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. 2. Moment of Silence and Pledge of Allegiance. City Council observed a moment of silence and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Reading and Acting Upon the Minutes of the Following Meetings of City Council: (a) The Public Hearing Meeting Minutes of February 25, 2006; and (b) The Special Public Hearing Meeting Minutes of March 13, 2006; and (c) The Regular Meeting Minutes of March 14, 2006. WHEREUPON, upon motion by Vice Mayor Pepper, seconded by Councilman Macdonald and carried unanimously, City Council approved the public hearing meeting minutes of February 25, 2006, the special public hearing meeting minutes of March 13, 2006, and the regular meeting minutes of March 14, 2006. The voting was as follows: Pepper "aye" Gaines "aye" Macdonald "aye" Krupicka "aye" Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" RECOGNITION OF YOUTH BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL 4. Recognition of the Girls and Boys T.C. Williams High School Basketball Teams and Their Coaches For Their Outstanding Seasons. City Council recognized the T.C. Williams High School Boys and Girls basketball teams and their coaches. * * * * * * (Councilman Macdonald left the meeting at this time - 7:20 p.m.) * * * * * * PROCLAMATIONS 5. Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. (A copy of the proclamation is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 5; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, upon motion by Vice Mayor Pepper, seconded by Councilman Gaines and carried unanimously, City Council endorsed the proclamation. The voting was as follows: Pepper "aye" Krupicka "aye" Gaines "aye" Macdonald absent Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" 6. Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring April 8, 2006, as Homeownership Fair Day. (A copy of the proclamation is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 6; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Smedberg, seconded by Councilwoman Woodson and carried unanimously, City Council endorsed the proclamation. The voting was as follows: Smedberg "aye" Pepper "aye" Woodson "aye" Gaines "aye" Euille "aye" Krupicka "aye" Macdonald absent 7. Presentation of a Proclamation for the 20th Anniversary of the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. (A copy of the proclamation is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 7; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Krupicka, seconded by Vice Mayor Pepper and carried unanimously, City Council endorsed the proclamation. The voting was as follows: Krupicka "aye" Gaines "aye" Pepper "aye" Macdonald absent Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" 8. Presentation of a Proclamation Recognizing the 30th Anniversary of the Kappas. (A copy of the proclamation is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 8; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Gaines, seconded by Vice Mayor Pepper and carried unanimously, City Council endorsed the proclamation. The voting was as follows: Gaines "aye" Krupicka "aye" Pepper "aye" Macdonald absent Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER CONSENT CALENDAR (9-15) (Resignations and Uncontested Appointments) 9. Receipt of the Following Resignations From Members of Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Alexandria Affordable Housing Advisory Committee David Englin (b) Alexandria Commission on Information Technology Dale Wurzer (c) Alexandria Commission on Persons With Disabilities Laura Lantzy (A copy of the above resignations is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 9; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 10. Uncontested Appointments to Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Alexandria Affordable Housing Advisory Committee 1 Licensed and Practicing Attorney (b) Alexandria Archaeological Commission 1 Member From the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce (c) Alexandria George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee 1 Member Nominated by the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations 1 Member Nominated by the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association (d) Alexandria Landlord-Tenant Relations Board 1 Resident Member Who Is Neither A Landlord or A Tenant (Homeowner) 1 Landlord or Representative of A Landlord (e) Alexandria Public Health Advisory Commission 1 Representative of the Inova Alexandria Hospital Board (A copy of the above appointments is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 10 (a-e); 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) (Reports and Recommendations of the City Manager) 11. Consideration of Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending February 28, 2006. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 22, 2006, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 11; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 12. Consideration of Authorization of Recommended Capital Project Allocations and Planning Expenditures. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 21, 2006, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 12; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 13. Submission of a Grant Application to the Department of Criminal Justice Services to Continue Community Corrections (Local Probation) and Pretrial Services Under the Comprehensive Community Corrections Act and Pretrial Services Act for FY 2007. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 22, 2006, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 13; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 14. Receipt of the 2005 Annual Report of the Board of Zoning Appeals. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 22, 2006, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 14; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 15. Receipt of the 2006 Needs Assessment from the Alexandria Commission on Persons With Disabilities. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 22, 2006, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 15; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) END OF CONSENT CALENDAR WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Krupicka, seconded by Councilman Smedberg and carried unanimously, City Council approved the consent calendar. The City Manager's recommendations were as follows: 9. City Council accepted the following resignations with regret: (a) David Englin, Alexandria Affordable Housing Advisory Committee; (b) Dale Wurzer, Alexandria Commission on Information Technology; and (c) Laura Lantzy, Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities. 10. City Council made the following appointments: (a) reappointed John Corrado as the one licensed and practicing attorney to the Alexandria Affordable Housing Advisory Committee; (b) waived the residency requirement and appointed Adron Krekeler as the one member from the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce to the Alexandria Archaeological Commission; (c) appointed Anna Jones as the one member nominated by the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations and waived the residency requirement and reappointed Quentin Tabscott as the one member nominated by the Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association to the Alexandria George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee; (d) appointed Lynn Pendlebury Colby as the one resident member who is neither a landlord or a tenant (homeowner) and waived the residency requirement and reappointed Cynthia Clare as the one landlord or representative of a landlord to the Alexandria Landlord-Tenant Relations Board; and (e) waived the residency requirement and appointed Bonnie Sakallaris as the one representative of the Inova Alexandria Hospital Board to the Alexandria Public Health Advisory Commission. 11. City Council received the monthly financial report for the period ending February 28, 2006. 12. City Council authorized the capital project allocations and planned expenditures for the capital projects as detailed in the Capital Improvement Expenditure Summary. 13. City Council authorized the City Manager to: (a) approve the grant application to the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) for continuation funding for the current biennial grant cycle (FY 2007 and 2008), in the amount of $432,389, under the Comprehensive Community Corrections Act-Pretrial Services Act (CCCA-PSA.) Last year's application covered funding for the FY 2005-2006, which was the last half of the biennial grant cycle (FY 2004-2006); (b) approve the continuation of six full-time positions to deliver the services to be provided under these grant programs. These grant funded positions would terminate upon the expiration of the grant and the individuals filling these positions will be notified of this condition of employment and sign an agreement of understanding with regard to this condition; and (c) execute all documents that may be required. 14. City Council received the report and thanked the Board of Zoning Appeals for their efforts on behalf of the City. 15. City Council received the Needs Assessment Report, which is a state-mandated report, submitted triennially, to the Virginia Disability Services Council from the Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities, and thanked the Commission members for their efforts on behalf of the City. The voting was as follows: Krupicka "aye" Pepper "aye" Smedberg "aye" Gaines "aye" Euille "aye" Macdonald absent Woodson "aye" CONTESTED APPOINTMENTS 16. Alexandria Affordable Housing Advisory Committee 1 Residential Tenant (The following persons volunteered for appointment to the above Commission) NAME: ENDORSED BY: Michelle L'Heureux Nicole Porter (Material pertaining to the above appointment is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 16; 3/28/06 and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, ballots were distributed, tellers were appointed and the ballots tallied with the following result: City Council appointed Michelle L'Heureux as the one residential tenant to the Alexandria Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. The voting was as follows: Euille - L'Heureux Pepper - L'Heureux Gaines - L'Heureux Krupicka - L'Heureux Macdonald - L'Heureux Smedberg - L'Heureux Woodson - L'Heureux 17. Alexandria Board of Architectural Review - Parker-Gray District 1 Citizen Member (The following persons volunteered for appointment to the above Commission) NAME: ENDORSED BY: Joseph Bondi Marcia Feldman Philip Moffat Charles Stulb (Material pertaining to the above appointment is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 17; 3/28/06 and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, ballots were distributed, tellers were appointed and the ballots tallied with the following result: City Council appointed Philip Moffat as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review - Parker-Gray District. The voting was as follows: Euille - Moffat Pepper - Moffat Gaines - Feldman Krupicka - Moffat Macdonald - Moffat Smedberg - Moffat Woodson - Feldman 18. Alexandria Community Criminal Justice Board 1 Citizen Member (The following