The meeting was called to order by Mayor Euille, and the City Clerk called the roll. All 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 Regular Meeting Minutes of November 22, 2011. City Council approved the regular meeting minutes of November 22, 2011. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ RECOGNITION OF YOUTH BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL None. PROCLAMATIONS 3.1 Presentation of a Proclamation Declaring December 31, 2011 as Fair Weather Day Throughout the City of Alexandria. City Council endorsed the proclamation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER CONSENT CALENDAR (4-12) (Resignations and Uncontested Appointments) 4. Receipt of the Following Resignations from Members of Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Citizen Corps Council Tom Walczykowski (b) Park and Recreation Commission Clark Mercer 5. Uncontested Appointments to Boards, Commissions and Committees: (a) Beautification Commission 1 Citizen Member (b) Commission on Employment 1 Citizen Member (c) Commission on HIV/AIDS 1 Citizen Member (d) Commission on Information Technology 1 Alternate Member for Councilwoman Hughes (e) Human Rights Commission 1 Economic Opportunities Commission Representative (f) Historic Alexandria Resources Commission 1 Member at Large From Planning District III (g) Public Health Advisory Commission 2 Citizen Members Who Shall Not Be Health Professionals (h) Social Services Advisory Board 1 Citizen Member (i) Waterfront Commission 1 Representative of the Founders Park Community Association 1 Representative from the Old Town Civic Association 1 Representative of the Environmental Policy Commission (Reports and Recommendations of the City Manager) 6. Consideration of Authorization of Recommended Capital Allocations and Planned Expenditures. 7. Receipt of Annual Reports from City Boards and Commissions. (THIS ITEM IS BEING DEFERRED TO JANUARY 10, 2012.) 8. Receipt of the Annual Committee Attendance Report for Fiscal Year 2011. 9. Receipt of the Northern Virginia Regional Water Plan and Setting it for Public Hearing on Saturday, January 21, 2012. 10. Consideration of Council Appointment of a Management Representative and Management Alternate Representative to the City of Alexandria Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Plan Retirement Board. 11. Consideration of Authorization to Receive Grant Funds from the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force to Provide Adult Re-Entry Services for Ex-offenders Returning to Alexandria. (Ordinances for Introduction) 12. Introduction and First Reading. Consideration. Passage on First Reading of an Ordinance to Amend Article A (Water), Chapter 6 (Water and Sewer) of Title 5 (Transportation and Environmental Services) of the Code of the City of Alexandria to add a new division related to water use during a local or regional water supply emergency. (The Public Hearing On This Item Will Be Held on January 21, 2012.) END OF CONSENT CALENDAR City Council approved the consent calendar, with the removal of items #6 and 9, which were considered under separate motions. The City Manager's recommendations were as follows: 4. City Council accepted the following resignations with regret: (a) Tom Walczykowski, Citizen Corps Council; and (b) Clark Mercer, Park and Recreation Commission. 5. City Council made the following appointments to boards and commissions: (a) appointed Gary Henson as the one citizen member to the Beautification Commission; (b) appointed Charles Sumpter as the one citizen member to the Commission on Employment; (c) appointed Nicole Battle as the one citizen member to the Commission on HIV/AIDS; (d) appointed Rudolph Tota as the representative for Councilwoman Hughes to the Commission on Information Technology; (e) appointed Charlene Jeanes as the one Economic Opportunities Commission representative to the Human Rights Commission; (f) appointed Dominick Muracco as the one member at large from Planning District III to the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission; (g) reappointed Andrew LaVanway and Kathryn Taylor as the two citizen members who shall not be health professionals to the Public Health Advisory Commission; (h) reappointed Patricia Spicer as the one citizen member to the Social Services Advisory Board; (i) reappointed Christine Bernstein as the one representative of the Founders Park Community Association, reappointed Townsend Van Fleet as the one representative from the Old Town Civic Association, and reappointed Peter Pennington as the one representative of the Environmental Policy Commission to the Waterfront Commission. 6. City Council authorized $9,828,000 for capital project allocations and planned expenditures for the capital projects as detailed in the Capital Improvement Program Expenditure Summary. (separate motion) 7. This item was deferred. 8. City Council: 1. received the report; 2. vacated the eight positions listed on pages one and two of the report; and 3. authorized the City Clerk and Clerk of Council to advertise the vacancies. 9. City Council: 1. received the draft Northern Virginia Regional Water Supply Plan; 2. scheduled it for public hearing on Saturday, January 21, 2012; and 3. subsequent to the January 21 public hearing, submit comments to NVRC, whose staff will finalize the plan for final consideration and approval by area jurisdictions. (separate motion) 10. City Council appointed Bruce Johnson (who returned to his position of Chief Financial Officer on December 12) to his previous position of management representative on the Board and Morgan Routt, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to his previous position of management representative alternate on the Board. (when Bruce Johnson became Acting City Manager, he resigned from the Board, Morgan Routt replace him, and Assistant City Manager Tom Gates replaced Morgan Routt. Tom Gates will resign from the Board and Bruce Johnson and Morgan Routt will return to their original positions on the Board.) 11. City Council accepted $31,250 in grant funds from the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force for adult Re-entry services to be managed by the Court Service Unit. 12. City Council passed the ordinance on first reading and scheduled it for public hearing, second reading and final passage on Saturday, January 21, 2012. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ CONTESTED APPOINTMENTS 13. Alexandria-Gyumri Sister City Committee 1 Citizen Member City Council waived the residency requirement and appointed Tiffany Young as the one citizen member to the Alexandria-Gyumri Sister City Commission. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 14. Children Youth and Families Collaborative Commission 4 City Employee Members 2 City School Employee Members 2 Young Adult Members 3 Youth Members 6 Members With Expertise in Children, Youth and Family Issues 6 Members With Expertise as Parents, Guardians and Teachers City Council made the following appointments: waived the residency requirements and appointed Lillian Brooks, William Chesley and Rose Dawson and appointed Michael Gilmore as the four City employee representatives; waived the residency requirement and appointed Carri Coggins Stoltz and appointed Margaret Walsh as the two School employees; appointed Onello Aguilar and Lidiya Alemu the two young adult representatives; appointed Emma Beall, Samuel Hanoura and waived the residency requirement and appointed Natalie Presley as the three youth members; appointed Gwen Mullen, Glenn Hopkins, Timothy Kennedy, waived the residency requirement and appointed Tammy Mann, appointed Amy Parks and Joyce Rawlings as the six members with expertise in children, youth and family issues; and appointed Victoria Cattaneo, Andria Cook, Jeff Murphy, Timothy Peterson, Sonia Price and Cynthia Skinner as the six members with expertise as parents, guardians and teachers to the Children, Youth and Families Collaborative Commission. The two City Council members appointed to the Commission are Councilman Krupicka and Councilwoman Hughes. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 15. Commission for the Arts 1 Member Who Represents the Public at Large, as an Arts Consumer and Participant City Council waived the residency requirement and appointed Shelly Bell as the one member who represents the public at large, as an arts consumer and participant, to the Commission for the Arts. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 16. Commission on HIV/AIDS 1 Citizen Member City Council waived the residency requirement and appointed Monique Robinson as the one citizen member to the Commission on HIV/AIDS. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 17. Social Services Advisory Board 1 Citizen Member City Council waived the residency requirement and appointed Jacqueline Johnson as the one citizen member to the Social Services Advisory Board. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER FOR DISCUSSION 18. Oral Report on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC-133) Project at Mark Center. (Staff Presentation) City Council heard the report from City staff. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 19. Discussion of U.S. Postal Service Proposed Closure of Two Alexandria Postal Facilities (Del Ray and Seminary.) City Council directed that a letter be sent from the Mayor with staff's help to the Congressional delegation and the U.S. Postal Service, strongly emphasizing its desire to maintain the two locations proposed for closure and the Post Office pursue alternative concepts such as eliminating Saturday delivery and raising the cost of stamps, and that attachment of letters and comments from citizens be included with the letter. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 20. Consideration of the Monthly Financial Report for the Period Ending October 31, 2011. (Staff Presentation) City Council received the monthly financial report for the period ending October 31, 2011. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 21. Allocation of Funds for the Purchase of Digital Scan Voting Machines, Portable Voting Booths and Accessories for the Alexandria Electoral Board. City Council allocated $260,000 from prior year completed Capital Improvement Program projects for the purchase of digital scan voting machines, portable voting booths and accessories. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 22. Consideration of Staff Follow Up to the Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Benefit Advisory Group. City Council received the report on the follow-up actions required in response to the Advisory Group's recommendations, which were included in their written report presented to City Council on November 9, 2011. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 23. Consideration of Status Report on the Pilot Vendor Cart Program on Market Square and Proposed Extension of the Program for the 2012 Season. City Council: 1. received the report; and 2. approved the extension of the program for the 2012 season, and that staff is to report back on the number of vendors who will be participating in the food cart program. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 24. Consideration of Allocation of Funds for the Arlandria Neighborhood Health System, Inc. (ANHSI) Special Transportation and Medical Program. City Council allocated $75,000 previously set aside in the FY 2012 contingent reserves in the FY 2012 budget for the ANHSI special transportation and medical program through June 30, 2012. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 25. Consideration of Release of FY 2011 Contingent Reserve Funds for the Gang Intervention Prevention Education Program and Alexandria Mentoring Partnership Coordinator. City Council allocated $74,339 of the $150,000 in the FY 2012 contingent reserves that was previously set aside to continue the IPE program and the AMP Mentoring Coordinator programs through June 30, 2012. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 26. Consideration of the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation’s Proposed Permanent Financing Strategy for the Arbelo, Lacy Court, and Longview Terrace Apartments. City Council: 1. endorsed the AHDC's plan to: a. submit an application to the Virginia Housing Development Authority for nine percent tax credits for Longview Terrace in March 2012, and authorized the City Manager to sign a support letter; b. seek a modification of its BB&T bridge loans for Arbelo and Lacy Court, and wait to submit a joint tax credit application for those properties in 2016; and c. in the event the 2012 tax credit application for Longview Terrace is not successful, pursue tax exempt bonds and four percent tax credits or an FHA rehabilitation/refinance loan for all three properties; and 2. thanked AHDC for its efforts to date in stabilizing the operation of these three properties, as well as in developing the proposed permanent financing strategy. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 27. Consideration of Declaration of City Real Estate at 3600 Jefferson Davis Highway as Surplus Property Contingent on Further Analysis. City Council deferred the item and referred it back to the City Manager for more explanation and the City Manager can then bring it back at a later date. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES None ORAL REPORTS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL and ORAL PRESENTATIONS BY MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL (a) Mayor Euille said the WMATA operating and capital budgets have been released and WMATA is looking at about a $124 million shortfall deficit for the FY2013. As a result, while they are not looking to raise fares, everything is on the table and he wouldn't be surprised to see a request for subsidy increases for the compact jurisdictions. (b) Mayor Euille said the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission has now resolved and settled the four seats of NVTC to the WMATA board of directors, which will be the Governor's representative as a voting member, the Fairfax County representative as a full voting member, Alexandria will continue as an alternate position, as well as Arlington will move to an alternate position. (c) Mayor Euille said the City recently received the designation of a walk friendly community by the Walk Friendly Communities Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation. (d) Councilman Krupicka said he submitted a memo on a few highly functioning human service partners in the community that currently get grant funding from the City and over the course of a number of years, the Council has had a conversation about why doesn't it move some of these programs to contract status, as they are core services of the City. He requested that they ask staff to come back with a specific proposal for turning their home visiting program that is currently a grant to Healthy Families into a five year contract with all the appropriate bells and whistles. (e) Councilwoman Hughes said there have been a number of complaints or concerns about the elimination of services for non-traditional students and families under the ACPS adult education and extended learning programs, and she referenced the letter received by the NAACP on the issue. She said she hoped they would continue to provide the level of service under this program. (f) Councilwoman Hughes spoke of the Local Mandate Task Force that the Governor has put in place, noting that an interim report will be coming out within the next month. She said the task force agreed to continue to press for things that make dollar figure differences on local government, such as the line of duty benefits. (g) Mayor Euille and members of Council expressed thanks to the former Acting City Manager Bruce Johnson for having served seven months as Acting City Manager. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORAL REPORT FROM THE CITY MANAGER City Manager Young said he is excited to be in the City and working with the team. Mr. Young thanked Mr. Johnson for keeping him informed for the last 4-6 weeks and said Mr. Johnson made a difficult transition better because he has been so supportive. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 28. Consideration of Resolution to Commemorate and Support the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 in Virginia. [ROLL-CALL VOTE] City Council: 1. approved the resolution; and 2. authorized the City Manager to execute all necessary documents that may be required. (RES. NO. 2483) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ OTHER 29. Consideration of City Council Schedule. City Council: 1. received the updated calendar which includes: the budget meetings approved at Council's November 22 legislative meeting, which include the work session with the School Board on Wednesday, February 29, the budget public hearing meeting on Monday, March 5, and budget work session and budget adoption on Monday, May 7; the annual Hanukkah celebration at INOVA Alexandria Hospital on Thursday, December 22 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.; the Saturday, January 21 dedication of the Therapeutic Sensory Mobile located at 8:30 a.m. at the Durant Center, 1605 Cameron Street. The mobile was donated to the City by the Kelley Cares Foundation; and clarification that the Tuesday, January 10 work session on the Waterfront Plan will be a joint work session of Council and the Planning Commission; 2. review the following proposed schedule of additional budget work sessions starting at 7 p.m. in the Sister Cities Conference Room. Council will be asked to make a decision on the work session dates at the end of the Saturday, December 17 public hearing meeting: Wednesday, February 22, Wednesday, March 7, Wednesday, March 21, Wednesday, March 28, Wednesday, April 11, and Monday, April 30. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ EXECUTIVE SESSION 30. Consideration of Convening a Closed Meeting For the Purpose of Consulting with Legal Counsel Regarding Potential and Pending Litigation and Real Estate Matters. City Council convened in closed executive session at 10:50 p.m., pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(3) of the Code of Virginia, for the purpose of discussion or consideration of the acquisition of real property for public purpose, for disposition of publicly held property and consultation with counsel and briefing by staff pertaining to actual or probable litigation, where consultation in public would adversely affect the negotiating posture. City Council reconvened the meeting at 11:26 p.m. City Council adopted the resolution pertaining to the Executive Session. (RES. NO. 2484) Council Action:_________________________________________________________