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Office of the City Clerk
March 12, 2008

There was a Joint Meeting with
the Alexandria Convention and Visitors
Association Board at 5:00 p.m. in the
City Council Work Room.

There was also be a Joint Meeting
with the Alexandria Economic
Development Partnership.


Regular Meeting
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - - 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 the 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 Public Hearing Meeting Minutes of February 23, 2008; and

(b) The Regular Meeting Minutes of February 26, 2008.

City Council approved the public hearing meeting minutes of February 23, 2008 and the regular meeting minutes of February 26, 2008.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

RECOGNITION OF YOUTH BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL

None.

PROCLAMATIONS

4. Recognition of Steve Goehler and Megan Mascelli as Winners of the Hilton Old Town Winter Wedding Giveaway.

This item was removed from the docket.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

5. Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring March as Women's History Month.

City Council endorsed the proclamation.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________



6. Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring March 16-22, 2008 as Tall Cedars Week.

City Council endorsed the proclamation.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER

CONSENT CALENDAR (7-15)

(Resignations and Uncontested Appointments)

7. Receipt of the Following Resignations From Members of Boards, Commissions and Committees: 8. Uncontested Appointments to Boards, Commissions and Committees:
1 Representative From the Alexandria Landlord-Tenant
Relations Board

(Reports and Recommendations of the City Manager)



9. Consideration of Application For Virginia Department of Emergency Management Grant Funds For the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) Program for the Sheriff's Office.

10. Consideration of Application For Federal Department of Health and Human Services Grant Funds For a Substance Abuse Prevention Program.

11. Consideration of Request to Vacate a Position on the Alexandria Commission on Persons With Disabilities.

12. Consideration of Request to Modify the Membership of the Alexandria Public Health Advisory Commission.

(Ordinances for Introduction)

13. Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance to Adopt the Final King Street Outdoor Dining Regulations.

14. Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance to Permit Floor Area Transfers For Private Schools.

15. Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance to Vacate Public Right-of-way at 100 Uhler Terrace.

END OF CONSENT CALENDAR

City Council approved the consent calendar, with the exception of docket items #7, 11, 12 and 13, which were considered under separate motions. The City Manager's recommendations were as follows:

7. City Council accepted the following resignations with regret: (a) John Bramer, Alexandria Beautification Commission; (b) Dawn Matterness, Alexandria Citizen Corps Council; (c) Richard Kennedy, Alexandria Commission on Employment; (d) Steven Hazel, Alexandria Commission on HIV/AIDS; (e) Michael Oliver, Alexandria George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee; and (f) Kenneth E. Sharperson, Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission. (separate motion)

8. City Council made the following appointments: (a) appointed Thomas Pullen as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Beautification Commission; (b) appointed Kurt Klingenberger as the one representative of the business community to the Alexandria Citizen Corps Council; (c) appointed Kurt Moser as the one member from the field of Environmental Sciences (e.g. Environmental/Sanitary Engineering, Ecology, Geology, Botany, Hydrology, Chemistry) and appointed David Boxer as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission; (d) reappointed David Dexter as the one member from Planning District III to the Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission; (e) reappointed Fletcher Johnston as the one representative from the Alexandria Landlord-Tenant Relations Board to the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board of Commissioners; and (f) reappointed DeShuna Spencer as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Social Services Advisory Board.

9. City Council: 1. authorized the submission of a grant (due March 15, 2008) for $9,000 to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), Office of Emergency Medical Services Consolidated Grant Program; and 2. authorized the City Manager to execute the necessary documents that may be required.

10. City Council: 1. authorized the City Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse to submit a grant application (due March 21, 2008) to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria, and if awarded, accept up to $125,000 annually for five-years beginning on October 1, 2008; and 2. authorize the addition of a full-time Administrative Officer II (1.0 FTE) to the Substance Abuse Prevention Team in the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse.

11. City Council declared as vacant one of the citizen positions on the Alexandria Commission on Persons with Disabilities and authorized the Executive Secretary for Boards and Commissions to advertise the vacancy. (separate motion)

12. City Council: 1. approved the membership changes for the Alexandria Public Health Advisory Commission as noted below: a. delete the representative of the Emergency Medical Services Council; b. change the representative of the Alexandria Medical Society to a physician practicing in Alexandria nominated by the Medical Society of Northern Virginia; c. change the representative of the Alexandria Hospital Board to a representative from Inova Alexandria Hospital; d. change the representative of the Alexandria Dental Society to a dentist practicing in the City of Alexandria nominated by the Northern Virginia Dental Society; e. add a new position for a representative from the City's Office of Emergency Preparedness; and f. add a new position for a representative designated by the Alexandria Neighborhood Health Services, Inc. (ANHSI) Board of Directors. 2. requested the City Attorney to prepare the necessary ordinance which will repeal Resolution Number 790 and incorporate the membership changes requested. (separate motion)

13. City Council approved the proposed ordinance on first reading and scheduled it for public hearing, second reading and final passage on March 15, 2008. (separate motion)

14. City Council approved the proposed ordinance on first reading and scheduled it for public hearing, second reading and final passage on March 15, 2008.

15. City Council approved the proposed ordinance on first reading and scheduled it for public hearing, second reading and final passage on March 15, 2008.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

OTHER

16. Recommendations and Status Report on Legislation Introduced at the 2008 General Assembly Session.

City Council received the report.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

17. Update on the Status of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) Transportation Funding.

City Council received the staff report.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

18. Federal Issues For Discussion With Congressman James P. Moran.

This item was deferred.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

CONTESTED APPOINTMENTS

19. Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee
1 Citizen Member

City Council appointed Charles Bernier as the one citizen member to the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________


20. Alexandria Commission for Women
1 Citizen Member

City Council appointed Patty Donmoyer as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Commission for Women.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

21. Alexandria Commission on Aging
1 Citizen Member

City Council appointed John Smucker as the one citizen member to the Alexandria Commission on Aging.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

22. Alexandria Community Policy and Management Team
1 Member Designated by the Executive Director of the Alexandria
Community Services Board

City Council waived the residency requirement and appointed Deborah Warren as the one member designated by the Executive Director of the Alexandria Community Services Board to the Alexandria Community Policy and Management Team.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

23. Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission
1 Member From Planning District I

City Council appointed William Cromley as the one member from Planning District I to the Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

24. Alexandria Urban Design Advisory Board
1 Representative of the Old Town North Business Community

City Council waived the residency requirement and reappointed Elisabeth Lardner as the one representative of the Old Town North Business Community to the Alexandria Urban Design Advisory Board.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER FOR DISCUSSION

25. MASTER PLAN AMENDMENT #2008-0001
TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN
Deferral from February 23, 2008, Consideration of an amendment to the Transportation Chapter of the City's Master Plan. Staff: Department of Transportation and Environmental Services
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Adopted Resolution and Recommend Approval 6-0 (#8, 2/23/08)

City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation, with amendments.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

26. Consideration of Establishing a Transportation Advisory Committee and Requesting the City Attorney to Prepare the Ordinance Necessary to Create This New Standing Committee.

City Council: 1. determined the composition of the proposed Transportation Commission as noted in option 2, with an amendment to add two ex-officio, non-voting members, which can be from among City Council's representatives to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, and the Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board; and 2. requested the City Attorney to draft the necessary ordinance to establish a Transportation Commission as described and docket the ordinance for introduction at Council's April 8 legislative meeting.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

27. Consideration of Report of the Ad Hoc Commercial Transportation Tax Option Study Committee.

City Council received the report of the Ad Hoc Commercial Transportation Tax Option Study Committee and thanked the committee for its work in studying the issue.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

28. Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Establishing Real and Personal Property Tax Rates for Calendar Year 2008, and Setting the Ordinance for Public Hearing on April 12, 2008.

(This item was replaced by docket item #28.1.)
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

28.1. Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance to Establish the General Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Rates for Calendar Year 2008. (This item replaces docket item #28.)

This item was deferred to the March 15 meeting.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

28.2 Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance to Establish the Additional Real Estate Tax Rate for Commercial and Industrial Property for Calendar Year 2008.

This item was deferred to the March 15 meeting.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

29. Staff Presentation on Implementation of the Efficiency and Best Practices Study of Fleet Management.

City Council received the Fleet Management Study and the implementation plan and scheduled the report for discussion at a future work session.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES

None

ORAL REPORTS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL

(a) Vice Mayor Pepper said she represents the City Council on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Air Quality Committee (MWAQC,) and one of the things that happened at the last meeting was MWAQC passed a resolution and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) had asked various groups to submit comments concerning the Wise County Coal Plant located in the western part of the state. MWAQC voted unanimously to send a letter to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and they said not so much don't build that coal burning facility, but instead, to analyze very carefully the impact of the proposed coal fired power plant in Wise County, and its impact on the Metropolitan area. One of the things they are sure of is that all the pollution they have in the region does not begin here, it may end up here because it is blown here from other states. They are concerned that the Wise County facility may very well do that. One of the points that was made is that when it is operative in 2012, it is believed to constitute one of the major air pollution sources within the whole state, so for that reason, they have much at stake and the MWAQC sent a letter to the VDEQ. Fairfax County, and possibly other jurisdictions, have passed a resolution that they would encourage the VDEQ to further analyze the impact of that coal burning powerplant.

Council moved that City Council send a similar letter of support of what the MWAQC has prepared in support of their comments and send it to VDEQ immediately, as the meeting is Wednesday, March 12.

Councilman Smedberg said the most important point was how the plant potentially jeopardizes the region's ability to demonstrate and maintain its standing within the Federal air quality standards, and this area is challenged to maintain the standards, and many people feel this is a direct threat to the region and potentially may make it impossible to obtain the standards in the future. Despite the fact that Dominion Power says that they are using pollution control technology on the plant, it is argued that it is not the best pollution controls and the most efficient pollution controls that are available.

Vice Mayor Pepper said that at that same meeting, the MWAQC were going to be passing the State Implementation Plan (SIP,) the plan for this region as to how they were going to control the pollution in the area. In addition to the SIP plan, they were able to pass a resolution which was seconded by the Air Director of VDEQ, and it went to the State Air Pollution Control Board and it addresses two long-standing issues that were related to the Mirant Plant. One is that a PM2.5 analysis be performed within a defined amount of time, and they are asking the board to take that issue up. The second is that the opacity standard be raised. MWAQC is sending a letter to the Air Pollution Control Board recommending that the amount of pollution they see be tightened from 20 percent to 10 percent and this is a major achievement for them. It represents what other jurisdictions have as their standard.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL

(a) Vice Mayor Pepper said that they had a wonderful Eco-City Cafe on March 8 at George Washington Middle School, 120 people attended and they were energetic and very helpful and they are talking about what they see as they would identify environmental issues that were important to them. They are taking that information and putting it into a charter which will be a draft environmental charter, that will be presented by the Earth Day Celebration on April 26. She said that on May 10, it will have another environmental summit.

(b) Vice Mayor Pepper said Alexandria has been recognized as one of the best walking cities in America by Prevention Magazine.

(c) Mayor Euille said the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and VDOT will have a construction information meeting on Wednesday, March 12 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Cameron Elementary School in the cafeteria, 3434 Campbell Drive. There was a meeting for elected officials last week at VDOT's offices on Eisenhower Avenue and the purpose of the meeting was to apprise them of their upcoming construction for the interchanges at Route 1 and Telegraph Road. This will create some major problems, congestion and dust for the next three years. The purpose of the public meeting is to inform the community and citizens in terms of all the construction activities, timelines and impacts. Folks that live in the Route 1 corridor should go to the meeting to learn what impacts will occur as a result of their work at Route 1 and Telegraph Road.

(d) Mayor Euille said that on Monday morning, at the National League of Cities mid-year meeting in Washington, the City received the 2008 Culture Diversity Award from the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, which recognized the City for its efforts to enhance and celebrate culture and diversity in the community. The City submitted two projects for consideration, and the one that won was the one that honored 25 individuals after they were sworn in and took the oath of allegiance for U.S. Citizenship.

(e) Councilman Smedberg said that at the Northern Virginia Regional Commission meeting a couple of weeks ago, he reminded the City Manager and Council that the foreign delegation that is visiting the region - the German planning organizations, will be staying in Alexandria and participating in several events. He said Mayor Euille and the Chair of the Fairfax County Board and several other regional leaders will be participating in the activities.

(f) Councilman Smedberg said they had the second meeting of the Economic Sustainability Task Force, which he and Councilman Krupicka co-chair and they had a very productive meeting. He said they heard the Planning Director discuss procedural issues for the committee itself and made progress on the graph they will use to prioritize the assignments.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

ORAL REPORT FROM THE CITY MANAGER

None.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

30. Consideration of a Resolution to Apply For Revenue Sharing Funding From the Virginia Department of Transportation For the Rehabilitation and Repaving of Washington Street. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]

City Council: 1. adopted the resolution to apply for an FY 2009 Revenue Sharing Program funding allocation from the Virginia Department of Transportation for the repaving and rehabilitation of Washington Street; and 2. authorized the City Manager to submit the resolution and funding application, and enter into any agreements with the state that may be required to receive these funds should the requested allocation be approved. (RES. NO. 2270)
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

31. Consideration of a Report on Changing the Election of the Mayor, Members of the City Council and Members of the School Board From the May General Election Cycle to the November General Election Cycle, and of a Resolution Proposing an Advisory Referendum On This Issue During the November 4, 2008, General Election. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]

City Council docketed this item as a public hearing for the April 12 City Council meeting, Council action would be docketed for April 22, 2008, and that staff send a letter to all the civic associations they have on record and notify them of the upcoming public hearing and invite them to participate, and to attach the memorandum from the docket item.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

OTHER

32. Consideration of City Council Schedule.

City Council: 1. scheduled the Del Ray/Town of Potomac interpretative sign dedication at 8:30 a.m. before Council's Saturday, April 12 public hearing meeting; and 2. received the revised calendar which includes Library Director Patrick O'Brien's retirement reception on Monday, March 17 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Charles E. Beatley Library, 5005 Duke Street.
Council Action:_________________________________________________________

The meeting adjourned at 10:02 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 alexandriava.gov/council
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City Council meetings are closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
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