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City Council held a work session from 5:45 to 6:50 p.m. with the members of the City's legislative delegation: Senator Dick Saslaw, Senator Patsy Ticer, Delegate Brian Moran and Delegate David Englin.
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. 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 Regular Meeting Minutes of November 9, 2005; and (b) The Public Hearing Meeting Minutes of November 12, 2005. WHEREUPON, upon motion by Vice Mayor Pepper, seconded by Councilman Gaines and carried unanimously, City Council approved the regular meeting minutes of November 9, 2005 and the public hearing meeting minutes of November 12, 2005. The voting was as follows: Pepper "aye" Krupicka "aye" Gaines "aye" Macdonald "aye" Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" RECOGNITION OF YOUTH BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL None. NEW BUSINESS ITEM NO. 1: Members of the Psi Nu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, as part of its National Achievement Week, presented the Mayor with a plaque naming him as the 2005 Citizen of the Year Award for continuous public service and sustained community humanitarian efforts. PROCLAMATIONS 4. Presentation of a Proclamation Honoring City of Alexandria Employees Who Volunteered to Assist in Localities in Louisiana and Mississippi Affected by Hurricane Katrina. (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. 4; 11/22/05, 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 "aye" Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" 5. Recognition of the Graduates of the Alexandria Citizens Academy. City Council recognized the graduates of the second Citizens Academy. 6. Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring December 3, 2005, as the 35th Anniversary of the Campagna Center's Scottish Christmas Walk. (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; 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Macdonald, seconded by Councilman Gaines and carried unanimously, City Council endorsed the proclamation. The voting was as follows: Macdonald "aye" Pepper "aye" Gaines "aye" Krupicka "aye" Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" 7. Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring November 24, 2005, as Potomac West "Turkey Trot" 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. 7; 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, upon motion by Vice Mayor Pepper, seconded by Councilwoman Woodson and carried unanimously, City Council endorsed the proclamation. The voting was as follows: Pepper "aye" Gaines "aye" Woodson "aye" Krupicka "aye" Euille "aye" Macdonald "aye" Smedberg "aye" REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER CONSENT CALENDAR (8-12) (Resignations and Uncontested Appointments) 8. Receipt of the Following Resignations From Members of Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Alexandria Beautification Commission Caroline Kennedy (A copy of the above resignation is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked collectively as Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 8(a); 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 9. Uncontested Appointments to Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Alexandria Commission for the Arts 2 Members Who Represent the Public-at-Large As Arts Consumers and Participants (b) Alexandria Commission on Aging 1 Citizen Member Who Is 60 Years of Age or Older (c) Alexandria Consumer Affairs Commission 2 Citizen Members (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. 9(a-c); 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) (Reports and Recommendations of the City Manager) 10. Consideration of an Application For Funding to the Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) For the Round 5 Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communities (SPARC) Program. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated November 17, 2005, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 10; 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 11. Consideration of the Monthly Financial Report For the Period Ending October 31, 2005. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated November 14, 2005, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 11; 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) 12. Consideration of an Authorization of Recommended Capital Allocations and Planned Expenditures. (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated November 14, 2005, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 12; 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) END OF CONSENT CALENDAR WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Krupicka, seconded by Councilman Gaines and carried unanimously, City Council approved the Consent Calendar as follows: The City Manager's recommendations were as follows: 8. City Council accepted the following resignation with regret: (a) Caroline Kennedy, Alexandria Beautification Commission. 9. City Council made the following appointments: (a) reappointed Ellen Harris and appointed Marc Sukolsky as the two members who represent the public-at-large as arts consumers and participants to the Alexandria Commission for the Arts; (b) reappointed Klara Guyton as the one citizen member who is 60 years of age or older to the Alexandria Commission on Aging; and (c) waived the residency requirement and appointed Sonya Sacks and reappointed Sean Spicer as the two citizen members to the Alexandria Consumer Affairs Commission. 