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Special Meeting
Thursday, March 24, 1994 - - 7:30 pm

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Present: Mayor Patricia S. Ticer, Vice Mayor William C. Cleveland, Members of Council Kerry J. Donley, T. Michael Jackson, Redella S. Pepper, Lonnie C. Rich, and David G. Speck.

Absent: None.

Also Present: Mrs. Lawson, City Manager; Mr. Sunderland, City Attorney; Ms. Evans, Assistant City Manager; Ms. Steele, Deputy City Manager; Mr. Brannan, Assistant City Manager; Mr. Gitajn, Director of Financial and Information Services; Mr. Sanderson, Director of Real Estate Assessments; Mrs. Godwin, Director of Management and Budget, and members of her staff; Mr. Neckel, Director of Finance; Mr. O'Kane, Director of Transportation and Environmental Services; Mr. Lynn, Director of Planning and Community Development; Mr. Cyphers, Director of Human Services; Ms. Anderson, Deputy Director of Transportation and Environmental Services; Ms. Boyd, Director of Citizen Assistance; Ms. Federico, Director of Historic Resources; Dr. Claiborn, Director of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse; Mr. Kauffman, Director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities; Mr. Fertig, Director of Personnel Services; Fire Chief Hawkins; Police Chief Samarra; Dr. Lipsman, Director of Health Department; Ms. Davis, Director of Housing; Ms. Gattsek, Director of Office on Women; Ms. Reichler, Special Assistant to the City Manager; Mr. Schott, Director of General Services; Mr. McMahon, Deputy Director of General Services; Mr. O'Brien, Director of Library; Dr. Masem, Superintendent of Schools; and Sergeant Mason, Police Department.

Recorded by: Beverly I. Jett, CMC, City Clerk and Clerk of Council.

OPENING

The Meeting was called to order by Mayor Ticer and the City Clerk called the Roll; all Members of City Council were present except Council Member Rich who arrived at 7:40 p.m.

(A Notice of this Special meeting had been previously served upon each Member of Council, pursuant to a provision of the City Charter, a copy of the Notice certified by each Member of Council being on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council.)


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2. Public Hearing on the Proposed Annual Operating Budget for FY 1994-95 (including Schools) and the Capital Improvements Program for FY 1995-2000. The topics were heard in the following order:
(3) Library



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Councilwoman Pepper asked Mr. Kauffman, Director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, what the update is on the use of the Durant Center.

Mr. Kauffman responded that the Senior Nutrition Programs were consolidated from three into one at Houston. They are now trying to upgrade the senior drop-in recreation program there. He stated that one of the Agency on Aging and the Commission on Aging goals is to make that a full-service senior center. He indicated that nevertheless, if that is successful, the City could commit to afternoons with the children in the area such as three to six or eight.

Carolyn Beckett, 405 High Street, Co-President, Cora Kelly Magnet PTA;

Irone Bailey, 43 West Reed Avenue, Co-President, Cora Kelly Magnet PTA; a copy of Ms. Beckett's and Ms. Bailey's joint statement is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 7 of this item;

Angela Gannon, 5 West Myrtle Street, spoke for Lorraine Dawkins, President, Lyles-Crouch PTA, and Grace Flaherty, President, Maury School PTA, in support of the school budget in its entirety;

Michele Reday-Cook, President, Douglas MacArthur PTA; a copy of Ms. Reday-Cook's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 8 of this item;

Anita Doyle, 310 Virginia Avenue, President, George Mason PTA; a copy of Ms. Doyle's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 9 of this item;

Linda Cheatham, 1725 North Cliff Street, Co-President, Mt. Vernon Elementary School PTA; a copy of Ms. Cheatham's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 10 of this item;

Barbara Webne, 209 East Custis Avenue, Co-President, Mt. Vernon Elementary PTA, spoke in support of fully funding the school budget and its supplemental request as well as the four-year-olds' program;

Council Member Rich asked questions with respect to the program for four-year-old children.

Loretta Scott, 8916 Spur Road, Springfield, Teacher, Mt. Vernon Elementary; a copy of Ms. Scott's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 11 of this item;

Holly Burke-Joiner, 2601 Commonwealth Avenue, Instructional Aide to Ms. Scott, Mt. Vernon Elementary School; a copy of Ms. Burke-Joiner's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 12 of this item;

Lucretia Jackson, 2601 Commonwealth Avenue, Assistant Principal, Mt. Vernon Elementary School; a copy of Ms. Jackson's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 13 of this item;





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Jalna Jones, 2601 Commonwealth Avenue, Principal, Mt. Vernon Elementary School, spoke in support of the school budget in its entirety;

Lynda Gallagher, 2601 Commonwealth Avenue, Teacher, Mt. Vernon.Elementary School; a copy of Ms. Gallagher's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 14 of this item;

Chris Naser, 603 Naylor Street, Co-President, James K. Polk PTA; a copy of Mr. Naser's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 15 of this item;

Martha Cassell, 5700 Sanger Avenue, Parent and Treasurer of William Ramsay PTA, read the statement of Sidney B. Houston, Principal; a copy of Mr. Houston's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 16 of this item;

Susan Johnson, 2918 North Rosser Street, President, Francis Hammond PTA; a copy of Ms. Johnson's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 17 of this item;

Andre Assalian, Apt. 101, 937 North Van Dorn Street, Principal, Hammond Middle School, spoke in support of the school budget in its entirety;

Mildred Lockridge, 600 Russell Road, Principal, Maury School, spoke in support of the school budget;

Councilman Speck announced that Ms. Lockridge will be retiring at the end of this school year. He congratulated her and wished her the very best.

Mayor Ticer congratulated Ms. Lockridge and thanked her for her good works.

Jeanne Snapp, 517 North Overlook Drive, President, George Washington Middle School PTA, urged full funding of the school budget;

Councilwoman Pepper expressed concerns with respect to leaking roofs at various schools. Superintendent Masem responded. Councilwoman Pepper requested a report from him at some time in the future.

Council Member Rich also spoke to maintenance money being diverted to program needs. He expressed concern about the danger of diverting infrastructure protection into operations. Superintendent Masem responded that general maintenance money is in the general operating budget.

Willie Hanner, 2409 East Randolph Avenue, Parent and Co-President, Minnie Howard School PTA; a copy of Mr. Hanner's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 18 of this item;

Pat Moran, 209 Gentry Avenue, Co-President, T. C. Williams High School PTA; a copy of Ms. Moran's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 19 of this item;

John Porter, 3330 King Street, Principal, T. C. Williams High School; a copy of Mr. Porter's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 20 of this item;


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Lawrence Jointer, 1005 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Principal, George Washington Middle School; a copy of Dr. Jointer's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 21 of this item;

Molly Danforth, 2435 Davis Avenue, Parent, George Washington Middle School, urged adoption of the school budget in its entirety;

Margaret Walsh, 3801 West Braddock Road, Principal, Minnie Howard School; a copy of Ms. Walsh's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 22 of this item;

Angela Gannon and Sharon Shackelford, 6707 Johnston Place, Co-Presidents, PTA Council; a copy of their joint statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 23 of this item;

Karl Smith, 5335 Taney Avenue, #101, Acting Principal, John Adams Elementary School, and Parent, spoke in support of the school budget as submitted;

Peter Smirniotopoulos, 2411 Terrett Avenue, Parent, Mt. Vernon Elementary School; a copy of Mr. Smirniotopoulos' statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 24 of this item;

Cathy Malone, 1115 Martha Custis Drive, Principal, Charles Barrett Elementary School; a copy of Ms. Malone's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 25 of this item;

Carolyn Moye, 2601 Cameron Mills Road, Principal, George Mason Elementary School; a copy of Dr. Moye's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 26 of this item;

Melissa Luby, 312-1/2 North Henry Street, Vice President, Jefferson-Houston PTA, and Parent; a copy of Ms. Luby's statement, together with a petition signed by parents of 110 students requesting recreation and library programs, is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 27 of this item;

Pam Walkup, 1562 Mt. Eagle Place, representing herself as a Teacher, a member of the Education Association of Alexandria and Jefferson-Houston PTA; a copy of Ms. Walkup's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked as Exhibit No. 28 of this item;

Councilman Speck asked a question about state regulations and prohibitions on drop-ins.

Mr. Kauffman, Director of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, indicated that Ms. Walkup was referring to the new state regulations on child care. The difference between a drop-in recreation program and an accountability program, a day care program, the state law that went into effect July 1 makes it much tougher for day care programs and there is a major difference. To explain it, sites that are day care sites have to be licensed by the state, they have to meet certain criteria, including staffing requirements of one to ten staff ratio for example, as







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opposed to a drop-in recreation program where there is not that kind of limitation. There are several key rules that you have to follow now with regard to day care programs that we don't have to follow for the drop-in. Accountability day care programs are the same thing in his view.

Councilman Speck requested a report on how this rule applies.

Lois Berlin, 1501 Cameron Street, Principal, Jefferson-Houston Elementary School; a copy of Ms. Berlin's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 29 of this item;

Melissa Luby read letter of Binnie Luciano, 5120 Heritage Lane, Teacher and Resident; a copy of Mr. Luciano's letter is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 30 of this item;

Margaret Delia read letter of Barbara Mullaney, 429 North West Street, Vice President, Jefferson-Houston PTA; a copy of Ms. Mullaney's letter is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 31 of this item;

Margaret Delia, 809 Chetworth Place, Teacher, Resident; a copy of Ms. Delia's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 32 of this item;

Gayle Smith, 1101 Janney's Lane, Principal, MacArthur Elementary School, spoke in support of the school budget in its entirety;

Barbara Harslem, 11 West Bellefonte Avenue, Parent, spoke to maintenance concerns at Mt. Vernon Elementary School as well as to the need for computers;

Tom Tyler, 3526 Valley Drive; a copy of Mr. Tyler's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 33 of this item;

Margie Lyons, 316 Hume Avenue, Parent, spoke to the need for more art and music as well as to building maintenance at Mount Vernon Elementary School;

Victor Glasberg, 330 East Mason Avenue, Parent, spoke to maintenance concerns at Mount Vernon Elementary School and requested adequate funding;

Jacki Vawter, 703 Grandview Drive, Coordinator of Early Childhood Education; a copy of Ms. Vawter's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 34 of this item;

Peggy Trowbridge, 802 Parkway Terrace, Parent of children at MacArthur Elementary School, spoke in support of the school budget in its entirety;

Jennifer Smith, 4437 Duke Street, Apt. 401, representing herself, spoke to the need for full-day kindergarten at every school and to serving the at-risk children; and




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Karleen Gehsmann, 4437 Duke Street, Apt. 401, Teacher, Mt. Vernon Elementary School, spoke to serving the at-risk children and the need for smaller primary classroom size.)

(The following persons participated in the public hearing on item 2(e), Human Services Contributions and Contributory Agencies (including Economic Development):

Melvin Bergheim, 4905 Maury Lane, speaking on behalf of the Campagna Center and Suzanne Quinlan, President, Campagna Center; a copy of Mr. Bergheim's statement, together with a letter from Ms. Quinlan, is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of this item;

There was discussion with respect to a request for a $25,000 contribution to the Campagna Center's Capital Campaign. Councilwoman Pepper, Mayor Ticer and Councilman Speck requested that the City Manager provide a budget memo on this request. The City Manager also indicated that this request could be placed on the add/delete list.

Dagobert Soergel, 504 North Quaker Lane, Chair, Early Childhood Development Commission; a copy of Mr. Soergells statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 2 of this item;

Magalys Perez, 5033 Fillmore Avenue, #202, Case Manager, Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia; a copy of Ms. Perez's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 3 of this item;

Jean Niebauer, 951 Janney's Lane, Vice-Chair, Community Services Board; a copy of Ms. Niebauer's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 4 of this item;

Karen Grane, 900 Fayette Street, Chair, Board of Carpenter's Shelter; a copy of Ms. Grane's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 5 of this item; and

Charles Vasaly, 1009 North 14th Street, Executive Director, Legal Services of Northern Virginia, Inc.; a copy of Mr. Vasaly's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 6 of this item.)

(The following person participated in the public hearing on item 2(g)(2), Parks/Recreation/Cultural Activities - - Historic Alexandria:

Phyllis Wolfeich, 2727 Duke Street, Apt. 1202, representing Gadsby's Tavern Museum Society; a copy of Ms. Wolfeich's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of this item.)

(The following persons participated in the public hearing on items (h)(i) and (1), Public Works/Transportation and Capital Projects; Employee Compensation and Benefits; and Other Budget Issues:

Shawn McLaughlin, 1725-A Duke Street, Chairman, Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, spoke to (h) and (i); a copy of Mr. McLaughlin's statement is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of these items;


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3. Public Hearing on the Proposed Community Development Block Grant Program for FY 1994-95.

(A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 21, 1994, is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 3; 3/24/94, and is incorporated herewith as part of this record by reference.)

WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Jackson, seconded by Councilman Donley and carried unanimously, City Council closed the public hearing. [Final action on this item will be on April 28, 1994.] The voting was as follows:

Jackson "aye" Cleveland "aye"
Donley "aye" Pepper "aye"
Ticer "aye" Rich "aye"
Speck "aye"







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4. Public Hearing on AN ORDINANCE to establish the real and personal property tax rates to be levied for calendar year 1994. (#18 3/8/94)

(A copy of the proposed ordinance referred to in the above item, of which each Member of Council present received a copy not less than 24 hours before said introduction, is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of item No. 4; 3/24/94, and is incorporated herewith as part of this record by reference.

A copy of an Informal Memorandum Explaining Ordinance is on file in the office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 2 of Item No. 4; 3/24/94, and is incorporated herewith as part of this record by reference.)

WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Donley, seconded by Councilwoman Pepper and carried unanimously, City Council closed the public hearing. [Second Reading and Final Passage of the ordinance will be considered on April 28, 1994.] The voting was as follows:

Donley "aye" Cleveland "aye"
Pepper "aye" Jackson "aye"
Ticer "aye" Rich "aye"
Speck "aye"

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO BE CONSIDERED, upon motion by Councilwoman Pepper, seconded by Vice Mayor Cleveland and carried unanimously, at 12:05 a.m., March 25, 1994, the Special Meeting of March 24, 1994, was adjourned. The voting was as follows:

Pepper "aye" Donley "aye"
Cleveland "aye" Jackson "aye"
Ticer "aye" Rich "aye"
Speck "aye"


APPROVED BY:


___________________________________
PATRICIA S. TICER MAYOR



ATTEST:


_____________________________
Beverly I. Jett, CMC, City Clerk







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Memo




This docket is subject to change.

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Full-text copies of ordinances, resolutions, and agenda items are available in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of the Council.
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Individuals with disabilities who require assistance or special arrangements to participate in the City Council meeting may call the City Clerk and Clerk of Council's Office at 838-4500 (TTY/TDD 838-5056). We request that you provide a 48-hour notice so that the proper arrangements may be made.
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