persons volunteered for appointment to the above Commission) NAME: ENDORSED BY: Holly Clarke Nicholas Viggiani (Material pertaining to the above appointment is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 18; 3/28/06 and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, ballots were distributed, tellers were appointed and the ballots tallied with the following result: City Council appointed Holly Clarke as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Community Criminal Justice Board. The voting was as follows: Euille - Clarke Pepper - Viggiani Gaines - Clarke Krupicka - Clarke Macdonald - Clarke Smedberg - Viggiani Woodson - Clarke 19. Alexandria Human Rights Commission 1 Citizen Member (The following persons volunteered for appointment to the above Commission) NAME: ENDORSED BY: Carrie Lyons Kezia Williams (Material pertaining to the above appointment is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 20; 3/28/06 and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, ballots were distributed, tellers were appointed and the ballots tallied with the following result: City Council appointed Kezia Williams as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Human Rights Commission. The voting was as follows: Euille - Williams Pepper - Williams Gaines - Williams Krupicka - Williams Macdonald - Williams Smedberg - Williams Woodson - Williams 20. Alexandria Board of Review of Real Estate Assessments 1 Citizen Member (The following persons volunteered for appointment to the above Commission) NAME: ENDORSED BY: Garrett Erdle Joseph Grouby (Material pertaining to the above appointment is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 20; 3/28/06 and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, ballots were distributed, tellers were appointed and the ballots tallied with the following result: City Council reappointed Joseph Grouby as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Board of Review of Real Estate Assessments. The voting was as follows: Euille - Grouby Pepper - Grouby Gaines - Grouby Krupicka - Grouby Macdonald - Grouby Smedberg - Grouby Woodson - Grouby REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER FOR DISCUSSION 21. Consideration of Request for Duke Street, Patent and Trade Mark Office (PTO) Pedestrian Safety Measures. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 23, 2006, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 21; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) Mr. Lambert, Pedestrian Bicycle Coordinator, Transportation and Environmental Services, along with Mr. Garbacz, Division Chief, Transportation Division, T&ES, gave a report on the safety measures. WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Gaines, seconded by Councilman Smedberg and carried unanimously, City Council received the report and adopted step 1 for signage and pedestrian education and step 2 for marginal pedestrian barriers and determined that it wished to allocate $50,000 at this time from the remaining balance in the King Street Pedestrian Capital account for the marginal pedestrian barriers described on page two of the report. The voting was as follows: Gaines "aye" Pepper "aye" Smedberg "aye" Krupicka "aye" Euille "aye" Macdonald absent Woodson "aye" REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES None ORAL REPORTS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL (a) Councilman Krupicka reported on a Day Labor Summit that will be held on Thursday, which is the second summit related to the day labor issue. The focus is now to build a consensus in the region on how to deal with issues of immigration and day laborers. (b) Mayor Euille noted that he would be attending a Gang Forum hosted by the Washington Times newspaper on Thursday morning. (c) Councilman Smedberg spoke about the actions taken at the recent Northern Virginia Regional Commission meeting on the AIDS program/Ryan White. He noted NVRC would send a letter to the Congressional Delegation encouraging them to engage themselves at the appropriate time to try to get Northern Virginia out of the District of Columbia region. He said a task force was established that will look at the services, how they are provided, how they are financed and looking at it longer term. * * * * * * NEW BUSINESS ITEM NO. 1: City Council recognized Jay Johnson, Assistant Superintendent for Schools, on his retirement after 32 years of service to the School System and presented Mr. Johnson with a Key to the City. * * * * * * ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL (a) Vice Mayor Pepper said that in the April Washingtonian Magazine, there is an article on Great Places to Live and it mentioned the 60 top neighborhoods, and the headline reads, "Happy Streets: In Alexandria, tall trees, short commutes, and pleasant living mean lots of families come and stay." She noted that it speaks to the architectural diversity, the waterfront, the rich history and the activities that happen in the neighborhoods. (b) Councilwoman Woodson said Gaver Nichols has a house in the 300 block of Monroe Street and an old tree on his property died. She said Mr. Nichols planted a two-story tree, and it was done intentionally to maintain the flavor of that house and the community, and the tree is thriving. She said if they want to have the infill developments fit the community, the City needs to be riding the developers hard to make sure they produce the way this was done. (c) Councilwoman Woodson said she has been asked to sit on a ULI Conference Panel to discuss one of their publications, which they are re-doing, which is Ten Principles for Affordable Housing, and that is tonight and tomorrow. She said she would bring back whatever information she has to share with the City on what direction ULI is headed. (d) Mayor Euille said the Mayor's Walk through the Inner City is this Saturday morning, April 1, at the Durant Recreation Center at 9:45 a.m. Council, citizens and staff are invited to participate. It will end up at Charles Houston Recreation Center around noon with a lunch and brief discussions and interactions with the citizens to discuss what they observed through the walking tour. (e) Mayor Euille noted the Watershed Clean-up project that is scheduled for Saturday, April 8, entitled, Take Pride in Our Potomac: It Starts in Your Backyard. Trash Free by 2013, from 9 a.m. to noon at Jones Point Park. (f) Councilman Gaines said as it moves on the issue of affordable housing, to the extent she is amenable to it, he would hope that City government would find whatever way it can, through a consulting role or advisory role, to avail the expertise and experience of Councilwoman Woodson on the issues moving forward. (g) Mayor Euille said Legislative Director Bernie Caton emailed Council late this afternoon to give a status update on the special session the legislature is in in Richmond, and unfortunately, there is nothing new to report. He said they are having discussion on the budget for the next two years and still dealing with the transportation hurdles. Mayor Euille said he participated in a conference call last Wednesday evening with elected officials across the state with Governor Kaine and they heard the Governor being upbeat on the possibilities once the session commenced. He said both the Governor and the Senate have reasonable proposals on the table and it is trying to get the House to come on board. (h) Councilman Krupicka said he and Councilman Gaines wanted to thank the City staff that put an incredible amount of time into the Gang Summit this last weekend. There were over 500 participants and Mike Mackey did a fantastic job, along with the Police Force, Sheriff's Office, Community Services Board, and Parks and Recreation. He said he thought the City staff was well represented and he wanted to thank the City Manager and Deputy City Manager Evans for their help. Councilman Gaines noted that it was a tremendous event, and there was a cross-section of everyone from the City who attended. He said it took a tremendous amount of coordination to pull it off and make it successful. He said several people stepped up to the microphone and said they wanted to get involved and wanted to be mentors and wanted to find ways to help. He thanked the staff and the 500 people who came out on Saturday morning to participate. (i) Vice Mayor Pepper noted that last evening, they had the Salute to Women Awards Banquet, and Deputy City Manager Michele Evans received one of the highest awards, which was the Vola Lawson Award. She said they barely dipped into all of the reasons why she deserved this, certainly for many years of service. She said Ms. Evans has done such a wonderful job and has been so helpful to all of them, and she personally congratulated her again. (j) Mayor Euille noted that last week, he greeted the Mayor visiting for the first time in the United States, Estonian Mayor Jaadla, who wanted to come to Alexandria to have an understanding of its challenges in dealing with affordable housing, because in his country affordable is an issue for them. Mayor Euille said Mayor Jaadla is a board member and a founding member of an International Affordable Housing Coalition and the chairman of that organization resides in Rockville, Maryland. He said the next day, the Deputy Mayor of Suffolk, England, outside of London, stopped by to visit and he met him at the British Embassy when the London Association of Mayors was in town visiting, and the Deputy Mayor and his wife were in the states for a two week period and spent an entire week in Alexandria, and they attended many events. He said that on Thursday, he hosted a seven person delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister from Kenya, who came to Alexandria and wanted to learn how and what it does in terms of historic preservation, as that is a big issue for them back home. He said a fourth visit was trying to be worked in, but the schedule couldn't be worked out, and that was the opportunity to greet and meet the new Mayor of Liberia. Deputy City Manager Jinks said on affordable housing, they have been working on reorganizing and rethinking how it could get more affordable housing produced, and reorganize the Office of Housing to create in the deputy director position someone as the affordable housing czar, someone who would be responsible for being able to focus on increasing the amount of affordable housing production. He said the new deputy director, Helen McIlvaine, will start next week. ORAL REPORT FROM THE CITY MANAGER None. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 22. Consideration of a Resolution on the Financing Plan for Railcars for the Virginia Railway Express (VRE). [ROLL-CALL VOTE] (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated March 16, 2006, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 22; 3/28/06, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Gaines, seconded by Vice Mayor Pepper and carried unanimously by roll-call vote, City Council adopted a resolution on the financing plan for railcars for the Virginia Railway Express (VRS.) The voting was as follows: Gaines "aye" Krupicka "aye" Pepper "aye" Macdonald absent Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" The resolution reads as follows: