28] findings. All these have deliverables.
[33:31] Um they're in your packet that we'll be
[33:33] looking forward to when the study is
[33:35] completed.
[33:49] the combined program design and the
[33:50] final summary of the findings memo
[33:52] delivered to the city of Ronoke and
[33:55] Virginia housing by October 30th and
[33:58] Virginia housing delivering of the
[34:01] report to the Virginia housing committee
[34:02] on November 1st. So we get a report at
[34:05] the end of October in which in turn the
[34:08] uh consultants that we are working with
[34:10] will also deliver that program to
[34:11] Virginia housing. Virginia Houser will
[34:13] in turn because they're the ones that
[34:15] are tasked with doing the uh the study,
[34:17] they will then report this to the
[34:18] general general assembly committee
[34:29] accomplishments.
[34:31] The city of Ron economic de e economic
[34:33] development department and the office of
[34:35] housing and neighborhood services have
[34:37] been meeting and strategizing with
[34:39] Virginia center for housing research to
[34:42] complete the study.
[34:44] The following are our accomplishments to
[34:46] date. September 9th kickoff meeting.
[34:51] Virginia Center for Housing Research at
[34:53] Virginia Tech, Housing Ford Virginia,
[34:56] City of Ron Nook Department of Economic
[34:58] Development, and the Office of Housing
[35:00] and Neighborhood Services. This was our
[35:01] initial kickoff that we had uh in order
[35:03] to kind of see what the scope was about
[35:05] and how we would move forward with an
[35:06] with a timeline of activities.
[35:09] September 18th, meeting with nonprofit
[35:12] developers, Habitat for Humanity,
[35:15] Renovation Alliance, Restoration
[35:17] Housing, Ron Oak Development and Housing
[35:19] Authority, Total Action for Progress.
[35:22] Actually, Ron Oak development and
[35:23] housing authority is not a nonprofit of
[35:25] course um but they are a stakeholder
[35:26] kind of considered under that category.
[35:31] September 24th meeting held with the
[35:33] for-profit developers. Over 20
[35:36] stakeholders, including for-profit
[35:38] developers, were on the call with the
[35:40] consultants. September 30th, meeting
[35:43] with the city of Rono planning
[35:44] department.
[35:50] Our next steps,
[35:53] another run of calls with none um with
[35:56] none on for-profit developers. Schedule
[35:58] a meeting with Home Builders
[36:00] Association.
[36:02] Focus on deliverables for HB81
[36:05] deadline of November 1st. Continue the
[36:08] study as related to HB867 into November
[36:10] and December. This bill will have to be
[36:13] reintroduced in the 2027 session of the
[36:16] Virginia General Assembly.
[36:18] » [snorts]
[36:18] >> So although we received the reports both
[36:20] in October and November, the consultants
[36:22] are going to continue because it's such
[36:23] a lot of data information that they're
[36:25] putting together for us that we should
[36:27] receive a final report with
[36:29] recommendations and implementation
[36:31] um regarding the ADU program. Hopefully
[36:34] if it's enacted that we can put together
[36:36] fairly quickly and we anticipate that
[36:38] we'll receive that information hopefully
[36:40] by the end of the year.
[36:45] Oops.
[36:47] Thank you. Questions winter
[36:50] >> and I'll rely on my co the legislative
[36:52] colleagues as well to answer any
[36:53] questions that you may have.
[36:58] » Alison,
[37:00] [laughter]
[37:01] >> yeah, I'm I'm kind of surprised at the
[37:04] timeline of this study. It seems to be
[37:06] very um I mean it's only a month to do a
[37:09] study about such an important topic and
[37:11] important issue uh for both the city and
[37:15] the Commonwealth. Um, I guess that
[37:18] that's a I'm kind of wondering why it
[37:21] and this may be not a question for you,
[37:23] Mr. Winter, but for our legislative
[37:25] friends, as to why it took so long to
[37:27] get this uh study ready to go uh when it
[37:31] was enacted back last uh I guess March
[37:35] would been when it was done. And so
[37:37] we're just starting it and we're
[37:38] cramming it into a one-mon period. Um,
[37:40] and as somebody who's worked in uh urban
[37:43] planning and and data analysis, it's not
[37:45] a very long time to deal with all the
[37:47] policies and intricacies of what go into
[37:49] our housing. And so it may not be a
[37:51] question, but more of a comment that um
[37:55] I'll be very interested to see what the
[37:57] results are of this considering the
[37:59] short uh time span uh that there is. I
[38:03] also wonder wondered if there's any um I
[38:06] see that we have stakeholders that are
[38:08] for-profit developers and nonprofit
[38:09] developers. Are there any other
[38:11] stakeholders that would be um brought
[38:14] into this?
[38:16] >> If I may, besides the home builders
[38:18] association, which we want to talk to,
[38:19] we have asked also asked our
[38:21] stakeholders to reach out to anyone else
[38:24] who they think would be interested in
[38:26] this as well. So we're hoping that the
[38:28] next round of meetings that we have that
[38:30] there'll be more people also um
[38:32] including in this meeting and giving
[38:34] their input regarding the
[38:36] >> Is there any um I guess my question is there any uh input from the political
[38:41] stakeholders as well um because it is a
[38:44] political uh ask that we are making
[38:49] >> absolutely um you know when we were when
[38:53] they contacted us we we were pleasantly
[38:55] surprised that um we were being included
[38:58] um and we owe a lot of uh debt of
[39:00] gratitude to Delegate Rasul um for that.
[39:03] Um so anyone that we can get involved um
[39:07] and absolutely I mean it's it's it's
[39:09] your legislative agenda so we certainly
[39:11] would want to make sure that our local
[39:12] officials had a voice at the table as
[39:14] well.
[39:18] » So um and I apologize I'm a little bit
[39:21] confused. What does H uh H18 um1 do that
[39:26] HB867
[39:27] wouldn't
[39:29] >> just besides adding us?
[39:30] >> We we are like the test, [clears throat]
[39:32] right?
[39:32] >> Yeah. Okay.
[39:33] >> Okay. And so what that does once they
[39:35] receive the test then it helps to align
[39:38] the final bill that's going to be um
[39:41] introduced next year. Um
[39:45] >> Okay, I see. So it was just creating
[39:46] this HB181
[39:49] just creates the study puts us on this
[39:51] list but it gets applied to everybody in
[39:53] Virginia it does anyway with 867
[39:55] >> does but we help to frame that study so
[39:58] when it gets ready to for reenactment
[40:00] for instance the study can say that
[40:02] there are certain things certain
[40:03] capacity uh regarding the bill and I'll
[40:05] defer to my legislative um colleagues as
[40:07] well
[40:08] >> but using an example I listed several
[40:11] examples in here lot sizes that study
[40:14] would help the Virginia general general
[40:15] assembly to determine how they're going
[40:17] to move forward with with the final
[40:18] reenactment of the bill. It is my
[40:21] understanding that as they're moving
[40:22] forward, what has happened is there
[40:24] other communities coming forward as well
[40:26] uh in terms of who wants to have this
[40:28] done. So this what we are doing in terms
[40:30] of the study helps to kind of put all of
[40:32] that within context. That is my
[40:33] understanding.
[40:36] >> May I may I um
[40:37] >> well yeah sure Mr. Visonson one second.
[40:39] I think my question is the same. If
[40:41] HB867 has already passed
[40:44] >> and [clears throat] it's going to come
[40:46] into effect in July 1 of 2027, how would
[40:49] our study for HB181 inform a law that's
[40:52] already passed and going into effect?
[40:54] >> I would defer to my legislative
[40:55] committees, but that is how I understand
[40:57] the process.
[40:58] >> Okay, Mr. Bison.
[40:59] >> So, it's actually SB867.
[41:02] It's a state bill that was put in by uh
[41:05] I believe Miss Boy and Mr. Bryant, you
[41:08] can correct me if I'm wrong. Um, but
[41:10] it's a Senate bill. So, ours was a House
[41:13] bill that was put in for Rono to be
[41:15] added to that list. At the same time, in
[41:17] the Senate, uh, Miss Boyco, I believe,
[41:20] put in this bill, uh, that would make
[41:22] every locality in Virginia have the
[41:25] ability to do an an affordable dwelling
[41:27] unit. They then were both tied to this
[41:30] housing study that they're that they're
[41:32] doing for Ron Oak. So the decision on
[41:35] whether HB81 and H SB867
[41:40] because they're very much similar and
[41:43] that we're asking for ADUs and you know
[41:45] this would do it for everybody. They're
[41:47] both tied to that same study and so that
[41:50] will inform whether u final passage
[41:54] actually happens.
[41:55] >> SB 867 passed the legislature.
[41:58] >> Yeah. just like HB181 passed the
[42:00] legislature, but it's it's contingent
[42:03] upon the study that we have.
[42:06] >> And so Rowan Oak is like the pilot to
[42:09] build a statewide model.
[42:11] >> So they'll take our statewide model.
[42:14] >> They're going to implement a bill in
[42:15] July and use what we're doing to inform
[42:17] that.
[42:18] >> Correct. Yes.
[42:21] >> Mr. Hagen, does that help?
[42:23] >> Yeah. Yeah.
[42:23] >> Question. [clears throat]
[42:27] Thank you for the clarification.
[42:31] » Anyone else have any other questions on
[42:33] this bill or Mr. Winter's presentation?
[42:37] >> Mayor,
[42:38] >> uh, Vice Mayor, I would I I appreciate
[42:40] the context and the presentation. Um,
[42:42] and I'm grateful that Ron Oak's uh
[42:45] included in this and that we can be a
[42:46] pilot for this for the larger
[42:49] Commonwealth. I would I would u support
[42:53] keeping this as a priority ask uh with
[42:56] the understanding that um once we
[43:00] receive the final report that if if we
[43:03] need to amend the ask we can do that.
[43:07] >> Sounds good. I think there's agreement.
[43:08] We will move forward then with keeping
[43:10] this as our priority ask uh pending
[43:12] results of that recommendation that
[43:14] we'll get soon and so we'll look to your
[43:16] team to keep us informed um on that and
[43:19] appreciate your information today. Thank
[43:21] you.
[43:21] >> All right. Thank you.
[43:22] >> Oh, vice mayor.
[43:22] >> Yes, sir.
[43:23] >> And I was just going to I was just going
[43:24] to add that on October 30th when that
[43:27] information comes in if we can make sure
[43:29] that council gets that that day as well
[43:32] >> because I want to see that.
[43:34] >> Yeah, I want to see that before Tuesday.
[43:36] Oh, not Tuesday. for the second on
[43:38] Monday. So,
[43:40] >> yep. Yes, I think that's a good idea.
[43:41] Thank you, Mr. Nash.
[43:43] >> Thank you again, Mr. Winter.
[43:45] >> Thank you.
[43:45] >> I'm not going to go through all of the
[43:47] positions that are um on the housing
[43:50] bucket, but if you uh those are none of
[43:53] those are new uh to as of today. Um so,
[43:56] I'll move on to public safety. This is
[43:59] also Yes, sir. Mr. Vol. I just wanted to
[44:01] just make a note that I feel that um the
[44:04] supporting the giving localities more
[44:06] tools to address blight and
[44:08] non-compliant property owners. I think
[44:10] that's something that we hear all the
[44:11] time from our constituents about and I
[44:13] would uh want to put that as a priority.
[44:16] >> Um I know last time we did a ranking s
[44:19] of of our choices and stuff. Um and so I
[44:23] just wanted to make clear that that was
[44:25] something that I think is is a priority
[44:26] for the city.