10. City Council approved the submission of an application to the Virginia Housing Development Authority for $18.1 million in SPARC Round 5 program funding to provide first-trust, low-interest, mortgage financing for participants in the City's Homeownership Assistance Program (HAP) and Moderate Income Homeownership Program (MIHP.) 11. City Council received the Monthly Financial Report for the period ending October 31, 2005. 12. City Council authorized the capital project allocations and planned expenditures for the capital projects as detailed in the Capital Improvement Expenditure Summary. The voting was as follows: Krupicka "aye" Pepper "aye" Gaines "aye" Macdonald "aye" Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" CONTESTED APPOINTMENTS 13. Alexandria Commission on Information Technology 2 Citizens-at-Large (The following persons volunteered for appointment to the above Commission) NAME: ENDORSED BY: Juan Bocanegra James Giordano Betty Morrison (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. 13; 11/22/05 and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, ballots were distributed, tellers were appointed and the ballots tallied with the following results: City Council appointed Juan Bocanegra and James Giordano as the two citizen-at-large members to the Alexandria Commission on Information Technology. The voting was as follows: Euille - Bocanegra, Giordano Pepper - Bocanegra, Giordano Gaines - Bocanegra, Giordano Krupicka - Bocanegra, Giordano Macdonald - Bocanegra, Morrison Smedberg - Bocanegra, Giordano Woodson - Bocanegra, Morrison 14. Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission 1 Citizen-at-Large (The following persons volunteered for appointment to the above Commission) NAME: ENDORSED BY: Samantha Ahdoot Heidi Meinzer Jason Miles (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. 14; 11/22/05 and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) WHEREUPON, ballots were distributed, tellers were appointed and the ballots tallied with the following results: City Council reappointed Samantha Ahdoot as the one citizen-at-large to the Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission. The voting was as follows: Euille - Ahdoot Pepper - Ahdoot Gaines - Ahdoot Krupicka - Ahdoot Macdonald - Ahdoot Smedberg - Ahdoot Woodson - Ahdoot REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER FOR DISCUSSION Items 15 and 16 were heard together: 15. Consideration of Adoption of the City's 2006 Legislative Package. (#17, 10/25/05, #6, 11/12/05) 16. Consideration of Adoption of Proposed Amendments to the Charter of the City of Alexandria, Virginia for the 2006 Session of the General Assembly. (#7, 11/12/05) (A copy of the City Manager’s memorandum dated November 16, 2005 and October 18, 2005, are on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 and 2 of Item Nos. 15 and 16; 11/22/05, and are incorporated as part of this record by reference.) Mayor Euille noted that the Council held a work session prior to the start of the legislative meeting with the Legislative Director and the Legislature - Senator Dick Saslaw, Senator Patsy Ticer, Delegate Brian Moran and Delegate David Englin. Legislative Director Caton made a presentation of the 2006 Legislative Package, and noted an addition to the item, which is item #2U, support legislation to earmark $500,000 for the Northern Virginia Housing Trust Fund. WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Smedberg and seconded by Councilman Gaines, to adopt items 1.A through 1.H, 2.A through 2.U and 3.A through 3.G as positions in the City's Legislative Package for the 2006 General Assembly Session, which includes the addition of item #2.U. Vice Mayor Pepper noted for the record that there was a divided opinion on the issue of the designated sum of one cent on the tax rate for open space that should be spent for just the acquisition of open space or to include maintenance in that. It was not without discussion and a divided opinion. The voting was as follows: Smedberg "aye" Pepper "aye" Gaines "aye" Krupicka "aye" Euille "aye" Macdonald "aye" Woodson "aye" 17. Consideration of Report on City Council Salaries Pursuant to Section 2-1-4 (e) of the City Code . (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated November 17, 2005, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 17; 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) Mayor Euille noted that there is a requirement that every three years Council is to review the salaries of Council for its impact of the cost of living adjustments. The item is a proposal from the City Manager with calculations on applying a COLA for the next three years, if Council chooses to make an adjustment at this time, and it would apply to the new Council in 2006. No action is required tonight other than to give guidance. Councilman Macdonald requested that staff look into making the Council aides full-time, as if done in Arlington, in the budget process/discussion. City Council determined that it will introduce an ordinance at Council's Tuesday, December 13 legislative meeting and schedule it for public hearing, second reading and final passage on Saturday, December 17 to meet the Code requirement that the legislation be passed four months prior to the next Council election (May 2, 2006.) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES None ORAL REPORTS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL None. ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL None. ORAL REPORT FROM THE CITY MANAGER (a) Mr. Hartmann asked Mr. Powers to give an update on fuel assistance programs, as follows: Mr. Powers, Director of Community Programs, Department of Human Services, gave an update on the fuel assistance programs and energy needs in the City, funding from Federal and State sources to help with the high cost of fuel, the State supplement, that it will be necessary to do a private fund-raising campaign, and steps taken to disseminate the program. Councilwoman Woodson said an item that concerned her was throwing money out the leaky windows when providing assistance to people in need of utility bill payments, and if they do nothing about the drafty door and lack of attic insulation and storm doors, then they are not putting the finger in the hole. She said she spoke to Home Depot about partnering with the City, and she spoke with the executive director of Rebuilding Together Alexandria, who is also interested. (b) City Manager Hartmann reported on the Quality of Life meeting discussion last Friday that centered around Arlandria, what has been occurring there, and what the City will do for community building, and he asked Chief Samarra to give his recommendations. Police Chief Samarra gave a report on the preliminary plan for Arlandria and said he would assign Captain Eddie Reyes to full-time assignment in Arlandria. (c) Councilman Krupicka said there were interesting ideas brought forward from the recent Walkable/Livable City presentations on bike lanes, traffic calming, and he asked how staff was taking those ideas and what kind of thinking was going on about how to use them. Mr. Hartmann asked Mr. Baier to talk about Walkable/Livable City prospects. Mr. Baier, Director of Transportation and Environmental Services, made a report on what they are doing for parking, transportation, traffic and bike lanes, including interviewing for the bicycle/pedestrian coordinator, are setting up a meeting with Seminary Hill Association to talk about Seminary Road, Seminary Road from Quaker Lane to Howard is experiencing increased traffic as well as increased travel speeds, so the bike lanes and different colored, textured pavements, as well as the refuge areas, they are looking at. He said he is setting up additional meetings with the staff to train the staff on what to be looking for in reviewing development plans and new capital projects. (d) Councilman Krupicka said there are ideas floating around about parking permits for child care workers and contractors. There was a discussion from Council and staff on the issue of parking permits for day care providers and contractors and that staff was directed to look into it. (e) Councilman Smedberg said Council spoke at the last meeting about getting the Mirant Working Group together and that is something they need to move on, as they are at a real critical junction in terms of something happening there. Mr. Baier said they were targeting the second full week in December for the Mirant Working Group. City Attorney Pessoa said he met with the outside counsel today on what it foresees happening in the next couple of weeks to include in the matrix. (f) Councilman Smedberg said there was concern that the Christmas Scottish Christmas Walk Parade is coming up and with the change in the traffic pattern, he asked that staff contact the Old Town Civic Association and some of the surrounding neighborhood associations, and he wanted to make sure staff did that, as they have to get the word out to let people know that a big section of the road will be closed. (g) Councilman Macdonald said on the issue of Mirant asking to raise their stacks, he hoped that would be part of some legal argument. Mr. Pessoa said in regard to the Mirant Plant, they have retained an aviation safety expert advising the City on comments to file with the FAA to oppose the appeal to the FAA. They will use that fact as part of the pending nuisance lawsuit the City filed against Mirant, and on both those fronts - the aviation safety and the pollution side, they are aggressively pursuing that avenue. (h) Councilman Macdonald said there are a lot of older residents at Hunting Towers/Hunting Terrace in the apartments, and he was hoping they could make some special provisions working with the developer to protect their interests. Mayor Euille noted that the purchaser of the property of Hunting Terrace is in the process of scheduling a meeting with the residents both of Hunting Terrace and Hunting Towers, to occur sometime prior to Christmas, and formal notification will be given as soon as the date and time is announced. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 18. Consideration of a Resolution to Become a Signatory to the Alice Ferguson Foundation Potomac River Watershed Trash Treaty. [ROLL-CALL VOTE] (A copy of the City Manager's memorandum dated November 16, 2005, is on file in the Office of the City Clerk and Clerk of Council, marked Exhibit No. 1 of Item No. 18; 11/22/05, and is incorporated as part of this record by reference.) Ms. Hamblin-Katnik, Watershed Program Administrator, Transportation and Environmental Services, appeared with Ms. Wendy Pearson, with the Alice Ferguson Foundation, gave a report on the proposal. WHEREUPON, upon motion by Councilman Krupicka, seconded by Vice Mayor Pepper and carried unanimously by roll call vote, City Council adopted the resolution to become a signatory to the Alice Ferguson Foundation Potomac River Watershed Trash Treaty that commits the City to: (a) supporting and implementing regional strategies aimed at reducing trash and increasing recycling; (b) increasing education and awareness of the trash issue throughout the Potomac watershed; (c) meeting annually to discuss and evaluate measures and actions addressing trash reduction; and (d) participating in a Potomac-wide trash clean-up on April 8, 2006. The voting was as follows: Krupicka "aye" Gaines "aye" Pepper "aye" Macdonald "aye" Euille "aye" Smedberg "aye" Woodson "aye" The resolution reads as follows: