City Council   10/2/2017

Mmm.

Good evening, everyone.

Welcome to Charlottesville City Council.

Mr. Bellamy?

Here.

Ms. Szakos?

Here.

Before we get started, I'd like to begin with a moment of silence to the victims of the horrific shooting attack in Las Vegas.

Thank you all very much.

Yes, thank you Mr. Mayor.

I will begin the awards and announcements with a special video and it is called We Need Each Other from the Schausle High School and Nashville High School performance that took place about two weeks ago and it is something that I think

We'll all feel we'll be rejuvenating and make us feel hopeful for the future.

Oh, it makes no difference where you come from

That who you are is not where you're born We're alike in so many ways Oh yes we are

That's why we need one another You and I come together We need one another right now

Tell me what you know.

We need one another, you and I come together We need one another right now

We need one another Take my hand, come whatever We need one another right now Don't take me for granted Say what you need to say Don't make time slip away

Oh Lord, we need one another You and I come together We need one another right now We need one another Take my hand, come whatever

We need one another right now We need one another You and I come together We need one another right now

Well thank you Charlottesville High School, Nashville High School.

I'm here to read a recognition regarding an honorary street named Heather Hire Way.

We will take an action on this tonight.

Ms. Susan Breaux is here to hopefully share a couple words with us.

If you'd like to come down while I read this, I think that would be terrific.

On August 12, 2017, Ms. Heather D. Heyer was struck down by a vehicle near the corner of 4th Street and Water Street in downtown Charlottesville while exercising her peaceful First Amendment right to speech.

The terror attack that resulted in Ms. Heyer's

death and serious injuries to dozens more shocked our community and touched the heart and soul of not only Charlottesville but the entire country.

On August 21st, 2017, the City Council expressed an interest in memorializing Ms. Heyer by designating a portion of 4th Street, Southeast and Northeast from East Water Street to East Market Street as Heather Heyer Way.

The city's honorary street name policy recognizes individuals that have made an important and lasting contribution to the city of Charlottesville or represent a key part

of its history.

This honorary designation pays tribute to Ms. Heyer's dedication to justice, fairness, equal rights for all, and positive social change.

At the time of her death, Ms. Heyer was a paralegal in a local law firm.

Her family has established the Heather D. Heyer Foundation to honor her memory.

Donations received by the foundation will be used to provide scholarships to individuals who are interested in positive social change.

For more information on the foundation, please visit www.hetherheyerfoundation.com.

Ms. Breaux, we're honored to have you with us and we'd be grateful to hear from you.

Thank you so much for this honor.

I personally am not a resident of Charlottesville but Heather moved here as soon as she could as an adult.

She was born here, she came back here as soon as she was old enough to live on her own and she stayed here her entire life and

Being memorialized in this way, I deeply appreciate the honor.

I also wanted to point out that it was my idea not to put a park associated with her name for a number of reasons and absolutely no statues.

I know a number of people had talked about doing a statue and I just thought that was a little bit much.

Heather Frankly hated statues for a number of reasons and so I want to thank the city for considering this for Heather's sake.

I would hope that as I said I'm not a resident of Charlottesville but I would hope that the city would also consider other African-American leaders who've made an impact

Ms. Laura Robinson who died at the age of 103 earlier this year I know taught school in the area both before segregation and during segregation and I believe after segregation she made a huge impact on the community through the many lives that she touched and I think Ms. Laura Robinson probably deserves a street in her honor as well but as I said I'm not a member of the Charlottesville city I

can only offer ideas and possibilities.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay, there's one more proclamation.

This is Charlottesville Farm to Table Week.

Jeanette, if you could come down.

Is Rosa Adkins here as well?

Okay, all right, and I'll start.

Well, it's a fairly long proclamation.

Let me just try and summarize it by saying

Whereas in 2015, the Virginia General Assembly designated the first full week of October as Farm to School Week in Virginia and recognized that a strong Virginia farm to school program connects schools directly with schoolyard gardens, community farmers, and local food hubs.

