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. 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 September 13, 2005. City Council approved the minutes of September 13, 2005. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ RECOGNITION OF YOUTH BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL None. PROCLAMATIONS 4. Presentation of a Proclamation Recognizing Deputy Sheriff Theodore Burt as City Employee of the Month for August. City Council endorsed the proclamation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 5. Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. City Council endorsed the proclamation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ * * * * * * New Business Item No. 1: A check in the amount of $10,000 was presented to the City from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors to be used for housing needs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. * * * * * * REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER CONSENT CALENDAR (6-13) (Resignations and Uncontested Appointments) 6. Receipt of the Following Resignations From Members of Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Alexandria Commission for the Arts Sharon Martens Ksander (b) Alexandria Commission on Persons With Disabilities Donald Misner 7. Uncontested Appointments to Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Alexandria Commission on Aging 1 Citizen Member (b) Alexandria Commission on Information Technology 1 Member Representing A Provider of Local Telephone Services (c) Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association Board of Governors 1 Hotel Owner/Manager Representative (d) Historic Alexandria Resources Commission 1 Representative From the George Washington Masonic Memorial (e) Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority 1 Citizen Member (f) Alexandria Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee 2 Members Representing the Potomac West Area (g) Alexandria Public Health Advisory Commission 1 Representative From the Alexandria Community Services Board 1 Non-Health Professional Member (Reports and Recommendations of the City Manager) 8. Consideration of City Council Support For the Community Services Board Letter to Legislators Regarding Proposed Changes to Medicaid That May Severely Curtail Funding For Case Management and Rehabilitation Services to Citizens With Mental Health and Mental Retardation Issues. 9. Receipt of Citizen Corps Council Grant Funds From the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM.) 10. Consideration of Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending August 31, 2005. 11. Consideration of Authorization of Recommended Capital Project Allocations and Planned Expenditures. 12. Consideration of a Construction Contract Change Order for 4480 King Street (Health Department and Clubhouse) for Services Provided by Turner Construction. (Ordinances for Introduction) 13. Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance Authorizing and Empowering the Issuance, Sale and Delivery of General Obligation Bonds to Finance Various Public Improvements. END OF CONSENT CALENDAR City Council approved the Consent Calendar as follows, with the removal of items 9, 12 and 13 and considered them under separate motion. The City Manager's recommendations were as follows: 6. City Council accepted the following resignations with regret: (a) Sharon Martens Ksander to the Alexandria Commission for the Arts; and (b) Donald Misner to the Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities. 7. City Council made the following appointments: (a) appointed Cedar Dvorin as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Commission on Aging; (b) waived the residency requirement and appointed Catherine Hogan Lewis as the one member representing a provider of local telephone service to the Alexandria Commission on Information Technology; (c) waived the residency requirement and appointed Philip Smith as the one hotel owner/manager representative to the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association Board of Governors; reappointed Robert Watkins as the one representative from the George Washington Masonic Memorial; (e) reappointed William Dickinson as the one citizen member to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority; (f) reappointed William Hendrickson and Sandy Modell as the two members representing the Potomac West Area to the Alexandria Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee; and (g) reappointed Mary Riley as the one representative from the Alexandria Community Services Board and reappointed Richard Merritt as the one non-health professional member to the Alexandria Public Health Advisory Commission. 8. City Council supported the letter to oppose proposed changes to the Medicaid system and requested the Mayor to write a similar letter on behalf of the City to the Senate Finance Committee and the City's Congressional Delegation. 9. City Council: (a) accepted the FY 2005 Homeland Security Citizen Corps grant award of $4,800; (b) accepted the supplemental FY 2004 Homeland Security grant funds in the amount of $15,200; and (c) authorized the City Manager to sign the local award agreements. (separate motion) 10. City Council received the monthly financial report for the period ending August 31, 2005. 11. City Council authorized the capital project allocations and planned expenditures for the capital projects as detailed in the Capital Improvement Expenditure Summary. 12. City Council approved the proposed contract change order in the amount of $129,692 and further authorized the City Manager to execute the contract change order on behalf of the City Council. Upon execution of the contract change order, the final payment will be processed and the contract will be closed. (separate motion) 13. City Council passed the ordinance on first reading and scheduled it for public hearing, second reading and final passage on October 15, 2005. (separate motion) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ CONTESTED APPOINTMENTS 14. Alexandria Commission for the Arts 1 Member Who Represents the Public-at-Large As An Arts Consumer and Participant City Council appointed Donna Fowler as the one member who represents the public-at-large as an arts consumer and participant to the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 15. Alexandria Community Services Board 1 Citizen Member City Council appointed Terence Everitt as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Community Services Board. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 16. Alexandria Consumer Affairs Commission 1 Citizen Member City Council appointed Kathryn Vanzant as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Consumer Affairs Commission. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 17. Alexandria Early Childhood Commission 1 Member-at-Large City Council reappointed Maureen Leary as the one member-at-large to the Alexandria Early Childhood Commission. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER FOR DISCUSSION 18. Presentation by the Alexandria Health Department on the Voluntary Restaurant No-Smoking Program for Participating Alexandria Restaurants. City Council heard a presentation by the Health Department on the voluntary restaurant no-smoking program. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 19. Staff Presentation and Discussion of Traffic Issues. City Council heard a presentation by Transportation and Environmental Services staff on traffic issues. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 20. MASTER PLAN AMENDMENT #2005-0003 (A) REZONING #2005-0004 (B) TEXT AMENDMENT 2005-0004 (C) HUNTING CREEK AREA PLAN Deferral from September 20, 2005, Consideration of a request for: (1) a revision to the Old Town Small Area Plan Addendum of the City's Master Plan to incorporate the Hunting Creek Area Plan; (2) amendments to the City of Alexandria zoning map to rezone certain properties affected by the construction of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and identified on the City of Alexandria Tax Map, as follows 83.01-01-06 and 08 (1199 S. Washington St. and 1205 S. Alfred Street) from RC to UT; 83.02-01-02 (1100 S. Washington St.) from OCM (50) to UT; 83.02-01-03 (1150 S. Washington St.) from OCM (50) to RC and UT; and 83.02-01-05 and 06 (1202 and 1200 S. Washington St.) from RC to UT; and (3) amendments to Section 3-906 related to bulk and open space regulations and the addition of Section 3-908 of the Alexandria Zoning Ordinance to add design guidelines and standards for development for properties adjacent to South Washington Street (George Washington Memorial Parkway) south of the Capital Beltway. Staff: Department of Planning and Zoning PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: MPA#2005-0003 Recommend Approval with amended conditions 7-0 REZ#2005-0004 Recommend Approval 7-0 TA#2005-0004 Recommend Approval 7-0 (#21, 9/20/05) City Council approved the Hunting Creek Area Plan, with an amendment to Section 3.4.3 as follows: In order to retain affordable and workforce housing in the City, the City may consider a zoning text amendment or zone change to allow additional height and density with setbacks appropriate to the project and the site, and in conformance with the Board of Architectural Review's Washington Street Standards and Guidelines, with SUP approval, if the project provides for extraordinary affordable housing, including but not limited to the acquisition by the City, or by a non-profit housing corporation, of units at the project. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES None ORAL REPORTS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL (a) Councilwoman Woodson said she serves as a member of the Steering Committee for Finance, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations on the National League of Cities, and they had a meeting preparing resolutions that will be presented to the national body in December, which will be posted on the NLC's website under FAIR, which is the acronym for the policy committee. The issues that affect the City most will be advance refunding issues for municipal tax exempt bonds and taxes on telecommunications, which the City already taxes cell phones, and for which there is quite a national stir. She noted that she also serves on the Virginia Municipal League's Finance Committee, and they are considering it and Virginia is a leader in this capacity and they talked about the work Virginia is doing with the telecommunications industry, as they still need revenues. She noted the other resolutions, which were unfunded mandates and a Daimler Chrysler business incentive that was offered that was then taken to court and the municipality then lost the right to offer an incentive to bring a business to their community, which is being appealed. It is important to municipalities as they are looking at the same kind of problem with the Federal Government as Virginia has with the State, as the State is fully capable of dictating what they are able to do because of the Dillon Rule, and the Federal government is doing the same kind of thing, which affect the revenues streams. She said the issues appear on the NLC website as resolutions and will be voted upon at the December NLC conference. (b) Councilman Smedberg said he has been asked to chair the newly created Communications Committee of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, which is part of the restructuring that started taking place last year. The Chair of the Legislative Committee is Fairfax County Chairman Gerry Connolly. (c) Councilman Macdonald said he is on the Library Board and the new Duncan Library is open for business. The Duncan Foundation is also sponsoring a lot of new educational initiatives at the library, including reading programs. He said they are looking very favorably at the request by the Library Board to pay for $18,000 worth of items in the library that were not bought early on. (d) Vice Mayor Pepper said there will be a meeting tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the Council workroom on the Mirant Community Monitoring Group. A lot has happened since it last met - the Mirant Power Plant closed and then started up unilaterally with one of its boilers using their own modeling inputs and ignoring everything they have been negotiating and agreeing to. There will be plenty of things to talk about, including the Governor's letter to the Mirant Power Plant and the City filed an amended complaint against the Mirant Corporation. At the last NVRC meeting, she said, Councilman Smedberg was able to get a resolution out of the Committee. Councilman Smedberg said that at the last NVRC meeting, the Commission voted unanimously to support Alexandria's position on Mirant and drafted a letter that was going to the State Department of Environment Quality, the Governor and one of the other regulatory bodies in support of Alexandria's position, more from the prospective of regional air quality issues and general support of the City's position. Mayor Euille said he also sent a letter to the Governor thanking him for his support and his letter to the president of Mirant chastising them for their position to start up again in one of the units at the plant. He said they are scheduled to have meetings with other folks to continue to fight this matter. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL (a) Mayor Euille asked staff and the representative of the Old Dominion Boat Club to give an status update on where it is relative to the Boat Club and the waterfront plans. City staff, along with Marianne McInerney, with the Old Dominion Boat Club, gave an update on the process. (b) Councilman Gaines said he learned recently of the death of Gilbert Brown, a computer lab teacher at MacArthur Elementary, and he was a great role-model and a mentor to the children and was much beloved and respected by the entire MacArthur community. (c) Councilman Gaines wished congratulations to an Alexandria resident whose company was recently listed in Washington Business Journal's 50 fastest growing companies in the Metro Washington area. The company, G & B Solutions, has grown from its founding in 2001 of $450,000 in revenue to $18.5 million in 2004, and that resident is his wife, Crystal Gaines and her partner Linda Berdine. (d) Councilman Macdonald asked the City Manager to have a brief update at the next legislative meeting on the taxi implementation process and how things are being implemented. (e) Councilman Macdonald said there is an urban forestry working group that will have a tree sale of native plants later in October at Fort Ward. (f) Councilman Macdonald said the Lyceum has a wonderful exhibit on the history of commerce in the City, with a lot of old photographs. He said they are putting the virtual exhibits on the internet, so even when the exhibit comes down, they can still be seen. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORAL REPORT FROM THE CITY MANAGER The City Manager reported that for the 20th consecutive year, the City has received the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the budget just adopted. He said kudos go to Budget Director Bruce Johnson and the Budget staff. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 21. Consideration of a Resolution of the City Council and the School Board to the Early Childhood Commission Regarding Development of a Plan for Increasing Access to Pre-School Opportunities Within Alexandria. (#34.1, 6/28/05) [ROLL-CALL VOTE] City Council adopted the resolution. (RES. NO. 2160) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 22. Consideration of a Resolution to Articulate the City’s Policy on the Use of the Power of Eminent Domain. [ROLL-CALL VOTE] City Council adopted the resolution. (RES. NO. 2161) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ OTHER 23. Consideration of City Council Schedule. City Council adopted the schedule of Council's regular City Council meetings for September 2005 through June 2006, with the following additions and changes: Dinner with the Mayor of the City's Sister City Caen, France on Thursday, September 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town, 1767 King Street; the Senior Services of Alexandria annual reception at 6:00 p.m. before Council's Wednesday, November 9 legislative meeting in the Vola Lawson Lobby; the dedication of the Jerome "Buddie" Ford Nature Center/William Ramsay Elementary School joint expansion/renovation project at 8:30 a.m. before Council's public hearing meeting on Saturday, November 12 at 5700 Sanger Avenue; and a work session on the King Street Business Improvement District on Wednesday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m., at a location to be determined. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ EXECUTIVE SESSION 24. Consideration of Convening An Executive Session Closed to the Public For Discussion of Actual and Probable Litigation, pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(7) of the Code of Virginia. At 10:09 p.m., City Council convened in executive session, pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(7) of the Code of Virginia for the purpose of consulting with legal counsel and briefing by staff with respect to probable litigation involving a property damage claim by Verizon, Inc., and to actual and probable litigation against the Mirant Power Plant. At 10:28 p.m., City Council reconvened the meeting. City Council moved to authorize the City Attorney to settle the Verizon claim along the lines discussed with Council. City Council adopted the resolution pertaining to the Executive Session. (RES. NO. 2162) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ * * * * * * The meeting adjourned at 10:30 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.