[44:27] >> Do you think Mr.
[44:28] that should take priority over the
[44:31] current priority ask of HB181.
[44:33] >> No.
[44:34] >> So, you want to keep it in the
[44:35] positions?
[44:36] >> I mean, I would I would think that we
[44:38] should elevate it to a priority ask, but
[44:40] I um you know, I obviously am not the
[44:43] council.
[44:46] >> Well, the feedback we have received is
[44:48] strong strong heavy encouragement to
[44:50] have one priority per area. So, if you
[44:53] would like to make uh a motion that we
[44:55] have two priorities for housing, I'd be
[44:57] glad to entertain that and you can make
[44:59] the case.
[45:00] >> I was just I would make that motion, but
[45:02] I also see that like under
[45:03] transportation we have three asks.
[45:05] >> Well, we have to again we're working
[45:07] towards that where we're going to
[45:08] whittle that down to one.
[45:09] >> Okay. We're going to put make that to
[45:11] one. Okay. All right. Well, then that
[45:12] makes sense. I'm happy to continue the
[45:14] way we are then if we're just doing one.
[45:18] >> Everyone okay with that? All right.
[45:20] Thank you so much. Moving along to
[45:22] public safety, the priority ask would be
[45:24] keeping uh what we asked for last year,
[45:28] which was HB11 in 2026. This was
[45:31] legislation that would provide those
[45:32] under emergency custody order upon
[45:35] completion of medical evaluation or care
[45:37] with transportation to an approved
[45:39] treatment center or return to their
[45:41] residents. The idea is this would help
[45:43] reunite people with their family and
[45:45] community and improve their odds of
[45:46] recovery while reducing strain on local
[45:49] government services. Um this is uh was
[45:53] important to us last year. Ronut
[45:54] Memorial is one of the only uh level one
[45:58] trauma facilities in the state. So we
[46:00] get a lot of folks sent to us under
[46:01] emergency custody order that don't
[46:03] always have resources to get back to
[46:05] where they came from. So this is an
[46:07] attempt um to uh make sure that there
[46:09] are resources for transportation on both
[46:11] ends. U Mayor, this was your priority
[46:14] last year. I'd be glad to turn it over
[46:15] to you if you want to say anything. Um
[46:18] yeah, this this took kind of an
[46:19] interesting twisty road during the
[46:21] general assembly that I didn't quite
[46:23] fully understand. Uh because this was
[46:25] originally to add um this as an
[46:29] additional part of a bill that already
[46:32] exists that's already law uh to provide
[46:35] this provision um and to to look at
[46:38] potential funding um to help expedite
[46:41] this. So I would I would fully support
[46:44] the continuence of this as a priority.
[46:47] And I think it also addresses
[46:49] uh one of the issues we were concerned
[46:51] about um that was a contributing factor
[46:55] to I wouldn't say a large increase but
[46:58] um part of the increase we've seen
[47:01] related to homelessness in the
[47:02] community. So this would be a way for
[47:06] >> Thank you, mayor. I support keeping it
[47:08] as our um priority ask for 2027 and
[47:12] would open it up to feedback from
[47:14] council or city manager or anyone else
[47:16] who would like to say anything or add
[47:18] comment.
[47:20] If we feel good, we can leave that. I
[47:21] think there was agreement on that one.
[47:24] Okay. I will So, moving ahead, there are
[47:25] positions under public safety. I will
[47:27] note that there are two additions that
[47:30] were um that are in italics at the
[47:32] bottom. These were submitted by staff.
[47:34] Because they're new, I'll quickly read
[47:36] them. One, support amending the code of
[47:38] Virginia to include public safety
[47:40] telecommunicators, 911 emergency
[47:42] communications officers, and dispatchers
[47:44] among the public safety professionals
[47:46] eligible for workers compensation
[47:48] benefits for work-related post-traumatic
[47:51] stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and
[47:53] depressive disorders resulting from
[47:55] qualifying mental health and traumatic
[47:57] events experienced in the line of duty.
[47:59] Number two, also related to um E911
[48:03] officers support amending Code of
[48:05] Virginia to provide those officers the
[48:06] same legal protections afforded to other
[48:08] first responders by including them in
[48:10] statutes addressing assaults, threats,
[48:12] intimidation, obstruction, and
[48:13] interference while performing official
[48:16] duties. The legislation should establish
[48:18] enhanced penalties for individuals who
[48:20] knowingly assault, threaten, intimidate,
[48:22] or otherwise interfere with a public
[48:24] safety telecommunicator in the per in
[48:26] the performance of their official
[48:27] duties. Um, again, these were uh
[48:30] recently added, so they're in italics,
[48:32] so we can open them up for feedback or
[48:34] any comments from staff or council.
[48:38] >> Yes, sir. Mr. Hagen,
[48:39] >> I think they're both good uh positions
[48:41] for us to have as we discuss with our
[48:43] legislators. Um, just, you know, it's good to have them, but given the uh
[48:50] the priority ask it, I think like um
[48:53] that it's good to just keep it as
[48:55] position.
[48:56] Just my two cents.
[48:58] Alison.
[48:59] >> So, I would consider these two actually
[49:01] not new, but a kind of more in-depth
[49:03] version of uh two um bullets before
[49:06] that, which is supporting the amending
[49:08] the code of Virginia to include public
[49:10] safety telecommunicators. Um it's just
[49:13] them stating it in a more uh finite way.
[49:16] So, I would suggest that we remove that
[49:18] previous bullet and leave the two that
[49:20] are uh more detailed in.
[49:24] >> Thank you, Mr. Fison. I'll note that.
[49:25] And what we're going to do with this uh
[49:27] because these are new additions and
[49:28] we're um discussing them and digesting
[49:30] them today is uh we will I'm going to
[49:33] run these through the city manager's
[49:34] office and the city attorney's office
[49:35] again just to make sure there's no um
[49:38] duplicative language and that everything
[49:39] in here is uh worded appropriately. So I
[49:42] think that's a good suggestion. Thank
[49:43] you, Mr. Bison.
[49:47] Anything else on those two new
[49:49] positions?
[49:51] >> Okay. Yes, ma'am. I will make a comment
[49:53] on the um 911 the added ones. I have um
[49:57] heard that there are some other
[49:59] localities doing this.
[50:01] >> So we wouldn't you know it's looks like
[50:04] it's going to get at it with some other
[50:07] localities. I wish I could remember
[50:09] which ones told me they were going to do
[50:10] it, but I remember
[50:12] >> and I I'll jump and share an idea that I
[50:15] had when I was kind of reviewing some of
[50:16] this over the weekend in that, you know,
[50:18] we have like VML and I would be
[50:21] interested to see how much of what we
[50:24] have listed here VML are already
[50:28] planning on perhaps lobbying and
[50:30] advocating for and where there's, you
[50:34] know, the, you know, the the
[50:36] similarities between what we have here
[50:38] and what they're going to be working on.
[50:40] Then we can just, you know, have Brian
[50:41] or whoever, right? Kind of work with VML
[50:44] as we go up there. But
[50:46] >> is anybody going to the VML conference
[50:47] this weekend?
[50:48] >> Okay. Then I would suggest that you
[50:52] that's where that's where those things
[50:53] get worked out is at conferences. They
[50:55] do the the policy work in the
[50:56] summertime.
[50:58] >> Yeah.
[50:58] >> I'm glad to see where the crosssections
[51:01] are.
[51:02] >> Yeah. I mean, because I would be
[51:03] interested to see, you know, where we
[51:04] can maybe lighten our load a little bit
[51:06] because this thing is getting kind of
[51:07] thick and if we can reduce some of this
[51:11] um and you know, and they have their own
[51:13] lobbyist and their own kind of levers
[51:15] that they're pulling on. Um it might
[51:16] just be more efficient for um our city's
[51:20] lobbyists if we can kind of reduce this
[51:22] a little bit and and share some of these
[51:24] priorities with BML.
[51:28] >> Yeah, I think that's a good suggestion.
[51:29] Thank you, Mr. Nash. Moving [cough]
[51:32] on to economic development, we have a
[51:34] suggested uh new priority ask for 2027.
[51:37] I'll read it off and then I will let um
[51:40] our mayor, if you would like, or anyone
[51:41] else from the city manager's office say
[51:43] a word about that or staff broadly. Uh,
[51:46] under economic development, support a
[51:48] $17.5 million state investment in the
[51:52] 2027 general assembly session to
[51:54] complete detailed planning for Radford
[51:56] University's new Rono academic health
[51:58] sciences building, positioning Rono to
[52:01] educate more health care professionals
[52:02] and address health workforce shortages
[52:05] across Virginia, particularly in rural
[52:07] and underserved communities.
[52:10] So, I would open that up for um
[52:12] discussion. Mayor, if you'd like to
[52:14] >> Thank you, Vice Mayor. Um, so I handed
[52:16] out to all of you a couple of items that
[52:18] give a lot more more thorough detail on
[52:22] this new academic health sciences
[52:24] building. Uh, for those who may not be
[52:26] aware, um, Bradford is in the early
[52:29] stages of design for this um, and is
[52:34] advocating through the general assembly
[52:36] for state funding to support this
[52:38] effort. Um
[52:42] there was a similar effort that that was
[52:44] completed with um uh Virginia Tech
[52:48] Currillian School of Medicine for their
[52:50] uh expansion or actually their building
[52:52] of a new campus and 5 million of that
[52:55] was part of the construction pool budget
[52:57] this last year. uh in meeting with
[52:59] President Denilowitz and some of the
[53:02] leadership um because this is such a
[53:05] significant investment not only in the
[53:07] city of Rowan Oak but in our region and
[53:09] because it focuses u all of their health
[53:12] sciences into one primary location with
[53:16] an emphasis on rural health um and which
[53:19] is also critical for the region that
[53:21] we're in. I wanted to recommend that we
[53:24] support this. Uh this will be a
[53:25] multi-year process with the general
[53:27] assembly. Um and that's why I wanted you
[53:30] all to have the additional information
[53:32] about what will be included in this
[53:34] center. Um just to share with you the
[53:37] kind of summary ask I sent you a more
[53:40] extensive one earlier that talks about
[53:43] um what this facility will include which
[53:46] is uh modern instructional laboratory
[53:49] simulation and collaborative learning
[53:51] spaces needed to educate more health
[53:53] care professionals for the commonwealth.
[53:54] So this is going to be a big boost to
[53:56] our healthc care workforce pathway
[54:00] and uh it will be in uh located in our
[54:03] innovation corridor which is another key
[54:06] aspect and um as I said will support um
[54:10] Radford University center for rural
[54:12] health. Um so I would just offer that to
[54:15] you. um glad to try and answer any
[54:17] additional questions and if helpful I I
[54:20] would be glad to work with the manager
[54:22] to reach out to President Denilowitz um
[54:25] for a more thorough presentation for
[54:27] council on this. This is going to be an
[54:29] ongoing project.
[54:33] » Thank you, Vice Mayor McGuire and our
[54:34] teams have already been meeting um with
[54:36] Bradford. Um this is going to be a
[54:39] phenomenal addition um as the mayor
[54:41] stated to our innovation corridor. So
[54:44] anything that we can do obviously to
[54:46] assist them um we'd be happy to do so
[54:48] but um our team both economic
[54:50] development planning building and
[54:52] development we have already been meeting
[54:53] to ensure that they have a path forward
[54:56] as they're moving into the city.
[54:58] >> Very much so I think I heard but just to
[55:00] confirm you guys are comfortable with
[55:01] this as our top economic development
[55:03] priority as well.
[55:06] >> Well yes Mr. Vison
[55:07] >> I just had one question um and this was
[55:10] probably from Radford University. I'm
[55:12] just uh kind of surprised at the the
[55:15] high ask for design um because normally
[55:18] I don't see you know design asks that
[55:21] large and so just wondering what that's
[55:22] broken down into.
[55:24] >> I I'll pass that on and share with you
[55:26] all what I learned. Okay. I think it
[55:27] would also be helpful if we could get
[55:29] them here.
[55:30] >> Yeah, absolutely. You know, I'd love to
[55:31] have a present
[55:32] >> even before the general assembly perhaps
[55:34] in November uh to do a president. We
[55:37] could take you up on that. I think
[55:38] that's a great idea. I will extend that
[55:41] invitation.
[55:41] >> Thank you very much.
[55:43] >> Um well, I am comfortable leaving this
[55:46] here as our priority ask per um support
[55:50] from our economic development team and
[55:52] our city manager's office um and the
[55:54] mayor's research and support. Does
[55:57] anyone have any questions? Are we
[55:58] comfortable with this or Yes, sir. Mr.
[56:00] Nash.
[56:01] >> I'm comfortable with it. I just, you
[56:04] know, the wording [clears throat] in the
[56:05] last part of it where it's like
[56:06] positioning Rono to educate more health
[56:08] care professionals,
[56:10] you know, I would I would change Rono to
[56:13] Rafford University because like it's not
[56:15] like we like that what I'm trying to say
[56:19] >> like we're not educating anyone like
[56:22] we're letting them build a non-t taxable
[56:24] structure um in the innovation corridor
[56:27] and then they're doing the work of
[56:28] educating folks. So I don't think we
[56:31] should say Ron to educate more. You
[56:33] know, we're not I mean I don't know how
[56:34] many people are even CPR certified, you
[56:36] know what I mean? So I wouldn't say
[56:38] we're educating anyone. I would
[56:40] [clears throat] say to support Rafford
[56:41] in their pursuit to educate more
[56:44] professionals and health care workforce,
[56:47] you know, to address the health care
[56:48] workforce shortage across,
[56:51] you know, underserved communities
[56:53] because I think rural healthc care is
[56:54] going to look a lot different here for
[56:56] the next few years with a lot of the
[56:57] federal uh legislation and bills that
[57:02] are going on right now. So, but I would
[57:05] just change that. I just don't think it
[57:06] reads well and and you know closes that
[57:10] up that ask up nicely.
[57:13] >> Well, thank you for that suggestion and
[57:15] again we'll take that I wrote that down
[57:16] and we will be giving this to um Mr.
[57:19] Bryant's side and the city attorney city
[57:21] manager's office to get a um like an
[57:23] updated
[57:24] uh rewarding of this. So if uh we'll
[57:27] make sure that that's shared with all of
[57:28] council and uh if you see something that
[57:31] doesn't look like it meets that
[57:33] suggestion just let us know. But yeah,
[57:34] this is not the final wording. Thank you
[57:36] for that comment.
[57:38] Um,
[57:39] there are a number of positions under
[57:41] economic development. I won't read
[57:42] through each of those, but I will
[57:45] note uh Mr. Vol inquired about inclusion
[57:48] of the Rono Valley Alageney Regional
[57:50] Commission 2027 legislative agenda. Um,
[57:53] that's included.
[57:54] Were there any questions or comments
[57:56] about the other positions under economic
[57:58] development?
[58:02] Okay. Um, thank you. Moving on to
[58:05] transportation. Um, we would ideally
[58:08] find a one priority ask for this. If we
[58:11] can't, then maybe we revisit Mr. Volison
[58:13] suggestion that we have two priorities
[58:14] for other areas. Um, but what we are
[58:17] looking at are uh three asks. The
[58:20] support funding for the airport terminal
[58:22] upgrades, support funding for airport
[58:24] expansion feasibility and impact
[58:26] studies. Those were two different um
[58:28] buckets of money and requests.
[58:30] [clears throat] and then support funding
[58:31] to deliver an Amtrak station in downtown
[58:33] Rono. Um, I will just kick it off and
[58:37] say that I was supportive of including
[58:40] uh or having the Amtrak station be our
[58:42] priority ask and my thinking behind that
[58:45] was that it would have tremendous
[58:47] benefit to us to Reano City um directly.
[58:50] Uh there are no other entities that I'm
[58:52] aware of uh fighting for that for us. uh
[58:55] whereas the airport uh has every
[58:58] neighboring locality uh very uh involved
[59:02] and lobbying and very active and it's a
[59:05] clearly stated priority for us and is
[59:07] included um in the Alageney Regional
[59:09] Commission agenda which we say we
[59:11] support. So um that was my thinking on
[59:14] that but of course we are a body so we
[59:17] have to figure that out come to
[59:18] consensus. Um so I'll open it up to
[59:22] comment on that.
[59:24] I'll start with Miss Powers.
[59:26] >> So, I just used um the train this
[59:28] weekend. We took the train to Manasses.
[59:31] So, we had to be downtown very early
[59:33] Saturday morning and of course it was
[59:35] raining and so I think this is very
[59:37] important. I heard so many um
[59:40] complaints. Um no place to sit, no
[59:44] building to go in, no bathrooms nearby.
[59:46] So, I really think this is very
[59:48] important. And the train was sold out.
[59:52] So we were packed and uh so I think this
[59:55] is very important to move up especially
[59:58] um the other places that we went um you
[1:00:01] know they they had a station um so I I
[1:00:05] think for economic reasons as well this
[1:00:08] will really help um our reo
[1:00:13] Mr. Alison.
[1:00:14] >> Um so this past week the uh regional
[1:00:18] commission met with um delegate Russul
[1:00:22] um and we had previously met with
[1:00:24] delegate Austin. Um their suggestion on
[1:00:27] the um the uh airport uh ask is that we
[1:00:34] strike the um airport expansion
[1:00:37] feasibility and impact study. Uh they
[1:00:39] believe that is a more of a federal ask
[1:00:41] than it is a state ask. Mhm.
[1:00:43] >> Um they also supported the $40 million
[1:00:46] number that we put into the regional
[1:00:49] commission. I would suggest that we do
[1:00:51] that as well. Um and I would suggest
[1:00:53] that it still continue to be a priority
[1:00:55] and I do think this is a place where we
[1:00:56] might need to say we have two priorities
[1:00:58] here. um because the uh a lot of that
[1:01:02] lobbying seems to be coming to a head
[1:01:04] and that there might be a strong
[1:01:06] possibility of if we do a capital ask
[1:01:09] that it gets into this budget whereas if
[1:01:11] we're asking for a study or something
[1:01:13] like that it may not. Um the other thing
[1:01:16] with the Amtrak station uh I'm a huge
[1:01:19] proponent of it think that it would be
[1:01:20] great to have our station and have been
[1:01:22] asking on the TPO you know when is this
[1:01:25] happening and we're finally at that
[1:01:26] point where Amtrak wants us to build it.
[1:01:28] Um, do we have numbers for that? I think
[1:01:32] it's best when we're making these asks
[1:01:34] to say, hey, you know, right now we're
[1:01:36] at this point in the project, which may
[1:01:38] be like design and feasibility. I'm not
[1:01:41] sure. U Mandy, if you know where we are
[1:01:44] on the Amtrak station at all.
[1:01:47] [clears throat]
[1:01:47] >> Miss Crib, would you I think you've been
[1:01:49] called forward.
[1:01:50] >> Happen to be here.
[1:01:51] >> Um, yeah. So public works has kind of an
[1:01:55] rough estimate budget and so we have the
[1:01:58] preliminary engineering marked at about
[1:02:01] 300,000 and then full construction. Um
[1:02:05] they have they have a budget breakdown
[1:02:06] is about 20 mil and if we consider the
[1:02:09] 1.8 that we have set aside is like match
[1:02:13] so like maybe like 19 mil ask instead of
[1:02:18] that 20 but that's where we're at. So if
[1:02:22] we include we do have some numbers that
[1:02:23] we could attach to.
[1:02:25] >> Yeah. Okay.
[1:02:25] >> Yeah, we can send those over.
[1:02:26] >> I think that would be helpful. Very very
[1:02:28] helpful. Okay. But I do think that um
[1:02:30] you know even though uh we have a lot of
[1:02:33] partners that are supporting the
[1:02:34] airport, we are where the airport is
[1:02:36] located. And if we they don't have buyin
[1:02:38] from the locality, they're not going to
[1:02:41] uh override the locality with everybody
[1:02:43] else. And it's kind of what we saw with
[1:02:45] the casino in in uh Fairfax and kind of
[1:02:51] >> appreciate your perspective. I think we
[1:02:53] would just to clarify we that we would
[1:02:55] still be demonstrating our buy in and
[1:02:56] support by keeping it in our positions
[1:02:58] and as a priority. So I wouldn't suggest
[1:03:00] that we take out um supporting funding
[1:03:02] for airport terminal upgrades, but I I
[1:03:04] hear your your suggestion.
[1:03:07] Anyone else want to discuss this?
[1:03:09] >> Mr. [clears throat]
[1:03:10] Hill.
[1:03:10] >> Yes, sir. Mr. Nash.
[1:03:13] >> Nash. H, [laughter] excuse me, Hagen.
[1:03:16] >> Three different uh folks there. Um,
[1:03:19] yeah, I'm inclined to be more supportive
[1:03:22] of the airport terminal upgrades with
[1:03:24] that funding. Um, just because first
[1:03:27] off, like the amount of money which the
[1:03:29] airport brings into our region. Um, you
[1:03:32] know, the reality is is that while, you
[1:03:34] know, I am very much am aware of how
[1:03:37] much we need the Amtrak station. I use
[1:03:41] Amtrak as much as I can. Um, right now I
[1:03:45] would be more inclined with the airport
[1:03:47] just to get that done and make sure that
[1:03:49] that's in the budget because they are uh
[1:03:51] they're redoing the budget this year.
[1:03:53] Correct. So that's one of the things
[1:03:55] that I think that we can um leverage
[1:03:58] that and then be able to utilize some
[1:04:00] funding um elsewhere. Not saying we
[1:04:03] shouldn't have it as a position by any
[1:04:04] stretch of the imagination. I want that
[1:04:06] at that Amtrak station done. I live
[1:04:08] downtown. You have no idea how much the
[1:04:10] traffic backs up. Um, but it's
[1:04:13] worthwhile.
[1:04:14] >> Thank you. I I appreciate that. Before I
[1:04:15] would like to hear from other members,
[1:04:17] but Mr. Volison, can you remind me, I'm
[1:04:19] sorry for not remembering, is support
[1:04:20] for um funding to deliver an Amtrak
[1:04:22] station in the Ronic Valley Alageney
[1:04:24] Regional Commission 2027 agenda.
[1:04:27] >> It is not.
[1:04:28] Okay. Yeah, that was the um
[1:04:31] they are aware of the Amtrak, but
[1:04:34] because it hasn't uh you know moved
[1:04:36] farther than it has, I don't think it
[1:04:39] was a priority, especially when it comes
[1:04:41] to the airport, which brings in over
[1:04:43] $600 million per year in economic
[1:04:45] benefit to the city.
[1:04:47] >> I hear you. I feel like the reason it
[1:04:48] hasn't moved forward and may not be in
[1:04:50] that agenda is because no one is
[1:04:51] advocating for that station and we or
[1:04:54] would be the only ones I think that
[1:04:55] would push to drive that forward. Uh,
[1:04:58] Miss Sanchez Jones, do you have any
[1:04:59] comments or an opinion?
[1:05:01] >> So, that means Oh, a quick question. The
[1:05:03] support for the Virginia Bic uh
[1:05:05] bicyclist safety act, will that be
[1:05:08] removed in this position?
[1:05:10] >> Um, no. I think we'd like to include
[1:05:12] that, but before we move down to
[1:05:13] positions, do you have a um an opinion
[1:05:17] on the priority ask for transportation?
[1:05:19] >> Well, one of them was supporting the
[1:05:21] funding for the airport terminal and for
[1:05:24] the entrance.
[1:05:25] >> You have a top priority among the two.
[1:05:27] if you had to choose
[1:05:28] >> just the airport.
[1:05:29] >> Airport. Okay. Gotcha. Thank you.
[1:05:32] And then to your question about the
[1:05:34] positions, um these are all the Virginia
[1:05:37] Bicyclist Safety Act uh did not pass
[1:05:40] last year. That is uh was recommended to
[1:05:44] us, suggested to us by Pedalafe Rono. Um
[1:05:47] several other bicycle advocates. I know
[1:05:49] Miss Durk recommended it a few times. If
[1:05:51] you have any um questions or concerns
[1:05:54] with that, uh let me know. I'd be glad
[1:05:56] to.
[1:05:57] >> Thank you.
[1:05:58] >> I have a question.
[1:05:58] >> Yes, ma'am.
[1:05:59] >> I just want to make sure I clarify this
[1:06:01] right. So, um, if you're asking for the
[1:06:05] priority under transportation, I would
[1:06:08] put the airport terminal upgrades first,
[1:06:10] but are we not going to do two? So,
[1:06:12] maybe that's where I got confused.
[1:06:14] >> No, that's okay, Miss Powers. That's
[1:06:15] what we can decide is it sounds like the
[1:06:17] majority would be in support of funding
[1:06:19] for airport terminal upgrades if we only
[1:06:21] have one priority. Um, and if that's
[1:06:24] where we land, that's Okay,
[1:06:26] >> I can be fine with that. The question
[1:06:28] could then be would we want to have two
[1:06:30] priorities for this bucket
[1:06:32] >> if we Yes, sir. Mr. or sorry, I'll go to
[1:06:34] Mr. Nash and then Mr. Paulison.
[1:06:37] >> No, I think that um
[1:06:40] I mean I would I would be more in favor
[1:06:43] of making both of these priorities. Um
[1:06:47] cuz I took the Amtrak to get back and
[1:06:50] forth to school when I was at Mason like
[1:06:53] every time I needed to come home and
[1:06:55] everywhere else along the route like um Councilwoman Powers said. I mean
[1:07:02] everyone else had a station. They had
[1:07:05] something where you could sit, something
[1:07:06] you could use the bathroom um from
[1:07:09] Charlottesville to Lynchburg. I mean all
[1:07:12] of them. And we were the only ones that
[1:07:15] had nothing. Nothing. And we also have
[1:07:19] to be thinking ahead and not just in a
[1:07:21] moment, but ahead in that there are
[1:07:23] other localities that are south and
[1:07:25] southeast of us that are wanting to get
[1:07:28] Amtrak um connection and that eventually
[1:07:32] I mean they're going to continue to
[1:07:34] expand Amtrak because a lot of people
[1:07:35] are favoring taking rail again over air
[1:07:39] because the planes are crashing. But
[1:07:40] aside from that, like the cost
[1:07:42] difference between the two are fairly
[1:07:45] becoming equal at this point with jet
[1:07:46] fuel becoming so expensive because you
[1:07:49] know of the economy right now and all
[1:07:51] those factors. So I mean I think that
[1:07:54] both of them deserve to have a space
[1:07:58] as our priorities and that takes us to
[1:08:00] six priorities and that is like the top
[1:08:03] of what you identified delegate rul
[1:08:06] saying when he said five to six. So, I
[1:08:09] think that nothing else can be a
[1:08:11] priority at this point except for these
[1:08:13] two. Um, so that's just my my take and I
[1:08:17] think that we also one I would love to
[1:08:20] see whatever information we have
[1:08:22] available on hand about the Amtrak
[1:08:24] station or plat uh station and whether
[1:08:26] we're going to utilize the current
[1:08:28] city-owned property and reconfigure that
[1:08:30] building into that or if we're going to
[1:08:33] like tear that building down and build
[1:08:35] something from ground up. And then also
[1:08:37] make sure we put that uh dollar amount
[1:08:39] in whatever that might be. I remember
[1:08:41] last year when we had the Amtrak
[1:08:44] platform on here, I believe we had we
[1:08:47] had a price tag associated. It was like
[1:08:49] 7 million.
[1:08:50] >> Yeah, something like that.
[1:08:50] >> It was like 7 million last year when we
[1:08:52] did the ask. So, we can actually have
[1:08:54] the actual number with the information
[1:08:56] to back that up. I think it gives it a
[1:08:58] much stronger uh chance of maybe getting
[1:09:02] somewhere eventually, if not this year
[1:09:03] at least.
[1:09:06] Mr. um Bson u so I'm in agreement that
[1:09:10] we could do two on this one and I think
[1:09:12] that both are huge priorities for us. Um
[1:09:15] obviously I I feel the airport is more
[1:09:17] important but I think having two is
[1:09:19] fine. Um I just wanted to put a pin in
[1:09:21] this really quickly because I see it uh
[1:09:23] just above transportation on our page.
[1:09:26] Um support equable equitable roll out of
[1:09:28] cannabis consumer market. I think that's
[1:09:30] a bit outdated. Um that's already
[1:09:33] happening. the the legislation is being
[1:09:35] created. So just maybe striking that off
[1:09:38] of the thing for you for us.
[1:09:40] >> I appreciate that and I am fine striking
[1:09:42] that. I wasn't sure there was a
[1:09:43] suggestion suggestion to include
[1:09:46] something on that in this agenda and I
[1:09:47] wasn't totally sure where they were with
[1:09:49] this. Is there any value and me is do
[1:09:51] they need any input from localities at
[1:09:53] this point? Are they totally done with
[1:09:55] their decision? [clears throat]
[1:09:56] >> Okay, I'm fine striking that.
[1:09:57] >> Call it exactly equitable but sure.
[1:10:00] >> Yeah, [laughter]
[1:10:01] that's fine with me. Thank you, Mr.
[1:10:02] Paul. I have a question too about the
[1:10:04] support funding for a west to east
[1:10:06] Virginia breeze route. What is So I
[1:10:09] assume that's probably a bus is that a
[1:10:11] bus route that we have and the idea is a
[1:10:14] state uh a state bus route and the idea
[1:10:17] I'm sure you're about to say is uh to
[1:10:20] kind of pilot like what we did with the
[1:10:21] Amtrak where we had a bus to Lynchburg
[1:10:23] and then finally we got the Amtrak to
[1:10:25] Lynchber so it would show the demand
[1:10:27] between here and Richmond so that
[1:10:29] hopefully we
[1:10:29] >> can get an Amtrak one day to Richmond.
[1:10:31] >> Yep. Okay.
[1:10:32] >> Yeah. Yes. An Mr. Nash, the the Virginia
[1:10:35] Breezeway system is it's a great bus uh
[1:10:38] option, but it doesn't have a direct
[1:10:40] stop in Ronoke. And there's no good west
[1:10:42] to east line that would run, say, from
[1:10:44] like Bristol to Rono to Richmond to
[1:10:46] Hampton Roads.
[1:10:47] >> Goes north.
[1:10:48] >> Most things go north.
[1:10:48] >> If anything goes north, then you got to
[1:10:49] come back down.
[1:10:50] >> Sort of. Yeah. Or I mean, you could go
[1:10:52] to Salem to catch a bus, but that would
[1:10:54] only take you
[1:10:54] >> got one of these,
[1:10:55] >> but it would only take you to to
[1:10:56] Northern Virginia to the um Yeah. So, we
[1:10:58] don't have a stop. I think um it could
[1:11:00] would be interesting to know if there's
[1:11:02] support for it for a west to east um bus
[1:11:05] line. So that's why that isn't Mr.
[1:11:07] Bison.
[1:11:07] >> And also I know that the regional
[1:11:09] commission is pushing for a bus stop at
[1:11:11] the airport to help make that more
[1:11:13] accessible to the region as well.
[1:11:16] >> Fantastic.
[1:11:19] » Yes, Mr. Mayor.
[1:11:20] >> Sorry to add.
[1:11:21] >> No, no, please.
[1:11:22] >> Um so I would support two priorities
[1:11:25] here. I think they're both critically
[1:11:27] important and I think this is a strong
[1:11:29] starting point for us with the Amtrak
[1:11:31] station. Um I'm wondering if there's a
[1:11:35] way to incorporate the first two lines
[1:11:38] into one supportive statement for the
[1:11:42] airport so that we're not um delineating
[1:11:46] um
[1:11:47] because we know that regionally these
[1:11:49] are both priorities. So that that's one
[1:11:52] comment. Um I'm curious about two
[1:11:56] things. Uh one is I think it would be
[1:11:58] helpful for us as a council to have a
[1:12:01] briefing on overall transportation
[1:12:04] within the region to include you know
[1:12:07] where are we with Amtrak, where are we
[1:12:09] with the airport, where are we with um
[1:12:13] transit, uh where are we with Virginia
[1:12:15] Breeze, just so that we have a more
[1:12:17] comprehensive understanding of how all
[1:12:19] these things work together. Um, and I'm just pitching that as a an
[1:12:25] opportunity for us. Um, and in addition
[1:12:28] to that, I know I I met several months
[1:12:31] ago. I'm grateful that we have a renewed
[1:12:35] relationship with Amtrak. There is
[1:12:38] renewed interest in what's happening
[1:12:40] here and they are very involved in in
[1:12:42] what's happening here and want to see us
[1:12:44] move forward.
[1:12:45] At the time when I met with the
[1:12:47] government affairs person um she
[1:12:49] indicated that um
[1:12:52] you know Rowan Oak wasn't positioned yet
[1:12:55] as a large regional hub for Amtrak. Um
[1:13:00] but there are I think this is a step
[1:13:02] that we can take toward that and with
[1:13:05] the potential I I don't know fully where
[1:13:08] the route you know I know a new station
[1:13:10] is being built in Christiansburg uh for
[1:13:12] that route and I believe that that train
[1:13:16] is going to come through here or connect
[1:13:18] here so we'll have three trains. So this
[1:13:21] is another step along the way. Um
[1:13:25] that with all of that um
[1:13:28] with all of that happening, I think it's
[1:13:30] absolutely critical that we um name this
[1:13:33] as one of our top priority asks. So
[1:13:39] >> I definitely support that and thank you.
[1:13:40] I think that's a great idea that we get
[1:13:42] a um comprehensive transportation
[1:13:45] briefing. Um in fairness [clears throat]
[1:13:47] to go back to Mr. Vison's point earlier.
[1:13:50] Um,
[1:13:52] do we want to consider having two
[1:13:54] priorities under housing as well given
[1:13:57] or leave that where that is?
[1:13:58] >> Give it where it is because that takes
[1:13:59] us to seven.
[1:14:01] >> Okay.
[1:14:03] I will note that our our schoolboard
[1:14:05] friends got away with seven priorities.
[1:14:07] So, we could probably if we want, but
[1:14:08] [laughter]
[1:14:09] um I we can consider if anyone wants to
[1:14:12] consider that, we'll I'll keep us moving
[1:14:13] along. I'm I think that is I like that.
[1:14:16] I'm okay with two priorities under
[1:14:17] transportation if everyone else is as
[1:14:19] well. Okay. Uh agreement and moving
[1:14:22] along. Um environment uh support
[1:14:27] legislation to require stronger public
[1:14:29] health and consumer protection
[1:14:30] guardrails on data center development.
[1:14:32] And then there's some um some language
[1:14:34] there. I don't have a
[1:14:37] uh reference for a specific bill that we
[1:14:40] might consider supporting in the
[1:14:42] upcoming um session. So I'm working to
[1:14:44] finalize that. I can get that before to
[1:14:46] you all soon. But um I would open up
[1:14:48] discussion to do folks want to keep that
[1:14:51] as our priority ask um rateayer public
[1:14:54] health environmental protections around
[1:14:55] um data center development. There are
[1:14:57] also a number of other um positions that
[1:15:00] we could consider. Um so I'll just kind
[1:15:03] of stop there. Mr. Hagen.
[1:15:05] >> Um I would be more inclined to do a
[1:15:07] moratorum for a period of time including
[1:15:11] these um just basically to accommodate
[1:15:14] for after that moratorum would end um
[1:15:18] having those powers to have uh some
[1:15:22] control. But just given the fact that
[1:15:24] Virginia I believe has more data centers
[1:15:27] in the in Virginia than I think anywhere
[1:15:31] else on the planet.
[1:15:34] um it raises some concerns and given the
[1:15:36] fact that we are seeing both the uh
[1:15:39] potential merger of Dominion and
[1:15:42] increased rate pairs I think it's it
[1:15:44] behooves [clears throat] us to push for
[1:15:46] a little bit more control
[1:15:49] >> I there's a suggestion on the table to
[1:15:52] consider a moratorium on data center
[1:15:54] development for a period of time I would
[1:15:56] support that if there was council
[1:15:58] consensus and can open that up for
[1:16:01] discussion
[1:16:02] >> I would support that as well.
[1:16:06] » Anyone else have any comments on that?
[1:16:08] >> I can support that as well.
[1:16:12] >> Yeah, I would say that um a lot is
[1:16:14] happening in in this space right now.
[1:16:17] >> Uh we've seen the governor take an an or
[1:16:20] an action. We're seeing uh Senator Lucas
[1:16:23] is very passionate about this. Um I
[1:16:26] would want to uh set up our ask to be in
[1:16:30] line with others kind of what is VML
[1:16:32] looking at this kind of goes to that
[1:16:33] what is VML looking at what are others
[1:16:35] looking at um to do this um I don't know
[1:16:40] you know it may be that a moratorium is
[1:16:41] what everybody's pushing for it may not
[1:16:43] but I don't think um I think that
[1:16:46] matching us up with what language is
[1:16:48] being used by others is going to help um
[1:16:51] because this is is pretty vague and I
[1:16:54] know that you're going look at it later.
[1:16:55] But um that's where I would say I'm I'm
[1:16:58] not necessarily for a moratorum. I think
[1:17:00] we should be following what
[1:17:01] [clears throat] the state wants to kind
[1:17:03] of lead on this.
[1:17:06] >> Thank you, Mr. Volison.
[1:17:09] Mayor,
[1:17:10] >> yeah, I I appreciate the intent of the
[1:17:13] original um narrative that you've put
[1:17:16] here, Vice Mayor. Um I think all of
[1:17:19] these components are absolutely
[1:17:21] essential. Um I appreciate that. council
[1:17:24] has already, you know, set up
[1:17:26] significant guard rails within the city
[1:17:29] and I think that's a model that I'd like
[1:17:31] to see other localities adopt as well so
[1:17:34] that we have a regional approach to
[1:17:37] this. Um, I would have some concern
[1:17:40] right now about a moratorum without some
[1:17:43] of this additional information in place.
[1:17:46] Um, but I like I said, if we can
[1:17:48] fine-tune
[1:17:50] what the legislative options are here,
[1:17:52] as you've indicated, I would be
[1:17:54] supportive of that.
[1:17:57] >> Alison, do you have another comment?
[1:17:59] >> Yeah, I I apologize. I forgot about this
[1:18:00] comment, but um it was making sure that
[1:18:03] we have uh local control. I think that's
[1:18:06] one of the more important things about
[1:18:08] that is having local control over land
[1:18:10] and zoning and not being preempted by
[1:18:12] the state um on our on what we can do as
[1:18:15] a locality. I think that's an important
[1:18:17] piece um that I would want to see in it.
[1:18:20] >> Okay. Well, I appreciate that
[1:18:23] discussion. I'm hearing some support for
[1:18:25] a moratorium, some support uh two voices
[1:18:29] that would not at this time. What I will
[1:18:31] do is work to update this and circulate
[1:18:34] something for you all to consider that's
[1:18:36] a little more concrete. Um, and I don't
[1:18:40] think we have to decide on that today,
[1:18:42] but it sounds like we will keep as one
[1:18:43] of our priority asks something on um,
[1:18:47] uh, guardrails around data centers just
[1:18:49] to be determined exactly what that looks
[1:18:51] like. Does that sound okay?
[1:18:54] >> That's the biggest threat to the
[1:18:55] environment right now. I mean, honestly,
[1:18:58] I mean, it's an accelerator for all the
[1:18:59] issues we're dealing with that are
[1:19:01] caused by nature and that's been going
[1:19:03] on for decades. Um, so I think that's
[1:19:06] definitely the number one. I mean,
[1:19:08] plastic's been around. Plastic will
[1:19:10] continue to be around. Um, but the the
[1:19:13] effects and the harm of data centers,
[1:19:16] um, not just to the environment, but the
[1:19:18] people, um, is something that I don't
[1:19:20] think we really truly know the impact of
[1:19:23] yet. Um, and I think that the future is
[1:19:26] going to be um a really really uh crazy
[1:19:30] place when we start seeing some of the
[1:19:31] documentaries come out about the effects
[1:19:33] of these data centers.
[1:19:36] >> Definitely share your concerns. Thank
[1:19:38] you, Mr. Nash.
[1:19:40] Um on I think we're almost done to uh we
[1:19:43] were not going to include one of these
[1:19:45] as our priority asks but under
[1:19:47] government governvern governance and
[1:19:48] finances
[1:19:50] um there was the charter change from May
[1:19:52] to November which is a hold over from
[1:19:54] last year or from previous years excuse
[1:19:56] me and then I'll just flag for everyone
[1:19:59] that there are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 eight staff
[1:20:03] additions or recommended additions that
[1:20:06] um touch on um largely
[1:20:09] financial
[1:20:11] um some tax matters and then um AI
[1:20:14] regulations.
[1:20:16] Um, I am putting these here for
[1:20:17] everyone's awareness and digestion. And,
[1:20:21] um, I'm going to look to the city
[1:20:22] attorney's office to help me work with
[1:20:23] the city manager's office to, um,
[1:20:26] because these came from staff to just,
[1:20:28] uh, vet these and make sure that the
[1:20:30] asks are appropriate and if they are and
[1:20:33] we want to consider them, um, we can
[1:20:36] include them in our positions or adjust
[1:20:38] them around. But I don't have a lot to
[1:20:39] say on these. I'm open to M. Turner,
[1:20:41] anyone wants to say anything about these
[1:20:43] additions. Um if anyone has any
[1:20:46] questions or wants to discuss them, like
[1:20:47] I said, they range from taxes on um vape
[1:20:50] items to um AI regulations. Um
[1:20:56] so it's glad to talk about it. I don't
[1:20:59] have a whole lot that I can share
[1:21:00] personally on it if anyone.
[1:21:02] >> Yes, sir.
[1:21:02] >> I would just say, you know, I second
[1:21:04] that. Um, we all know my passion for
[1:21:07] vape shops, but um October 1, there were
[1:21:12] some laws that went into effect um that
[1:21:15] pertain to licensing and um kind of
[1:21:19] cracking down and enforcing the the the
[1:21:22] um authorized versus non-authorized
[1:21:25] um vape um products they're allowed to
[1:21:28] have on their shelves. And a lot of the
[1:21:31] vape shops were empty when October one
[1:21:33] hit. Um, I went in and did a little a
[1:21:36] little inspection myself,
[1:21:37] >> little little reconnaissance and some of
[1:21:39] them had no nothing on the shelves other
[1:21:42] than cigarettes. Um, so I would say yes,
[1:21:45] let's look at what went into effect
[1:21:46] October one. Um, because like I said,
[1:21:48] the license is already a thing um that
[1:21:52] went into effect. Um, in particularly, I
[1:21:55] would like to see what VML is doing
[1:21:57] about the skill game machines um in the
[1:22:01] uh convenience stores and gas stations
[1:22:04] um that operate mostly within the same
[1:22:07] localities and areas as vape shops. Um
[1:22:11] so yeah, I would really like to see that
[1:22:12] skilled games um one um put into effect
[1:22:16] at a state level.
[1:22:20] And then
[1:22:20] >> oh um the the taxes on vape um liquid
[1:22:25] and and all that stuff I think needs to
[1:22:27] go through but um I was just reminded
[1:22:28] and this might be something for
[1:22:29] environmental
[1:22:31] um and just something uh the plastic bag
[1:22:35] tax the fact that uh one cent stays with
[1:22:38] the stores um state law might be
[1:22:41] something that we might want to like nyx
[1:22:44] that aspect because to me it doesn't
[1:22:45] make any logical sense as to why we are
[1:22:48] subsidizing plastic bag creation if the
[1:22:50] point of it is to and it given the fact
[1:22:52] that Kroger, Walmart, all these other
[1:22:54] companies can purchase it for
[1:22:58] considerably less than. So now we're
[1:23:00] just encouraging the creation of plastic
[1:23:02] bags rather than the point of the tax
[1:23:04] presumably is to end plastic bag usage.
[1:23:06] So sorry the the tax reminded me of
[1:23:09] that.
[1:23:09] >> No, thank you. That's a um interesting
[1:23:11] point. I think one of the arguments in
[1:23:13] favor of that is to give a little bit of
[1:23:14] an incentive to the store, but they hate
[1:23:17] the they don't like it. they all now
[1:23:18] have had the time to implement their
[1:23:21] program. So, it doesn't make any sense
[1:23:22] to continue that. Specifically, 20% of
[1:23:25] it stays with the stores. So, I know
[1:23:27] it's a niche issue. It's a pet peeve of
[1:23:29] mine.
[1:23:30] >> Thank you for raising that. I will um
[1:23:34] look into that
[1:23:36] for a possible addition. Um is there
[1:23:39] anything else on these items that were
[1:23:40] recommended by staff? Any other further
[1:23:44] qu I'm sorry, Mary?
[1:23:45] >> No, you're fine. I I just had a
[1:23:46] follow-up question and this might be
[1:23:48] something that um Mr. Bryant online
[1:23:51] could chime in on uh because I don't
[1:23:53] know what the status of it is. I know
[1:23:56] and this kind of connects with um any
[1:23:59] future uh casino site locations
[1:24:01] throughout the state. the governor
[1:24:04] vetoed um the site location for Fairfax
[1:24:07] and part of that the reason for vetoing
[1:24:09] that was to to want to um
[1:24:13] have a gaming commission and I think
[1:24:15] there's been resistance in the Senate to
[1:24:18] um starting that and I I wondered Mr.
[1:24:22] Bryant, if I may, um, if you have any
[1:24:25] updates on kind of what the status of
[1:24:27] that is, because I think that gaming
[1:24:29] commission also has a correlation with
[1:24:32] issues related to, um, potential
[1:24:34] licensing fees for skill games and other
[1:24:37] things that might fall under that.
[1:24:41] >> Uh, Mr. Chairman, uh, and Mr. Mayor, uh,
[1:24:44] the governor veto the the so-called
[1:24:47] Fairfax bill for for two reasons. One is
[1:24:51] um unlike all other bills passed
[1:24:54] regarding uh casinos, it totally
[1:24:56] bypassed and overrode uh local governing
[1:25:00] authorities. So, she was looking after
[1:25:02] local governments in Fairfax County in
[1:25:04] particular. It was a um heavy-handed
[1:25:07] um uh approach and totally ran over uh
[1:25:11] local government authority. Um, second,
[1:25:14] yes, the governor's long-standing
[1:25:15] position has been, going back to
[1:25:17] candidate Spanberger, was she wasn't
[1:25:19] much in favor of significantly expanding
[1:25:22] Virginia's gaming options until there is
[1:25:26] a Virginia gaming commission
[1:25:28] established.
[1:25:29] Um, I have not heard that she has
[1:25:32] changed her position on that.
[1:25:35] uh there's been a difference of approach
[1:25:36] between the House and the Senate on
[1:25:38] establishing a gaming commission versus
[1:25:41] say having the Department of the Lottery
[1:25:44] sort of become an an Uber agency and
[1:25:46] oversee all gaming. Um and I'm sure that I would presume there will be uh
[1:25:51] legislation introduced in the 2027
[1:25:53] session to establish a gaming
[1:25:55] commission, but but uh but who knows how
[1:25:58] it might fair.
[1:26:00] >> Thank you, Mr. Bryant, and thank you for
[1:26:02] the clarification. I appreciate that.
[1:26:05] >> Thank you for the question.
[1:26:07] >> If we are I think this is a good time to
[1:26:10] I think we're done going over
[1:26:11] [clears throat] uh our draft agenda and
[1:26:14] I will take all the steps I mentioned to
[1:26:16] share it with all the parties to get it
[1:26:18] tied up. I think my question but we can
[1:26:20] do this at the end is when we have a
[1:26:22] final copy but I want to turn it over
[1:26:24] before I turn it over to Mr. Cox and Mr.
[1:26:26] Binkley to give our federal legislative
[1:26:27] update. I wanted to give an opportunity
[1:26:30] um for Miss Ael or Mr. Kaknes or Dr.
[1:26:33] Sbert to say anything if you would like.
[1:26:35] No pressure about the RCPS um
[1:26:38] legislative priorities.
[1:26:40] >> You just give me a thumbs down if you
[1:26:41] don't want to.
[1:26:45] » Thank you, Chair and Vice Mayor Maguire,
[1:26:48] um Mayor Cobb and all council members
[1:26:51] for um having us part of the legislative
[1:26:53] the joint legislative committee meeting
[1:26:55] today. Um so we were able to as a body
[1:26:59] um we had a special meeting for our
[1:27:02] September workshop and thus gave us the
[1:27:04] ability to vote and we were able to
[1:27:07] based on feedback from our board go
[1:27:10] ahead and adopt our legislative
[1:27:11] priorities a little bit earlier as you
[1:27:13] know we had discussed our timeline
[1:27:15] places in o our October meeting which
[1:27:17] would have been after this meeting of
[1:27:19] council so that we were able to adopt
[1:27:21] our legislative priorities um in advance
[1:27:24] of your adoption so that they can be
[1:27:26] rolled in very specifically together.
[1:27:29] Um, and we have discussed those
[1:27:33] priorities with you all. The top two
[1:27:35] that we always espouse as best practices
[1:27:38] and overarching philosophies are about
[1:27:41] no unfunded mandates and local control.
[1:27:44] Just like we always espouse to know
[1:27:46] every student by name, need, and
[1:27:48] strength, we think that that also
[1:27:50] applies to the locality. Nobody knows
[1:27:52] Ronoke citizens and Ronoke students
[1:27:54] better than the people of Rowanoke. And
[1:27:55] so that's why we always advocate that
[1:27:57] for those as overarching
[1:27:59] um avenues of advocacy when the
[1:28:02] legislative session is going. And then
[1:28:05] of course we have our other five
[1:28:07] priorities that have been pretty
[1:28:08] standard over the years. Um but a lot of
[1:28:11] our CTE advocacy um and EL advocacy has
[1:28:15] been under the the heading of commitment
[1:28:17] to serving all students. The position
[1:28:19] papers are still in draft form. So those
[1:28:21] will be continue to be prepared as we
[1:28:23] head into the legislative session. So
[1:28:25] that's it for us.
[1:28:27] >> Thank you very much. I say pelvis. This
[1:28:29] looks great. I appreciate you sharing it
[1:28:31] with us. Um does anyone have any
[1:28:33] thoughts or questions you want to share?
[1:28:39] Well, very much. Um
[1:28:42] I will turn this over now to kind of
[1:28:45] flip this agenda all over the place. Uh
[1:28:47] Mr. Cox and Mr. Binkley. And I want to
[1:28:50] um sorry to make you wait so long. Um if
[1:28:53] you can kind of one of the things I was
[1:28:55] hoping today in your presentation if you
[1:28:57] could just be sure to cover um what are
[1:29:00] um
[1:29:02] I lost my train of thought. Um our
[1:29:04] congressional directed spending request.
[1:29:06] What uh can you just for everyone's
[1:29:08] benefit the public and ours refresh for
[1:29:10] us what have we requested in the past?
[1:29:12] What was um approved? What was not? Sort
[1:29:16] of where are we with that? Is there
[1:29:17] anything council should know? Um, and
[1:29:19] then in addition to any of your other
[1:29:21] I'm sorry for not reviewing this in
[1:29:22] advance, but any of your other federal
[1:29:23] legislative updates you give us, I'd be
[1:29:25] curious if you had any thoughts on what
[1:29:27] um we as a locality might expect heading
[1:29:29] into the new year when um I think the
[1:29:32] Medicaid changes take effect and a lot
[1:29:34] of folks could get kicked off of
[1:29:35] coverage and if there's just anything
[1:29:37] that um we as a locality could or should
[1:29:39] know in the federal context for that.
[1:29:41] So, thank you and sorry for the long
[1:29:44] wait. I'll turn it over to Mr. Cox and
[1:29:45] Mr. Hley.
[1:29:48] Well,
[1:29:48] >> good morning. Uh, thank you all and good
[1:29:50] to be with uh, council members and, uh,
[1:29:53] the mayor and it's great to witness uh,
[1:29:56] sort of the thought that goes into the
[1:29:57] legislative agenda. I know it's not
[1:29:58] easy. There's a lot of things facing
[1:30:00] local governments and there's many
[1:30:01] things to consider. Um, but we will sort
[1:30:03] of dive pretty quickly into um, kind of
[1:30:06] where things are federal policy-wise.
[1:30:10] Right now, uh, the House and Senate are
[1:30:12] both adjourned. They are not in session.
[1:30:15] They're in what's called October recess
[1:30:17] um which is largely a function of uh the
[1:30:20] midterms coming up in a month, less than
[1:30:23] a month now I guess at this point. So um
[1:30:26] a lot of members of Congress, senators
[1:30:27] are back in district campaigning or
[1:30:30] helping others campaign if they have uh
[1:30:32] ambitions for the next few years. Um so
[1:30:35] it's a it's a busy time outside of DC
[1:30:38] and fairly quiet on the hill. um to
[1:30:41] quickly answer your questions before we
[1:30:43] dive in. Um on the earmarks front, uh
[1:30:47] this sort of ties to federal
[1:30:49] appropriations. Um Congress has passed a
[1:30:53] uh continuing resolution which runs
[1:30:55] through December 11th. Um and once we
[1:30:58] get to December 11th, they'll sort of
[1:31:01] renegotiate things for um the
[1:31:04] appropriations bill for next year, FY27.
[1:31:08] Um, in in FY27, we submitted uh I think
[1:31:13] we had five earmarks that we went after.
[1:31:15] Um, we were unsuccessful in three of
[1:31:18] them. Um, we submitted a $3.5 million
[1:31:21] earmark for the In River Kayak Park. We
[1:31:24] submitted $10 million for the Mil
[1:31:25] Mountain Greenway Bridge, $10 million
[1:31:28] for Amtrak phase one uh for the station
[1:31:31] downtown. Those three did not make it
[1:31:33] in. Um, we've had some follow-up
[1:31:36] conversations with our Senate staff uh
[1:31:38] cuz your member of Congress uh does not
[1:31:41] participate in the remarks process. So,
[1:31:42] we we have followed up with Senators
[1:31:44] Kane and Warner Regionals teams. We've
[1:31:46] been great uh to talk to them about uh
[1:31:48] what we can submit for next year. Scott
[1:31:50] will get into what our plan is moving
[1:31:52] forward with them, but um sort of talked
[1:31:54] about what happened with these other
[1:31:55] projects and largely boils down to those
[1:31:58] are very competitive buckets. We
[1:32:00] submitted a pretty large request um for
[1:32:04] those three. So um we're going to go
[1:32:06] back to them with new plans for the In
[1:32:08] River Kayak Park, Mil Mountain Greenway
[1:32:10] Bridge, and uh for Amtrak, uh how we can
[1:32:14] find a way to get some funding flowing
[1:32:16] there. We were however successful on
[1:32:18] some ear marks we co-signed on that we
[1:32:21] um wrote letters of support uh for the
[1:32:24] Rowan Oak Airport. Um those two
[1:32:28] earmarks, uh the towers and facilities
[1:32:31] upgrade is $8.5 million. Um that was
[1:32:35] advanced by Senators Kane and Warner as
[1:32:37] well as the runway study. Um we don't
[1:32:40] have final as a as a function of not
[1:32:43] knowing uh the as the CR the continuing
[1:32:46] resolution being punted till the 11th.
[1:32:48] We don't have final um language yet for
[1:32:51] the appropriations bill. So we don't
[1:32:53] know how those things fully shaped out.
[1:32:54] We do know that they were advanced and
[1:32:56] we do know that they have a pretty good
[1:32:58] shot of being in the final bill. So,
[1:33:00] we're kind of in a little bit of wait
[1:33:02] and see mode. I would say everyone's in
[1:33:04] a slight wait andse mode um with
[1:33:06] Congress pause for the midterms. Um
[1:33:09] after the midterms will sort of be a
[1:33:11] reshuffleling of the deck. Um you'll
[1:33:13] have I would think it's pretty likely at
[1:33:15] this point that at least the House
[1:33:17] control flips. Um so you'll have new
[1:33:19] committee chairs, new members coming in
[1:33:22] and uh just a lot of moving things
[1:33:24] around and sort of a new dynamic and I
[1:33:26] think that'll change um how the end
[1:33:28] ofear uh negotiations go which I'll get
[1:33:31] to in my next slide. Uh there's three
[1:33:33] pieces of legislation just to put on uh
[1:33:36] to put on the council's uh sort of
[1:33:38] radar. The first um is the rateayer
[1:33:41] protection act. Uh this has to do with
[1:33:44] data centers and making sure that um the
[1:33:47] folks who are building the data centers
[1:33:49] uh that their large electrical and water
[1:33:51] needs are not affecting rateayers. Um
[1:33:55] this piece of legislation passed through
[1:33:56] the house. I think it was like 417 to
[1:33:58] three. So uh it is insanely bipartisan.
[1:34:01] Uh is in the Senate now. The Senate
[1:34:04] decided not to take it up. There was
[1:34:06] some back and forth over who pays for
[1:34:08] what. Um but I think this sentiment is
[1:34:11] not going away of making sure that at
[1:34:14] the federal level um there are sorts
[1:34:16] some sort of guarantees for rateayers
[1:34:18] and that data centers um and the
[1:34:20] developers behind them are uh footing
[1:34:23] the bill on sort of the the cost
[1:34:26] associated with them. So, I would put
[1:34:27] the rateayer protection act and that
[1:34:29] sort of idea around um data centers not
[1:34:32] impacting the local community when it
[1:34:34] comes to their bills uh being something
[1:34:37] that I think will move forward
[1:34:38] regardless if that bill passes or not by
[1:34:40] the end of this Congress. I do think
[1:34:42] that uh that sentiment will continue.
[1:34:45] Another thing to put on your radar, the
[1:34:46] 21st Century Road to Housing Act that is
[1:34:48] now law. Um so implementation from HUD
[1:34:52] uh will get moving. Um that creates new
[1:34:55] funding streams uh that sort of
[1:34:57] essentially ask local governments to
[1:34:59] ensure that their um that their policies
[1:35:03] on zoning and on housing are more uh in
[1:35:06] the sort of yes in my backyard uh
[1:35:08] sentiment. And that sort of ties federal
[1:35:11] funding um HUD funds uh to a more open
[1:35:17] um open policy for zoning and multif
[1:35:20] family housing. Um, the third bill, uh,
[1:35:23] which is not on the slide, uh, is it the
[1:35:27] there's a lot of, I think, [snorts]
[1:35:28] pressure kicking upward on what to do
[1:35:31] about flock cameras and things like
[1:35:32] that. Um, so you're seeing some pieces
[1:35:35] of legislation we're not fully formed
[1:35:37] yet. Um, you've seen some in the Senate,
[1:35:39] uh, from Senator Holly, some in the
[1:35:41] House from, uh, bipartisan pair Rajn
[1:35:44] Christian Morphy from Illinois and
[1:35:46] others. um basically trying to uh align
[1:35:50] federal highway funds or federal funds
[1:35:52] on streets or roads with uh with flock
[1:35:57] cameras. Again, this isn't fully baked,
[1:35:59] but I think that there will be more
[1:36:01] federal legislation or more sort of
[1:36:04] federal ideiation about um how to impact
[1:36:08] or get into this conversation because it
[1:36:10] is sort of hitting the front lines of uh
[1:36:12] local governments. Next slide, please.
[1:36:15] And just the final thing to put on your
[1:36:17] radar, the end of the year is going to
[1:36:20] be very busy. So the next month will be
[1:36:21] pretty quiet. Everybody will be uh back
[1:36:24] home in their districts campaigning,
[1:36:26] back home uh trying to raise money,
[1:36:27] doing all the things they need to do
[1:36:29] before election day. Um so they've
[1:36:31] kicked the can on a bunch of bills. Um
[1:36:34] they've kicked the can on uh the like I
[1:36:36] said the appropriations process and
[1:36:39] FY27. So, they're going to have to
[1:36:41] renegotiate all those things um after,
[1:36:44] you know, December 11th when that
[1:36:46] expires. Um they've also got some
[1:36:48] long-term reauthorizations, things like
[1:36:50] the transportation surface
[1:36:51] transportation bill, uh which includes
[1:36:53] funding for roadways, bridges. Um
[1:36:56] they've also got to re they've got to
[1:36:58] negotiate the farm bill, uh the water
[1:37:00] resources word uh legislation, and then
[1:37:04] the defense bill. Um, so there's a lot
[1:37:07] uh that's going to pile up at the end of
[1:37:09] the year. I think you're going to see a
[1:37:10] lot of big uh sort of packages come
[1:37:14] together after the election. Uh again,
[1:37:17] those dynamics will be shaped by who
[1:37:19] wins and who loses in the election. So,
[1:37:22] uh that lame duck period, I think, which
[1:37:24] is normally pretty quiet, is actually
[1:37:26] going to be pretty active. So, we'll be
[1:37:27] giving you some uh big updates coming up
[1:37:30] after the election. But uh for now I'll
[1:37:33] let Scott talk about moving forward some
[1:37:35] of the things we're hyperfocused on
[1:37:37] locally. Next slide please.
[1:37:39] >> Um
[1:37:40] >> I'm sorry real quick uh before you jump
[1:37:42] over to Scott. Mr. Hagen had a question
[1:37:45] about the flock legislation?
[1:37:46] >> Yeah. So are you saying that they're
[1:37:48] looking at tying federal funds for
[1:37:50] highways with implementation of flock
[1:37:52] cameras on the said highways or did I
[1:37:55] mishar that or misinterpret that? the idea is uh basically they would
[1:38:01] they're looking for points of leverage
[1:38:03] where federal and again this is not
[1:38:06] fully baked um but but basically they're
[1:38:08] looking for points of leverage where
[1:38:10] federal funds flow down um and how that
[1:38:12] could uh be used towards the
[1:38:15] implementation of fly cameras which
[1:38:17] isn't necessarily happening but
[1:38:19] basically they're trying to remove some
[1:38:20] of that automation remove any way that
[1:38:23] the federal government could be funding
[1:38:25] it or sort of back back door funding it.
[1:38:29] >> Um, a lot of this is not fully baked and
[1:38:32] we're remains to be seen, but I do think
[1:38:34] the big difference from when we last
[1:38:36] talked to you is that there's now a push
[1:38:41] um, I would say within Congress, they're
[1:38:42] getting pressure to develop some sort of
[1:38:45] legislation around flock cameras,
[1:38:47] automated license pl readers, and things
[1:38:49] like that. So, we'll continue to keep
[1:38:50] you updated, but it's very much in the
[1:38:53] early stages and you're seeing things
[1:38:54] like there's the no flocked act, the ban
[1:38:56] flocked act
[1:38:58] >> um that are starting to come together
[1:38:59] and put put together guard rails and
[1:39:01] other uh ways of changing that that area
[1:39:05] policy.
[1:39:08] >> Vice Mayor,
[1:39:09] >> Mr. Bison has a followup.
[1:39:10] >> Uh this actually on the housing act. Um,
[1:39:14] in your description of it, you stated
[1:39:16] that if there's more Yes, in my backyard
[1:39:18] uh zoning implementation that that can
[1:39:20] be beneficial to a a locality. Could you
[1:39:23] talk a little bit about that?
[1:39:26] >> I think it'll change um some of those uh
[1:39:29] funds that are handed down from HUD. The sort of guidance for how you get the
[1:39:34] money will be more um you know, less
[1:39:38] uh you know, single family single family
[1:39:41] housing. um it'll sort of change. It's
[1:39:44] basically the federal government's way
[1:39:45] of saying if you want to get your HUD
[1:39:47] dollars, if you want to get some of
[1:39:48] these federal funds, you need to have a
[1:39:50] little more openness of zoning, openness
[1:39:53] of um affordable housing and other
[1:39:56] things. Uh trying to put more pressure
[1:39:59] on both uh supply side and put more
[1:40:02] pressure on the federal fund side.
[1:40:06] So, we did a resoning here a couple
[1:40:08] years ago. So, that would probably put
[1:40:10] us higher on the list of getting funding
[1:40:12] if we're able to show that we've already
[1:40:14] done that here in the city. Correct.
[1:40:16] >> I would say so. I mean, I think it's first and foremost a you're not
[1:40:20] going to lose funds. I do think that
[1:40:22] they will they do have new grant
[1:40:24] programs that they're we're remaining.
[1:40:26] We were really waiting to see what uh
[1:40:29] those programs look like where they will
[1:40:31] offer new sort of award opportunities,
[1:40:34] new programs and things that Rona could
[1:40:36] participate participate in due to what
[1:40:38] it sounds like are, you know, pretty
[1:40:40] amenable uh zoning laws.
[1:40:43] >> Thank you.
[1:40:45] for the question, Mr. Vis. And
[1:40:46] Mr. Hagen has a followup.
[1:40:48] >> Just a follow up on the housing thing.
[1:40:49] I'm hearing a lot of ifs and mays and
[1:40:52] this type of thing. Um, it's always good
[1:40:54] to keep our eyes out on for certain
[1:40:57] grants that would come up, but I'd love
[1:40:59] to hear it when it actually becomes
[1:41:01] finalized.
[1:41:03] >> Thank you.
[1:41:04] >> Absolutely.
[1:41:08] » Thank you. Okay. I think uh sorry I
[1:41:11] interrupted you. I think Mr. Binkley,
[1:41:12] you were about to head to the next part
[1:41:14] of your presentation, so I'll turn it
[1:41:15] back to you.
[1:41:16] >> Yep. Thank you very much. Uh great to be
[1:41:19] with you all today. Just wanted to
[1:41:21] highlight a couple of our uh current top
[1:41:23] priorities. [clears throat] Um as an
[1:41:25] update on the Norfol Southern Party of
[1:41:27] Record uh issue, we have officially
[1:41:30] joined the STB merger docket as a party
[1:41:33] of record. Uh this uh affords the city
[1:41:36] an opportunity to monitor filings and
[1:41:39] respond to deadlines um with the city
[1:41:42] attorney. Um, one of the things that we
[1:41:45] wanted to highlight, uh, that we ought
[1:41:47] to do is, uh, flag anything that
[1:41:50] specifically affects the city, uh,
[1:41:52] including things like, uh, changes to
[1:41:54] Norfick Southern facilities or property,
[1:41:57] uh, things like local operations or
[1:41:59] employment issues, uh, freight traffic,
[1:42:01] grade crossings, obviously any effects
[1:42:03] to local infrastructure,
[1:42:06] um, environmental or safety concerns,
[1:42:09] and any proposed merger conditions or
[1:42:12] agreements. ments with other
[1:42:13] communities. I think those are the items
[1:42:15] that we want to help look out for uh
[1:42:18] that could impact the city. U I wanted
[1:42:21] to highlight two upcoming dates that we
[1:42:23] should be aware of. Uh the preliminary
[1:42:25] environmental comments are due September
[1:42:28] 21st and the primary deadline for
[1:42:31] comments, protests and requests for
[1:42:33] conditions is November 18th. Um and so
[1:42:37] the the parties will be providing those
[1:42:39] comments. uh we are obviously able to
[1:42:42] weigh in uh following their preliminary
[1:42:45] environmental comments which will be due
[1:42:47] again September 21st. We can then submit
[1:42:50] uh comments, protests and requests for
[1:42:53] conditions by November 18th. So we will
[1:42:55] work with uh our points of contact to
[1:42:57] make sure that uh everyone has an
[1:42:59] opportunity to weigh in um in this way.
[1:43:06] Then moving to another top. Yeah, happy
[1:43:08] to answer any questions before I move
[1:43:09] on.
[1:43:10] >> Real quick, we had one question about
[1:43:11] the Norfick Southern Party of Record
[1:43:13] update. Mr. Volison,
[1:43:14] >> course, Mr. Chair. Um, Mr. Binkley,
[1:43:17] we've as a city, we've had meetings to
[1:43:20] determine, you know, some of those
[1:43:21] unresolved uh Norfolk Southern
[1:43:23] commitments and potential issues and
[1:43:25] comments. Um, and so I just wanted to
[1:43:28] make sure that we're able to get those
[1:43:31] uh moving forward in this merger
[1:43:33] process. So uh I'm not sure what the
[1:43:35] best way to do that is but we need to
[1:43:37] make sure that we transmit those to you
[1:43:39] because there are quite a few of them um
[1:43:41] that we've identified whether it's at
[1:43:43] grade crossings whether it's derelict
[1:43:45] properties whether it's um you know land
[1:43:48] that may be uh contaminated. Uh so there
[1:43:51] are a lot of issues that we have um
[1:43:53] being the former headquarters of Norfolk
[1:43:55] Southern that um we would make want to
[1:43:57] make sure that those things get into
[1:43:59] this uh merger agreement.
[1:44:02] that sounds like the type perfect type
[1:44:04] of feedback that they would be looking
[1:44:05] for. And so if you have raw notes as a
[1:44:08] result of those meetings, we'd be happy
[1:44:10] to clean them up and and put them in the
[1:44:12] format uh for which we need to submit
[1:44:15] them or we could do a call separate uh
[1:44:17] outside of this uh just to get a
[1:44:20] download from you all on what those
[1:44:22] issues were. So defer to you on how best
[1:44:25] to transmit that information, but we'd
[1:44:27] be happy to get it into the format and clean that up and and and submit it
[1:44:31] for you, help submit it.
[1:44:34] >> Um I see Mr. Bratton.
[1:44:36] >> Yeah, Mr. Bratton, please come down. I
[1:44:37] think I appreciate that question, Mr.
[1:44:38] Vol. I was wondering the same.
[1:44:41] >> Yes, sir. Please come down.
[1:44:42] >> Um good morning. As we start to become
[1:44:44] as they start to transition out,
[1:44:46] nonoperating becomes I mean operating
[1:44:48] becomes nonoperating, that becomes
[1:44:49] taxable. We're starting to get lists
[1:44:51] now. we can't get responses from the
[1:44:53] railroad as far as you know what these
[1:44:55] properties mean. So we would love to
[1:44:57] make sure that they understand that we
[1:44:59] need to have somebody appropriate one
[1:45:01] some kind some person there that we can
[1:45:03] talk with because we're having problems
[1:45:04] matching a lot of this stuff up because
[1:45:07] before it was just coordinates and
[1:45:09] things like that. So we really it
[1:45:10] becomes taxable even beyond the um some
[1:45:14] of the issues a lot of that property
[1:45:16] becomes taxable as becomes nonoperating.
[1:45:18] So, we'd like that to survive any sort
[1:45:20] of agreement.
[1:45:22] >> Thank you. Before you go, Mr. Bratton,
[1:45:24] how do we You might You maybe you were
[1:45:26] about to say this. Sorry. Uh but how do
[1:45:28] we close that loop to make sure that the
[1:45:30] concerns and questions you have are um
[1:45:33] getting to the right team? Is that a
[1:45:35] >> We need a committed conduit. I mean, we
[1:45:37] don't have when we when we reach out. I
[1:45:39] mean, Mr. Volison has been trying to get
[1:45:41] in touch with We've been trying to get
[1:45:42] in touch with Ruben. I know we've had
[1:45:43] some projects we worked on. We just need
[1:45:45] somebody committed to corresponding with
[1:45:47] us so that we can match this stuff up
[1:45:48] because there's a lot of assets over
[1:45:49] there. I mean, we they're non they've
[1:45:51] been when they become nonoperating,
[1:45:52] they're taxable. So, if nothing else,
[1:45:55] there's uh that that's part of what we
[1:45:57] get back and having them here.
[1:45:59] >> This board, did you want to add to that?
[1:46:02] >> Yes. [clears throat] Um, Councilman Vol
[1:46:05] has also met with the director of public
[1:46:07] works, Ross Campbell, and so he was also
[1:46:09] touching base with his staff. So, we'll
[1:46:11] just make sure that we expand that to
[1:46:13] other departments and get a consolidated
[1:46:15] list and we can send it out to you all
[1:46:17] to make sure that we have everything
[1:46:18] included and get it submitted.
[1:46:20] >> Mr. Bratton, you said I'm sorry.
[1:46:21] >> Yeah, we'll reach out to other
[1:46:23] departments as well.
[1:46:24] >> Okay. Does that sound good?
[1:46:27] >> Thank you both very much.
[1:46:29] >> Any other questions on the Norfick
[1:46:31] Southern Party of Record update?
[1:46:34] >> Okay. Sorry about that, Mr. Binkley.
[1:46:35] I'll turn it back over to you.
[1:46:38] >> Nope. All good feedback. Thank you. Um
[1:46:40] and then the other um immediate priority
[1:46:43] is to a schedule a virtual uh delegation
[1:46:47] visit uh with um interested parties with
[1:46:50] the city and uh our elected leadership
[1:46:53] and our congressional uh delegation
[1:46:55] members. So you'd have representative
[1:46:57] from both senator's offices and uh
[1:46:59] congressman Klein's office. all parties
[1:47:01] have been um eager to participate um but
[1:47:05] have been uh difficult to schedule just
[1:47:07] with all of the election activity uh
[1:47:10] going on this fall. So, we're circling
[1:47:12] in a on a date right now that will work
[1:47:14] for everybody. Um really the challenge
[1:47:16] again has been scheduling, especially in
[1:47:18] light of uh the ongoing election um and especially two of your uh delegation
[1:47:24] members wrapped up and their staffs
[1:47:26] wrapped up in that. Um but it was
[1:47:28] valuable to hear um the debate and
[1:47:31] discussion around our legislative
[1:47:32] priorities. Obviously, many of those
[1:47:34] will be points of discussion for this uh
[1:47:37] visit. We can use this as a valuable
[1:47:40] opportunity to go over those legislative
[1:47:42] priorities and the ones that have a
[1:47:44] federal nexus. Uh we can also get
[1:47:46] feedback from them on on items that they
[1:47:48] want to prioritize through the
[1:47:50] congressionally uh directed spending
[1:47:52] process. um and so can have a back and
[1:47:55] forth uh discussion and dialogue with
[1:47:57] our uh congressional delegation uh at
[1:47:59] that time. Um one other piece to that I wanted to highlight that we will
[1:48:04] prioritize and get this to you as soon
[1:48:06] as possible just based on the
[1:48:08] conversation we had earlier on the
[1:48:10] legislative priorities. Uh, one
[1:48:11] deliverable that you will be receiving
[1:48:13] from us is a primer on congressionally
[1:48:16] directed spending, reminding um, anybody
[1:48:19] that would be interested in submitting
[1:48:20] for projects. um what the um the general
[1:48:25] guidelines are, what the best practices
[1:48:27] are from the appropriations committee,
[1:48:29] things like deadlines, and then we'll go
[1:48:32] a step further to highlight projects
[1:48:34] that the city has submitted in the past,
[1:48:36] those that have been successful, those
[1:48:38] that haven't, our analysis on why those
[1:48:40] that hadn't been successful were not
[1:48:42] successful. Um so that we can you know
[1:48:45] um so that as we're you know uh
[1:48:47] soliciting people within the city uh for priority projects we can have that
[1:48:52] reminder as to what had been submitted
[1:48:54] in the past what had been successful um
[1:48:56] and what had not and the reason for
[1:48:58] which uh those that hadn't been
[1:49:00] successful didn't move forward. So
[1:49:02] wanted to highlight that but we will
[1:49:03] prioritize getting you that especially
[1:49:06] um understanding where you are in your process now.
[1:49:10] So those were two um you know uh
[1:49:13] priority updates that we wanted to to
[1:49:15] offer. Um and then we can hit the next
[1:49:17] slide. But uh that's the end of our
[1:49:19] presentation today. Happy to take any
[1:49:21] questions.
[1:49:22] >> Thank you very much. I really appreciate
[1:49:24] all of that. Do we have any questions
[1:49:28] from council or the city attorney's
[1:49:30] office or the city manager's office or
[1:49:32] any of our staff?
[1:49:36] All right. Well, Mr. Binkley, Mr. Cox,
[1:49:38] thank you very much um for that
[1:49:40] presentation and all of the updates and
[1:49:41] we'll look forward to um staying in
[1:49:44] touch on the items you mentioned that
[1:49:46] we're going to be hearing from you on
[1:49:47] some of those visits and the database
[1:49:50] etc. That all sounded good to me. Um, I
[1:49:52] think the last item we have to cover
[1:49:54] today, our next legislative committee
[1:49:56] meeting is Monday, November 2nd, 2026 at
[1:49:59] 9:00 a.m. I think a decision for us
[1:50:01] today is if we want to um
[1:50:06] could we finalize our legislative
[1:50:08] committee agenda at our next meeting in
[1:50:10] two weeks?
[1:50:12] Does that require calling a special
[1:50:14] legislative committee meeting or can we
[1:50:15] do it there? Do we need to or can we?
[1:50:17] What's the preference? In two weeks or a
[1:50:18] month to finalize this? I'd kind of like
[1:50:20] to get it done in two weeks if we can,
[1:50:22] but I don't want to force it forward if
[1:50:24] it's not going to be ready. Mr.
[1:50:26] Ballison,
[1:50:27] >> inclined for us to do it in two in two
[1:50:29] weeks, but I also with the discussion
[1:50:31] about the housing study being on
[1:50:33] November 1st.
[1:50:35] >> Yeah, that was going to be my
[1:50:37] >> behoove us to do it uh
[1:50:40] >> the second to, you know, see what
[1:50:42] happens with that.
[1:50:44] >> Yeah.
[1:50:45] >> Yes, sir. Mr. Mayor,
[1:50:46] >> maybe maybe Vice Mayor, we could have a
[1:50:47] draft. um document um for the 19th or
[1:50:53] maybe
[1:50:56] >> final final final draft.
[1:50:57] >> Yeah.
[1:50:59] >> Second once we have this information
[1:51:01] related to the housing edu to fully
[1:51:05] adopt.
[1:51:08] >> Sounds good to me. That sounds good to
[1:51:09] everyone else.
[1:51:12] All right. Um well, one last item. I
[1:51:14] didn't have a chance to This is a
[1:51:16] federal legislative item. Um I didn't
[1:51:17] have a chance to work on it or prepare
[1:51:19] it, but I will touch base with each of
[1:51:20] you individually. We received requests
[1:51:22] from several members of the community,
[1:51:24] including our former um council
[1:51:27] colleague, not when I was on council,
[1:51:28] and citizen of the year, Rupert Cutler,
[1:51:31] um asking the city of Rono to follow the
[1:51:33] lead of several other Virginia cities
[1:51:36] that have weighed in with a letter to uh
[1:51:39] a comment letter urging um the
[1:51:41] administration to drop their roadless
[1:51:44] rule um changes, which um is um of
[1:51:48] consequence to a lot of protected lands
[1:51:50] and national parks.
[1:51:52] um around us and throughout uh Virginia.
[1:51:54] And so I think Harrisonenberg and some
[1:51:56] other places are putting in um comments.
[1:51:58] We had that request. I apologize for not
[1:52:00] having that draft ready today. The
[1:52:02] comment deadline does close tomorrow. So
[1:52:05] I want you all to consider it. I'll talk
[1:52:07] to you. Um I'm glad to draft something
[1:52:08] up um if it's of council interest. But
[1:52:12] just wanted to put that out there
[1:52:13] because I promised Mr. Cutler I'd bring
[1:52:14] it up. Um
[1:52:16] so if there last call if there's no
[1:52:18] other b business I will adjourn um our
[1:52:21] meeting for today.
[1:52:24] All right we'll meet again on November
[1:52:25] 2nd. Thank you all.
[1:52:30] » Thank you vice mayor uh for your
[1:52:32] leadership of that the committee. Uh
[1:52:34] great accomplishments today. Um, unless
[1:52:39] uh we have any follow-up questions or
[1:52:41] items for our consideration from
[1:52:43] council, we will recess uh until 2:00
[1:52:47] p.m. for our closed meetings. Thank you
[1:52:50] all.