Action Docket for Regular Meeting (10/26/2004)

Office of the City Clerk
October 28, 2004

Regular Meeting
Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - - 7:00 p.m.

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OPENING

1. Calling the Roll.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Euille and the City Clerk called the roll; all members of Council were present.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

2. Moment of Silence and Pledge of Allegiance.

City Council observed a moment of silence and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

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

(a) The Regular Meeting Minutes of October 12, 2004.

City Council approved the regular meeting minutes of October 12, 2004.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

RECOGNITION OF YOUTH BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL

None.

PROCLAMATIONS

4. Presentation of a Proclamation Recognizing the 40th Anniversary of the War on Poverty.

City Council endorsed the proclamation.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

New Business Item No. 1: Mayor Euille presented a proclamation to Pat and Alan Rudd.

5. Presentation of a Check by the Chair of the Commission for the Arts to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee.

A check in the amount of $10,000 was presented to the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Committee.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

6. Presentation by the Alexandria Electoral Board on its Voter Outreach Campaign, Election Planning and Demonstration of the City's New Voting Machines.

The Electoral Board gave a demonstration of the new voting machines.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

7. Brief Staff Presentation on Cooperative Efforts by the City and the Alexandria Electoral Board to Prepare for the November 2 Presidential Election.

Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Penn made a presentation on the efforts.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER

CONSENT CALENDAR (8-13)

(Resignations and Uncontested Appointments)

8. Receipt of the Following Resignations from Members of Boards, Commissions and Committees.

(a) Alexandria Carr/Norfolk Southern Design Review Board
Patrick McDonald

(b) Alexandria Commission on Persons With Disabilities
Amber Nightingale

(c) Alexandria Community Services Board
Mary Anne Weber

(d) Alexandria Consumer Affairs Commission
Luke T. Macaulay

(e) Alexandria Social Services Advisory Board
Joanne Tomasello

(f) Alexandria Waterfront Committee
Myra B. Halpin

9. Uncontested Appointments to Boards, Commissions and Committees:

(a) Alexandria Commission on Employment
1 Business Representative From Among Recognized Area
Businesses, Including Minority-Owned and Small
Businesses

(b) Alexandria Community Criminal Justice Board
1 Representative of Local Education To Be Nominated by the
Superintendent of Schools

(c) Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission
1 Member From the Field of Environmental Sciences Such As
Environmental/Sanitary Engineering, Ecology, Geology, Botany,
Hydrology or Chemistry

(d) Historic Alexandria Resources Commission
1 Member-at-Large

(e) Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission
1 Citizen Member

(f) Alexandria Social Services Advisory Board
1 Citizen Member

(Reports and Recommendations of the City Manager)

10. Receipt of the Annual Report for Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities.

11. Receipt of the Alexandria Commission on Aging FY 2004 Annual Report.

12. Consideration of a Request From the Alexandria Sister Cities Committee to Modify Its Membership Requirements.

13. Consideration of Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending September 30, 2004.

END OF CONSENT CALENDAR

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

8. City Council received the following resignations with regret: Patrick McDonald, Alexandria Carr/Norfolk Southern Design Review Board; Amber Nightingale, Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities; Mary Anne Weber, Alexandria Community Services Board; Luke T. Macaulay, Alexandria Consumer Affairs Commission; Joanne Tomasello, Alexandria Social Services Advisory Board; and Myra B. Halpin, Alexandria Waterfront Committee.

9. City Council made the following appointments: (a) appointed Eileen Longstreet, the business representative from among recognized area businesses, including minority-owned and small businesses to the Alexandria Commission on Employment; (b) reappointed Gregory Baldwin as the representative of local education to be nominated by the Superintendent of Schools to the Alexandria Community Criminal Justice Board; (c) appointed J. Kyle Lynch as the member from the field of Environmental Sciences such as environmental sanitary engineering, ecology, geology, botany, hydrology or chemistry to the Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission; (d) reappointed Bernard Schulz as the member-at-large to the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission (e) appointed James Gibson, Jr., as the citizen member to the Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission; and (f) appointed Scott Barstow as the citizen member to the Alexandria Social Services Advisory Board.

10. City Council received the Annual Report from the Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities and thanked the Commission members for their efforts on behalf of the City.

11. City Council received the Annual Report from the Commission on Aging and thanked the Commission members for their efforts on behalf of the City.

12. City Council: (a) approved the request from the Alexandria Sister Cities Committee to convert the designated positions for representatives from the Police Department, Fire Department, Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association, and the School Board to four citizen positions; and (b) requested the City Attorney to draft an ordinance to which makes this change by the first meeting in November.

13. City Council received the Monthly Financial Report for the period ending September 30, 2004.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

CONTESTED APPOINTMENTS

14. Alexandria Board of Architectural Review - Parker-Gray District
1 Citizen Member

City Council appointed Stephanie Sample as the citizen member to the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review - Parker-Gray District.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER FOR DISCUSSION

15. Receipt of the Proposed City Legislative Package for the 2005 General Assembly Session.

City Council: (a) received the proposals for the City's 2005 Legislative Package; (b) scheduled the legislative package proposals for public hearing on Saturday, November 13, 2004; and (c) scheduled adoption of the Legislative Package for Tuesday, November 23, 2004, following Council's work session with the General Assembly delegation.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

16. Receipt of the Staff Analysis of the Needs Assessment Survey for Seniors.

City Council received the staff analysis of the Needs Assessment Survey for Seniors which was conducted by the Commission on Aging and the Office of Aging and Adult Services.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

17. Consideration of Authorization of Recommended Capital Project Allocations and Planned Expenditures.

City Council authorized the capital project allocations and planned expenditures for the capital projects as detailed in the Capital Improvement Expenditure Summary.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

18. Consideration of Adoption of the Proposed Open Space Priority List Action Plan. (#5, 10/16/04)

City Council deferred action until the November 9, 2004 meeting.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

19. Consideration of City Position on (1) Proposed Amendments to the Operating Permit for the Mirant Potomac River Plant and (2) the Proposed Consent Decree that Addresses the Nox Emissions from the Potomac River Plant and Three Other Mirant Generating Facilities in the Washington D. C. Region.

City Council: (a) authorized the City Manager to submit on behalf of the City comments to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality on the draft state operating permit and other issues concerning the operation of the Mirant Potomac River Plant. These comments are due no later than October 28. The City's proposed comments on the draft state permit are provided in attachment 1; (b) authorized the City Manager to submit on behalf of the City comments to the United States Department of Justice on the proposed consent decree that addresses the Nox emissions from the four Mirant generating facilities in the Washington, D.C. region. These comments are due no later than November 8. The City's comments on the consent decree will be very similar to those on the draft operating permit. However, staff seeks authorization to revise and expand the City's comments on the consent decree before the filing deadline for these comments; and (c) Received a copy of the Mirant Tracking Matrix which is provided in attachment II. This matrix will be updated regularly, and will be used to track the numerous pending activities involving the Mirant Potomac River Plant.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES

None

ORAL REPORTS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL

(a) Councilman Gaines said the Transportation Planning Board meeting of the Council of Governments celebrated its Disability Mentoring Day last week through a proclamation and a press conference.

(b) Councilman Gaines said the second item at the TPB meeting was the banning of transportation of hazardous materials by CRX through D.C., and the impact may be felt by the City.

Mayor Euille requested the City Manager to prepare a letter for the Mayor's signature in support of Congressman Moran's efforts.

(c) Councilman Gaines said that last week the Alexandria Citizen Corps Council held a public forum in Chambers on emergency preparedness and he thanked everyone who shared their views.

(d) Councilman Macdonald said he represents Council on the Waterfront Committee and the Committee is concerned about the repair of the City docks, which is tied to FEMA funding.

Legislative Director Bernie Caton said he has spoke to Tim Aiken, a member of Congressman Moran's staff, several times, who has contacted FEMA but has not heard back from FEMA. He said that Mark Penn has heard from FEMA that they have not yet made a ruling.

(e) Councilman Macdonald said he sits on the Library Board and the libraries are doing a great job reaching out to the community and more people are using the libraries and are reaching out to the community, including the Burke Library, which is continuing to be a great community library.

(f) Councilman Macdonald said the City received a large bequeath of nearly $1 million from the Duncan Foundation, which will go to helping programs at the Duncan Library. The City has asked if the Foundation would be willing to take out part of its principle, about $100,000, to help pay for some of the facility improvements at the Duncan Library. Councilman Macdonald said the Board would be taking it up at their next meeting in December.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL

(a) Councilwoman Woodson said Jamestown Village has been purchased and is being made into condominiums. She said the residents at Jamestown have some concerns and she asked for information on what the City's role will be in maintaining some fairness in the process and what the residents rights are with regard to their first right of refusal to purchase, and she asked how that fits in to the notice to vacate and how the City fits in any regulatory capacity.

(b) Mayor Euille congratulated the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria for an excellent telethon last Sunday night, which raised $102,000.

(c) Mayor Euille read a letter from a citizen commending Jason Schmauder and Johnny McCarther of the EMS staff for their work in saving the man's life.

(d) Vice Mayor Pepper noted that last year on the telethon, they took in about $60,000, and the goal for this year was $83,000.

(e) Vice Mayor Pepper said there was a $1.4 million expenditure for students at T.C. Williams to have laptops, and all the laptops are now distributed.

(f) Vice Mayor Pepper noted that this Sunday will be the shipbuilder monument dedication, which is a statue that will be placed at Waterfront Park.

(g) Councilman Smedberg acknowledged that Healthy Families had their transitional housing graduation on October 21 and he wished congratulations to the graduates.

(h) Councilman Smedberg thanked the staff for the Landmark hearing, as it was well done.

(i) Councilman Krupicka said the Healthy Families event was a great example of policies working and concerned, caring, hard-working people working together, and he said he wished the media was there to cover it.

(j) Councilman Krupicka said Habitat for Humanities Restore recently opened in Fairfax County on Route 1, which is for unused construction materials, where Habitat for Humanity will sell them to the building trades. All the money raised goes to Habitat's efforts.

(k) Councilman Krupicka said Community Partners for Children are collecting Halloween costumes for needy children at the Caboose Cafe on Mt. Vernon Avenue.

(l) Councilman Gaines said the Breast Cancer Walk on Saturday was a tremendous success and raised $120,000 and credit goes to the staff for organizing the event.

(m) Councilman Gaines said he addressed the students from T.C. Williams High School and St. Colletta who participated in Disability Mentoring Day.

(n) Councilman Gaines said the City needs someone to donate a holiday tree to be placed on Market Square.

(o) Councilman Macdonald said a lot of people use Chinquapin Recreation Center for swimming, and it is a great facility and they have been working hard to controlling the humidity and seem to have a new dehumidifier device in the locker room.

(p) Councilman Macdonald asked staff to take a look at a reasonable solution to have parking permits for health care providers who help the elderly. The permits would be for the daytime hours between 9:00 and 5:00.

Mr. Sunderland said he would bring it back as a docketed item, along with any necessary ordinance changes.

(q) Councilman Macdonald said the City has a new gauge on the docks to measure river level. He said the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin helps monitor and take care of a lot of the gauges.

(r) Councilman Macdonald said on the open space plan, the Council does recognize the Old Dominion Boat Club is a long-term historic institutional use in the City dating back to the 1800's and would do everything under their power to make sure it remains a viable institution.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

ORAL REPORT FROM THE CITY MANAGER

The City Manager reported on the following: (a) The Breast Cancer Walk from Saturday is now over $140,000 and he thanked Lisa Baker and her staff for all their hard work; (b) there are 139,000 library card holders in the City; (c) he highlighted the results of the City's citizen survey that was to be discussed in a work session earlier this evening, and he passed out copies of the survey and the press release; and (d) on the action plan deferral on open space, he suggested that he, the Mayor and staff get together with the president of the Old Dominion Boat Club to begin the discussion before it comes back to Council.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

None.

OTHER

20. Consideration of City Council Schedule.

City Council adopted the schedule of Council's regular City Council meetings for October 2004 through June 2005, with the following additions and changes: Received the revised calendar, which includes the joint City Council/School Board work session at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 6 at a location to be determined; and the open house and dedication of the City's building at 4480 King Street, the new home of the Alexandria Health Department and the Alexandria Community Services Board's West End Club House on Tuesday, December 7, 2004.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

21. Consideration of a Five-year License Agreement With TCG Virginia, Inc., to Authorize the Installation of Fiber Optic Cable in the Public Right-of-way.

City Council approved the five-year license agreement with TCG Virginia, Inc., and authorized the City Manager to execute the license agreement and to take any other actions that are necessary to implement the agreement.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

22. Consideration of a Five-year License Agreement With Xspedius Management Co. Of Virginia, LLC d/b/a/ Xspedius Communications to Authorize the Installation of Fiber Optic Cable in the Public Right-of-way.

City Council approved the five-year license agreement with Xspedius Management Co., of Virginia, LLC, dba Xspedius Communications and authorized the installation of fiber optic cable in the public right-of-way.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

23. Consideration of Convening An Executive Session Closed to the Public To Discuss the Appointment of the New City Manager, pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(1) of the Code of Virginia, and For Discussion of Probable Litigation, pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(7) of the Code of Virginia.

City Council adopted a resolution to come out of the executive session meeting held this week for interviewing candidates for City Manager and moved to convene in executive session on Wednesday, November 3, 2004, at 7:00 p.m., for the purpose of discussing the appointment of a new City Manager. (Res. No. 2122)
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

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The meeting adjourned at 9:32 p.m.

Note: The action docket is a summary of Council's meeting deliberations prepared largely for staff follow-up. Formal minutes of the meeting, when approved by Council, become the official record of the meeting and of Council decisions made at the meeting.

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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