Meeting Minutes for Special Public Hearing Meeting (06/27/2005)

Special Public Hearing Meeting
Monday, June 27, 2005 - - 7:00 p.m.

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Present: Mayor William D. Euille, Vice Mayor Redella S. Pepper, Members of Council Ludwig P. Gaines, K. Rob Krupicka, Andrew H. Macdonald, Paul C. Smedberg and Joyce Woodson.

Absent: None.

Also Present: Mr. Hartmann, City Manager; Mr. Pessoa, City Attorney; Ms. Evans, Assistant City Manager; Mr. Baier, Director, Transportation and Environmental Services; Mr. Blakeley, Deputy Director, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Activities; Ms. Vosper, Landscape Architect Supervisor, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Activities; Ms. Federico, Historic Alexandria Director; Police Lt. Uzzell; and Mr. Farid, Telecommunications Coordinator.

Recorded by: Jackie M. Henderson, City Clerk and Clerk of Council

OPENING

1. Calling the Roll.

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

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER FOR DISCUSSION

2. Public Hearing on the Jones Point Park Concept Plan Alternatives.

(A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated June 22, 2005, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 2; 6/27/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.)

Mayor Euille noted that speakers forms would be accepted until 7:30 p.m., and he noted that the formal consideration will be decided on by Council June 28, 2005.

Mr. Blakeley, Ms. Vosper and Mr. Baier made a presentation of the concept plans and answered questions of City Council.

The following persons participated in the public hearing on this item:

(a) Michael Neilson, 4110 Ft. Worth Place, said he is a youth sports volunteer and asked Council to approve the two fields as reflected in the 65 percent plan and scheme A.

(b) Timothy Neilson, 4110 Ft. Worth Place, asked Council to confirm and reapprove the two full-sized fields at the park.

(c) Cindy Anderson, 2709 Valley Drive, spoke in support of plan A, as it is a compromise.

(d) Kathleen Pepper, 5320 Thayer Avenue, chair of the Alexandria Archeological Commission, said the Commission favors scheme A and oppose any fields south of the bridge, and she noted that the Commission also endorsed as a second preference scheme B if that is more environmentally friendly.

(e) Priscilla Goodwin, 306 Mansiln Drive, asked Council to support scheme A.

(f) Margo Chisholm, 124 Longview Drive, asked Council to vote for scheme A.

(g) Ellen Stanton, 2600 King Street, chair of Historic Alexandria Resources Commission, and member of the Jones Point Park Workgroup, said the members of HARC voted unanimously to support scheme A. If members of Council support a one field option, then members of HARC endorse one large playing field north of the bridge instead of south of the bridge.

(h) Theresa Miller, 808 South Lee Street, asked those in support of Yates Garden/Old Town compromise plan to stand, to which approximately 30 people stood. She asked Council to support the Yates Garden/Old Town compromise plan, as it seeks to minimize further damage to the park.

(i) Andy Rider, a fisherman at Jones Point Park, spoke of losing the eagles, hawks, osprey and birds and making more floodlands if it cuts the trees and puts soccer fields in. He asked Council to keep the land as it is.

(j) Megan Boyle, 2809 Central Avenue, spoke in favor of the fields. Bill Boyle, 2809 Central Avenue, said Jones Point Park should have athletic fields.

(k) Janice Magnusson, 905 Peele Place, a member of the Alexandria Archeological Commission, asked Council to preserve Jones Point Park for passage activities - for relaxing, watching the grass grow and the fish jump.

(l) Van Van Fleet, 26 Wolfe Street, said the park does not serve the community as a whole with no soccer fields, and there has never been a complete and validated analysis of how many soccer fields are required in the City, and it should look at how the City manages the scheduling of the fields. He recommended that it use the $14 million in the open space fund to procure land in Eisenhower Valley or under the Monroe Bridge, if the City finds it needs additional fields.

(m) Engin Artemel, 218 N. Lee Street, representing St. Mary’s School and St. Mary's Cemetery, said St. Mary's has a concern about the use of and access to S. Royal Street, which is the gathering place for car pool vehicles waiting for their children in the afternoon. He said they were surprised at the suggestions that came up to locate a large number of parking spaces for park users along S. Royal Street, as it would have a devastating effect on school operations.

(n) Don Simpson, 610 Oakley Place, proposed that if one field is deleted, that the City identify a replacement location for the installation of a second full-sized field and a dedicated funding source for the field. He noted that the field at the park should be a full-sized field.

(o) Jonathan Wilber, 310 South Lee Street, spoke to the lack of an air quality study based on the current rate of traffic across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge or on the projected rate of traffic on the new bridge, and he suggested Council postpone the decision until it has an air quality study.

(p) Linda Couture, 505 Duke Street, spoke of Founders Park as being one of the most valued and heavily used parks, despite its lack of active recreation and limited parking, and she said that is her vision for Jones Point Park and said they need to protect the green space, green canopy and preserve open space and balance the wants and needs and preserve the open space against the wants and the demands for more fields. She said the alternate with one small field is the best compromise.

(q) Michael Hart, 303 Yale Drive, spoke in favor of the two fields and said they need as many fields as they can and noted that the fields are open space when not used for organized activity.

(r) Poul Hertel, 1217 Michigan Court, said the option presented by the Old Town Civic Association and Yates Garden compromise is more in tune with what is being proposed, but if it is going with a full-sized soccer field, then he would encourage that it be put to the north.

(s) Alice Myers, 306 Jefferson Street, said they must not take away anymore trees, and it is missing some wonderful thing they could compromise with--their insane love of automobiles. Ms. Myers said they should put bicycles there, and it should get everyone out of their cars and give them cleaner air.

(t) Dawn Campbell, 815 S. Royal Street, asked Council to follow the Yates Garden/Old Town Civic Association compromise plan.

(u) Richard Campbell, 815 S. Royal Street, talked about an equitable compromise and asked Council to look at the proposal for Old Town Civic and Yates Garden, as it is viable and serves everyone's interest.

(v) Richard Miller, 808 S. Lee Street, said Council should reach a balanced compromise plan for development, and that has been articulated by the Yates Garden and Old Town Civic Associations.

(w) Sven Abrahamsom, 1627 Preston Road, along with his son Carl and the West End Panthers, noted the types of fields the kids play on. He noted that the compromise plan that Yates Garden proposed is not child friendly and noted the park is being used as an off-leash dog park and noted they desperately need other fields.

(x) Lynn Sauls, 14 Alexander Street, said she and her husband live adjacent to the bicycle path and oppose building of soccer fields north of the bridge and are in favor of the Old Town Civic Association plan.

(y) Ernest C. Kinnett, 26 Courage Lane, Stafford, said he has been coming to Alexandria for the last 8-10 years to fish on a daily basis. He asked Council to pick the right scheme and the fisherman would like to keep the waterfront that it has and keep the fishing access where it is.

(z) Robert Moir, 1641 Francis Hammond Parkway, said he is the commissioner of Alexandria lacrosse and the parents and players of Alexandria Lacrosse Club recommend plan A, two fields north of the bridge.

Councilwoman Woodson asked Mr. Moir to provide his information to staff so staff can provide it, along with other requested information.

(aa) Geralyn McNally, 1641 Francis Hammond Parkway, said she serves with her husband in running Alexandria lacrosse, and she spoke in favor of scheme A.

(bb) Jean Antone, 704 S. Fairfax Street, said she supports the Yates Garden plan.

(cc) Joe Parimucha, 211 Lee Court, said he lives adjacent to all of the projects and spoke in favor of the neighborhood proposal.

(dd) Sarita Schotta, 104 Prince Street, spoke about noise pollution and noted the effects of the bridge will be unknown, and she spoke of unknown athletic issues.

(ee) Timothy Bright, 734 S. Lee Street, said his concern is the negative impact of increased traffic on pedestrian safety in their neighborhood and he spoke in support of the compromise plan.

(ff) James McCall, 537 S. Fairfax Street, spoke in favor of the Yates Garden and Old Town Civic Association plan as a mixed use, as it is the best compromise.

(gg) Mark Pretzat, 507 Wilkes Street, spoke of the availability of Federal money and he spoke in favor of the compromise put forward by the Yates Garden and Old Town Civic Association.

(hh) Dennis Berstein, 4524 N. Pegram Street, said he works for the Alexandria City Public Schools, although not representing them, but he is in charge of the health and physical education programs, and he spoke of the things they have done to keep kids active. He noted the City needs more athletic fields on the eastern side of Alexandria.

(ii) Courtney Kramer, 405 Franklin Street, said she is a parent of small children, and she spoke about the removal of parking spaces after September 11, the problem with the parking, and she questioned the number of fields with the parking spaces, along with the use of turf.

(jj) Molly Timmons, 2408 Davis Avenue, said she will be in sixth grade next year and plays soccer, basketball and softball, and she spoke in favor of as many fields at Jones Point as possible, and she spoke in favor of Scheme A.

Councilman Smedberg asked for information on the number of non-regulation sized fields in the City.

(kk) Katy Cannady, 20 E. Oak Street, said Jones Point has special problems because of no parking under the bridge and it has unique features, and she asked Council to adopt plan D.

(ll) Yvonne DeBrnyn Weight, 735 S. Lee Street, spoke about the environmental impact statement in 1997 and the mitigation money that is being used by the City at Witter Field, and she noted that parking should be the first issue at Jones Point and lighting will also be an issue. She spoke in support of one small field south.

(mm) Michael Hobbs, 419 Cameron Street, speaking on behalf of the Old Town Civic Association, urged adoption of the one field compromise plan and noted that uses and parking, damage to the values of the park, and damaging impacts to the nearby neighborhoods must be part of the criteria, and he urged adoption of the single field option south of the bridge.

(nn) Karen Simon, 809 S. Royal Street, spoke about a technical memorandum dated April 12, 2005, by Earthtech, a consultant hired by the City, who reviewed the hydrology impacts of the two soccer fields and she spoke of the impacts on the neighborhood, the wetlands impact, tree removal and the traffic effects, and she asked Council to vote for no fields or the small field.

(oo) Mark Filteau, 917 S. Lee Street, said he and one other speaker are the two closest speakers to the field, and he spoke about the large and small field space the City has, the parking plans, and spoke in favor of the compromise plan.

(pp) Susan Cimbalo, 813 S. Royal Street, spoke of the effects of the bridge and said the noise is something to experience and the only thing that protects them are the trees.

(qq) Jeffrey Cimbalo, 813 S. Royal Street, said he agrees with everything his wife just said and he spoke on the homeland security considerations and the environmental impacts of the bridge and area.

(rr) Rebecca Stone, 617 N. Paxton Street, said she plays on a travel soccer team and her dream is to get a scholarship to a great college, but she said she needs fields to practice on and good coaches. She noted that she is currently looking at travel softball teams in Fairfax County where they have more fields, and she hoped Council would build the fields they need.

(ss) Richard Stone, 617 N. Paxton Street, said he has been a coach or assistant coach spanning over 30 combined seasons and is committed to improving athletics in Alexandria, and he spoke of the need for large fields.

(tt) Carolyn Merck, 324 N. Royal Street, said she is a board member of the Old Town Civic Association, and she urged Council to endorse the compromise option for the children size, natural surface soccer field on the lawn area south of the bridge.

(uu) Barbara Lynch, 815 S. Lee Street, said her children played at Jones Point soccer fields and later refereed there, but things have changed. She spoke of the water problem and the need of the soccer fields on the south side.

(vv) James Gibson, 1317 Knox Place, said he is a volunteer coach of four sports and coaches at T.C. Williams, is a member of the task group and chair of the Youth Sports Advisory Board and he urged Council to support two full size regulation fields.

(ww) A. Melvin Miller, 3928 Colonel Ellis Avenue, said he supports scheme A.

(xx) Judy Noritake, 605 Prince Street, chair of the Park and Recreation Commission, said the Commission stands in full support of scheme A. Ms. Noritake said that on her own behalf, she spoke about the environmental assessment and having children participate in sports and she said the fields are about the future.

(yy) Amara Vogt, 1647 Preston Road, said she has played soccer for the last five years and recently quit to make room for crew, and she spoke in favor of two full sized fields at Jones Point Park.

(zz) Claire Eberwein, 1647 Preston Road, submitted a picture of her dog and said she uses the many dog parks in the City, and she noted that the kids need the fields. Jones Point Park is a Federal park and is Federal land and should be open and accessible to everyone, and it is an urban, active park. She asked Council to support two full size fields at Jones Point Park.

(aaa) Julie Crenshaw, 816 Queen Street, spoke to the process and said she would do a complete evaluation for Council. She brought and explained samples of the vegetation in the park and the ecosystem in the park, and she said what it is doing in the north end of the park is for something that doesn't have the same value as the natural laboratory has. She also spoke of the hydrology report and the wetlands and she said this is everyone's science laboratory. (A transcript of Ms. Crenshaw's comments are included as part of the record.)

WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Gaines, seconded by Vice Mayor Pepper and carried unanimously, Council moved to close the public hearing. The voting was as follows:

Gaines "aye" Krupicka "aye"
Pepper "aye" Macdonald "aye"
Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye"
Woodson "aye"

Mr. Blakeley explained the next steps, noting that it will be given to the National Park Service and they have the VDOT plans. At that point, the National Park Service will then choose a scheme they would like as their preferred plan and bring it back to the public and have a public hearing on that. There will also be public hearings on the environmental assessment, 404 permit, and on all aspects of the project. When those hearings are closed, he said, the park aspect will move forward.

Ms. Audrey Calhoun, superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, said the National Park Service process is one in which they never make a major decision until they have public involvement, and they have been waiting for Council to provide them with its preferred alternative so they can incorporate that into other alternatives and they will prepare an environmental assessment that will go out to the general public after Labor Day. After the environmental assessment is released to the public, they will have a hearing and they will study the comments. If there is something in the comments that requires additional study, they will do the additional study. If there isn't, then the National Park Service will make a decision - and it could be a finding of no significant impact or a finding of adverse impact. She said that finding should hit before the end of the year.

There were questions of Ms. Calhoun, Park and Recreation staff, Ms. Federico and the City Attorney.

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THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO BE CONSIDERED, upon motion by Vice Mayor Pepper, seconded by Councilman Krupicka and carried unanimously, City Council adjourned the special public hearing meeting June 27, 2005, 10:46 p.m. The voting was as follows:

Pepper "aye" Gaines "aye"
Krupicka "aye" Macdonald "aye"
Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye"
Woodson "aye"

APPROVED BY:

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WILLIAM D. EUILLE MAYOR

ATTEST:

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Jacqueline M. Henderson, CMC City Clerk

This docket is subject to change.

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