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Office of the City Clerk
September 28, 2000

There was a pep rally for
the T.C. Williams Football Team
at 6:00 p.m. in Market Square.


Special Meeting
Wednesday, September 27, 2000 - - 7:30 p.m.


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Please take notice that City Council held a Special Meeting (in lieu of the Regular Meeting of Tuesday, September 26, 2000) on Wednesday, September 27, 2000, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 301 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia, for the purpose of considering the following items.

/s/ Philip Sunderland, City Manager

OPENING

1. Calling the Roll.

The Meeting was called to Order by Mayor Donley, and the Deputy City Clerk called the Roll; all Members of City Council were present.

Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

The Invocation was pronounced by Reverend Columbus Watson, Pastor, Beulah Baptist Church.
2. Invocation. By:_________________________________________________________

3. Reading and Acting Upon the Minutes of the Following Meeting of City Council:

(a) The Regular Meeting of Tuesday, September 12, 2000.

City Council approved the Minutes for (a) the Regular Meeting of Tuesday, September 12, 2000, as submitted.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

4. Report of the City Clerk.

City Council received the report of the City Clerk.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

OPENING (continued)

5. Presentation of Proclamation Recognizing Members of the 1971 Titans Football Team.

Coach Boone announced the formation of the '71 Original Titans Foundation by the team to raise money to provide at least five $2,000 scholarships to needy kids in this City each year in order to give back something to the City Council and people of Alexandria. On behalf of the team, cheerleaders and others who supported them, the team presented City Council with a poster of the team with all their names, and autographed by all those assembled.

Councilman Euille thanked the City Manager and his staff for the planning of this evening and the pep rally on very short notice. The turnout was exceptional.

City Council endorsed the proclamation.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

6. Brief Presentation from the Living Wage Coalition to the City Council.

Rev. Morales and the members of the Northern Virginia Living Wage Coalition presented a proclamation to Council thanking them for passing the living wage ordinance.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

7. Presentation of Proclamation Proclaiming October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the City of Alexandria.

City Council endorsed the proclamation.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

8. Presentation of Proclamation Declaring the Week of October 8-14, 2000, as Fire Prevention Month in the City of Alexandria.

Councilwoman Woodson requested that a videotape she has viewed be used in the schools for fire prevention, probably for junior high kids, and she will provide it to Chief Hawkins.

City Council endorsed the proclamation.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

9. Presentation of Proclamation Proclaiming the Month of October as National Arts and Humanities Month.

City Council endorsed the proclamation.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER

CONSENT CALENDAR (10-13)

10. Receipt of Resignations from Members of Boards, Commissions and Committees:

(a) Alexandria Archaeological Commission
William Jack Hranicky

(b) Alexandria Community Policy and Management Team
Nancy H. Cady

(c) Historic Alexandria Resources Commission
William Jack Hranicky

(d) Alexandria Youth Policy Commission
Sam Dingman

11. Receipt of the City's Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending August 31, 2000.

12. City Council Authorization of Recommended Capital Project Allocations and Planned Expenditures.

13. Receipt of Alexandria Volunteer Fire Department 1998-1999 Annual Report.

END OF CONSENT CALENDAR

City Council approved the Consent Calendar as presented. The City Manager's recommendations are as follows:

10. City Council received the resignations of (a) William Jack Hranicky from the Alexandria Archaeological Commission; (b) Nancy H. Cady from the Alexandria Community Policy and Management Team; (c) William Jack Hranicky from the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission; and (d) Sam Dingman from the Alexandria Youth Policy Commission; requested the Executive Secretary for Boards and Commissions to send the appropriate letters of appreciation and to advertise the vacancies in the usual manner.

11. City Council received the Monthly Financial Report for the period ending August 31, 2000.

12. City Council: (1) authorized the capital project allocations and planned expenditures for the capital projects as detailed in the summary of Capital Improvement Program Planned Expenditures; and (2) delegated to the City Manager, or his designee, authority to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder for sanitary sewer reconstruction.

13. City Council received the report from the Alexandria Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., and recognized the volunteers for their outstanding service and generous contribution to the City.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER (continued)

14. Discussion Regarding a Public Hearing on Changes in Local Elections. (Councilman Speck)

Whereupon, Councilman Speck made a motion, seconded by Councilman Euille, that Council rescind its previous action in rejecting a public hearing and docket for public hearing an invitation for the public to comment about local elections. Councilman Speck withdrew his motion, being aware that there were insufficient votes to pass this motion.

Members of Council spoke on this item.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

15. Receipt of the City of Alexandria, Virginia 2000 Annual Report, and Setting It for Public Hearing.

City Council received the City Manager's 2000 Annual Report and docketed the report for public hearing on Saturday, November 18.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

16. Consideration of the Master Plan for Dog Exercise Areas and Fenced Dog Parks which includes the Proposed Guidelines from the Park and Recreation Commission. (#25 9/16/00; #20 (a) 9/12/00; #18 6/27/00)

Councilwoman Woodson stated for the record that people are afraid of animals, not everyone, but enough people are afraid of animals that in open parks, like Founders Park, she is not comfortable with the idea of them being unleashed.

The City Manager stated staff will accumulate comments over the next six months, in the spring bring whatever comments there are to the Park and Recreation Commission, and if there is a need to change something it will come back to Council.

City Council approved the Park and Recreation Commission's Master Plan for Dog Exercise Areas and Fenced Dog Parks as amended to include the guidelines for establishing new fenced dog parks and dog exercise areas and the following changes to specific areas: (A) Area 1 - Founders Park - The Founders Park dog exercise area will remain located where it is currently delineated near Union Street, and staff will continue to monitor this area. Staff will recommend to the City Manager by April 2001, if further action is necessary. If, at a later date, the dog exercise area is determined to be unsatisfactory for all users of Founders Park, an alternative location will be considered; (B) Area 16 - Holmes Run - Pickett Street behind the CVS was originally recommended as a new dog exercise area. It is now recommended that this area not be included at this time on the list of proposed new dog exercise areas; (C) Area 17 - New area behind George Mason School - Staff will return to Council with a recommendation regarding the proposed new designation or the use of fencing in this area by December 2000, after reevaluating this area with all area users; and (D) Area 21 - Chetworth Park at Chetworth Place - The language in the Master Plan has been changed to read: "When the Potomac Yard Fenced Dog Park and/or an additional site in this neighborhood is located, this fenced dog park will be reevaluated."
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________


ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

17. Second Reading and Final Passage of AN ORDINANCE to add a new Section 6-1-2.2 to the City Code, to authorize the city manager to establish dog exercise areas in the city, and to provide regulations for the use of such areas. (#26 9/16/00; #20(b) 9/12/00) [ROLL-CALL VOTE]

City Council finally passed the Ordinance on its Second Reading and Final Passage. ORD. NO. 4162
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

18. Second Reading and Final Passage of AN ORDINANCE to amend the provisions of Title 5, Chapter 7, Article C of the City Code, which relate to keeping dogs under restraint. (#27 9/16/00; #20(c) 9/12/00) [ROLL-CALL VOTE]

City Council finally passed the Ordinance on its Second Reading and Final Passage, as amended, by inserting the word "physical" in any reference to "restraints," and that the fee for non-neutered dogs be raised from $10 to $30.
ORD. NO. 4163
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER (continued)

19. Consideration of Report on Traffic Calming and City Efforts to Address Citizen Concerns about Traffic Issues. (#22 6/27/00)

City Council: (1) Received the report, released it for public review and docketed it for public hearing at Council's Saturday, November 18 Public Hearing meeting; and (2) At the Tuesday, November 28 Council meeting, approve, in concept and subject to future funding considerations, the actions staff propose to undertake to address those traffic concerns presented by citizens and citizen associations in response to the citywide traffic survey that have not yet been addressed. Staff will return to Council soon after the beginning of the year, with an estimate of the costs to undertake these actions, and a plan for undertaking them.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

20. Consideration of Report on Continuation of the Gridlock Intervention Program.

City Council: (1) continued the Gridlock Intervention Program, resuming evening rush hour coverage (beginning October 2) Monday through Friday except holidays, and continuing it through the remainder of FY 2001; (2) authorized the establishment of 5 new, permanent Parking Enforcement Officer III positions; (3) approved an additional career ladder opportunity for Parking Enforcement Officer III that will, in addition to the issuance of parking citations, assume additional responsibilities for staffing the Gridlock Intervention Program; and (4) appropriated $205,315 ($167,315 to the FY 2001 Police Department General Fund budget to pay for salaries, benefits, and equipment and $38,000 to the City's Internal Services Fund to pay for 2 vehicles) to pay for these 5 positions ($165,060 of this amount will come from the City's contingent reserve account, and $40,255 will come from increased parking ticket revenue generated by the new positions).
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES

None

ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL.

(a) Councilman Euille encouraged citizens to become blood donors. There is a severe blood shortage both locally and nationally. Citizens can call the local chapter of the Alexandria Red Cross at 703-549-8300 to find the dates and times for blood drives. The Red Cross holds blood drives on the second Thursday of each month, and the next drive is on Thursday, October 12. Call 1-800-448-3256 and they will tell you based on where you live various sites to go to donate blood.

(b) Councilman Euille stressed staff to monitor the new federal fuel relief program recently announced by President Clinton to be certain that Alexandria affords itself of the opportunity to seek a grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia to support our needs in the City for our residents.

(c) Councilwoman Pepper reported that Alexandria is getting national coverage on the Titans movie. Denzel Washington was on the Rosie O'Donnell show talking about the wonderful City of Alexandria.

(d) Councilman Speck requested an update on the status of the King Street underpass, the improvements to it and how things are going with CSX. The City Manager reported that a letter is going to CSX from the Mayor giving an update on what we have done and what still needs to be done. Transportation and Environmental Services Director Baier reported that a new pedestrian-activated signal has been installed just east of the overpass. They have pressure washed underneath the structure, the abutments and sidewalks, and put two coats of a paint product to coat the splash guards and on the abutments themselves. The same things will be done on the Commonwealth overpass. CSX is to remove the chicken wire and do some wood repairs. We are looking to work with CSX getting some estimates and getting them into sandblasting and painting the entire structure. However, as expressed by CSX, they have 50,000 bridges across the country and this bridge, upon inspection, didn't really look any worse than other bridges.

(e) Councilman Speck related that at the last meeting, Council made a decision to increase penalties as they relate to drivers and their adherence to pedestrian signals and crossings. The other side of that is the extent to which pedestrians and bicyclists engage in unsafe practices, and are we doing anything to strengthen our enforcement of bad pedestrian and cycling practices. Transportation & Environmental Services Director Baier reported they are going out with members of the bike commission with Parks and Recreation to beef up signage and street markings. The police have the authority to cite pedestrians and bicyclists for violations but it is infrequent that this occurs because of so many other demands. Instead, a public education effort could be undertaken and then some increased enforcement could be discussed. Mayor Donley suggested that perhaps the bike study committee could look at this issue of traffic laws and perhaps they could take a look at education or outreach efforts to educate the public on the adherence of the safety law before getting into a major enforcement effort.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL (continued)

(f) Councilman Speck took a recent field trip with AEDP to Mount Vernon Avenue which he found very helpful. He asked if Council would be interested in an AEDP-organized tour to Mount Vernon Avenue and Duke Street. The City Manager will put together a tour package, set the date and notice it, and those who wish to attend can do so.

(g) Councilwoman Eberwein will be writing a memorandum to Council requesting that at the Retreat, Council talk about the role of AEDP and how they interact with the planning department and how much flexibility Council will be providing to the new planning director as to how it is set up now.

(h) Councilwoman Woodson reminded the audience that elections are coming up, and there is about a week to register to vote. There are very important elections coming up in November.

(i) Councilwoman Woodson asked Transportation & Environmental Services Director Baier to tell the audience about the VDOT-sponsored Van Dorn meeting to discuss the safety project between Edsall and Pickett at Polk Middle School tomorrow, September 28, from 5 - 8 p.m. You can drop in at any time during that time period and make comments.

(j) Mayor Donley announced next year's 2001 Alexandria Technology Achievement Award and Technology Achievement Week, coming up March 12-16, 2001. Notices soliciting nominations are going out this week, and he encouraged that nominations be made to the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce by the deadline of October 31.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS (continued)

21. Consideration of a Resolution and Grant Applications for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for FY 2001 Continuation Funding of the State Homeless Housing Assistance Resources (SHARE) Program and Approval of Share Applications Submitted by Alexandria Non-Profit Organizations. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]

City Council: (1) approved the grant applications and adopted the Governing Body Resolution requesting that the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development continue funding, from the FY 2001 SHARE Program's state Shelter Support Grant (SSG) and Federal Shelter Grant (FSG) components for the Alexandria Community Shelter and the Office on Women Domestic Violence Program, which are the two programs under the SHARE grant operated directly by the City; (2) approved the Certification of Local Approval, authorizing the submission of grant applications for the FSG, which will provide funding for eight non-profit organizations currently eligible for FSG funding under the SHARE program. These organizations are: ALIVE! the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless, The Campagna Center as This Way House, Catholic Charities for Christ House, The Carpenter's Shelter, Community Lodgings, Inc., Friends of Guest House, and The Salvation Army; and (3) authorized the City Manager to execute all necessary documents. RES. NO. 1979
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

OTHER

22. Consideration of City Council Schedule.

City Council added to the Council Calendar the following events: (1) Tuesday, October 24, The Summer Jobs for Alexandria Youth 2000 Employer Recognition and Reception on Tuesday, October 24, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Room 2000 of City Hall; (2) Saturday, November 11, Special Veterans Day Ceremony on Saturday, November 11, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., with a program at 2:30 p.m. at the Mt. Vernon Recreation Center, 2601 Commonwealth Avenue; and (3) Saturday, June 2, Alexandria Earth Day on Saturday, June 2, 2001, at Four Mile Run Park. A corrected calendar was distributed to show that the Burke Library community meeting mentioned in the memorandum is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

CONTESTED APPOINTMENTS

23. Alexandria Commission for Women
4 Citizen Members

City Council reappointed Susan Butler and Christine Messina-Boyer and appointed Dianne Cherry and Mary Maul as Citizen Members to the Alexandria Commission for Women.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

24. Historic Alexandria Resources Commission
1 Representative from Planning District I

1 Representative from Planning District II

City Council reappointed Kleber Masterson, Jr. as a Representative from Planning District I and Patrick Butler as a Representative from Planning District II to the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission.
Council Action:_______________________________________________________________

New Business Item No. 1: At 9:56 p.m., City Council convened in executive session at this time, pursuant to Section 2.1-344(A)(3) of the Code of Virginia, for the purpose of providing recreational facilities.

At 10:16 p.m., City Council reconvened the meeting and adopted the resolution pertaining to the executive session. RES. NO. 1980

The Meeting was adjourned at 10:18 p.m.

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. Meeting materials are also available on-line at https://alexandriava.gov/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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