Paves the way to schools to more easily purchase fresh, nutrient-rich farm products

and positively affects the lifelong healthy eating behaviors of Virginia's children and provides reliable ongoing markets to support Virginia's local agricultural economy and whereas a dual goal of Farm to School Week is to change the quality of school nutrition while providing economic opportunities for our farming community and strengthening farm to table connections throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and whereas the Virginia Farm to School program began in 2007 there's been a substantial increase in the amount of locally grown foods served in schools as well as the amount of youth engaged in schoolyard gardens

Whereas Charlottesville City Schools serve approximately 2300 lunches and 1300 breakfasts each day to nourish their students, resulting in more than 437,000 meals served during

the school year with 54% going to students who qualify for free and reduced lunch programs.

Whereas there's a growing need to prioritize access to healthy foods for young people due to the critical health conditions of childhood obesity and increasing diabetes in children.

Whereas building connections between schools, students, school year gardens and local growers in our region will provide healthier options for our children, educational value for students,

and better economic opportunities and whereas Charlottesville schools nutrition department department in Charlottesville schools student health advisory board along with community partners city schoolyard garden and local food hub are recognized there are many contributions to help develop promote and implement our farm to school and school garden program whereas the United States Congress has designated October as national farm to school month now therefore be it resolved that the Charlottesville City Council does hereby recognize the first full week in October

In 2017, in each succeeding year, a Charlottesville Farm to School and Healthy Schools Week and that this week be utilized to build capacity across the academic year by creating healthy school environment for all Charlottesville students.

This council encourages all families to join their children for healthy and locally sourced lunches during this week.

So, and would you all like to say a quick word?

How you doing?

Carlton General, Nutrition Administrator, Charlottesville City Schools.

This week the words are local and fresh.

So a few items we're featuring.

We did a local salsa today with the Southwestern chicken, fresh roasted potatoes and onions tomorrow, local zucchini and squash, broccoli.

We're doing a fresh chicken soup made from scratch.

So we're in there pulling chickens and I mean we're doing a spaghetti with meat sauce with

locally sourced beef.

So, I mean, it's an exciting week and, you know, I couldn't do this, you know, we couldn't do this without the support of City School Yard Garden and the local food hub and, of course, the nutrition staff of Charlottesville City Schools.

Thank you, Mayor Signer, Manager Jones, City Council members for today's proclamation and for your commitment to cultivating healthy schools for our youth.

And thank you to Mr. Henderson and Mr. Jones for representing the schools

Healthy communities start with healthy citizens and we can't have strong equitable communities without a strong equitable food system.

And that means ensuring first that all of our citizens and our students have access to nutritious food and equally important that they have the experience, resources, and ease to make informed food choices.

We want to help all Charlottesville City School students become empowered and excited food citizens.

So through engaging in fun activities we do in the Garden with Youth

and we also aim to put the context of food as a right in our community.

We're excited to be working with so many partners along with the food system such as the Charlottesville City Schools Nutrition Department who as Carlton mentioned are working overtime to prepare from scratch meals, the local food hub who are building capacity and markets for small scale farmers in our community.

This week and throughout the year City School Yard Garden will join with partners to create discovery and wonder for the youth to learn about farm to school.

So there will be lots of fun photos and stories

opportunities to see kids holding chickens, petting goats, all of that.

We hope that what also shines through with these stories is the recognition that a healthy food system for all is essential to our strength as a community.

Our city design and development must include consideration of citizen food needs in our choices.

And we invite the Charlottesville City Council to join and lean on the 20-some organizations that are part of the Charlottesville Food Justice Network to explore how to make this happen in our city and to make those decisions.

as part of the, an integral part of the city's planning agenda.

So thank you again for collaborating on this proclamation and we look forward to having lunch with you at one of the schools this week.

Yes.

It's all yours.

What's on the menu for Thursday?

Because I'm having lunch with my daughter.

Jackson.

I need to know if I need to eat before I get there or not.

Don't get pulled up.

Alright, I have two proclamations.

The first is recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

I don't know if any of you came up the mall, and I assume it's still there, this afternoon I came by, there was a free speech wall was listing the names of people who have, I believe, died as a result of domestic violence.

and so those requesting this proclamation are actually out right now attending a candlelight vigil in honor of domestic victims and survivors.

They extend their appreciation to council for sharing the proclamation with residents.

Whereas the problems of domestic violence are not confined to any group or groups of people but cross all economic, racial and societal barriers and are supported by societal indifference.

And whereas the crime of domestic violence violates an individual's privacy, dignity, security and humanity

due to systematic use of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological and economic control and or abuse, with the impacts of this crime being wide-ranging.

And whereas no one person, organization, agency or community can eliminate domestic violence on its own,

We must work together to educate our entire population about what can be done to prevent such violence, support victims and survivors and their families, and increase support for agencies providing services to those community members.

And whereas the Shelter for Help and Emergency has led the way in the city of Charlottesville in addressing domestic violence by providing 24-hour hotline services to victims, survivors, and their families,

offering support and information and empowering survivors to chart their own course for healing.

And whereas the Shelter for Help and Emergency commemorates its 38th year of providing unparalleled services to women, children, and men who have been victimized by domestic violence.

Now therefore be it resolved in recognition of the important work being done by the Shelter for Help and Emergency that the mayor of Charlottesville, Mike Signer, does hereby proclaim the month of October 2017.

as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and urges all citizens to actively participate in the scheduled activities and programs sponsored by the Shelter for Health and Emergency and to work toward elimination of personal and institutional violence against women, children, and men, signed until the second day of October 2017.

So again, they're not here to receive this, but we'll make sure that they get it.

And the second proclamation is

Announcing Energy Efficiency Day.

I also have a separate announcement as part of that.

Susan Elliott, I'm going to invite you up, but you don't have to come up until we're closer because there's a bit of reading here.

City Solar has eight solar photovoltaic systems on city owned maintained facilities, seven of which are grid tied.

We're very pleased to announce that as of the end of September, we have passed one gigawatt hours in solar production.

That means that from our seven grid tied systems installed over the course of the last seven years, over one billion watt hours have been produced and 772 metric tons of CO2 associated with energy use has been avoided.

I'm sure our friends to the west are noticing that too and to the east from our air quality that we send their way.

Grid-tied facilities are Charlottesville High School, Eco Remod House, Facilities Maintenance, Luca McGinnis Academy, Fontaine Fire Station, Public Works Warehouse, Smith Aquatic Center.

For comparison, one gigawatt power generation can power 100 Charlottesville homes for an entire year or 100 million LED bulbs at a time.

And so the proclamation declaring Energy Efficiency Day 2017, whereas energy efficiency aims to achieve improved performance while using less energy and cutting utility bills for residential business and nonprofit customers, and whereas reliable affordable energy is vital to our economic prosperity and energy efficiency,

and energy efficiency as a productive and cost-effective way to meet our energy needs.

And whereas on June 19, 2017, the City of Charlottesville reaffirmed commitments to climate protection, including through the recognized strategy of energy efficiency.

And whereas clean energy policies and programs help boost economic opportunities and job creation while continuing to move toward a sustainable future.

And whereas cutting energy waste saves U.S. consumers billions of dollars on their utility bills annually, up to $500 per household,

from just appliance efficiency standards.

And whereas Americans working in the energy efficiency sector have local good paying clean energy jobs and increasing efficiency will change more of them and create more of them.

Whereas smarter energy use reduces the amount of electricity we need to power our lives, reducing power plant emissions that pollute our air and warm our climate.

And whereas a nationwide network of energy efficiency groups and partners has designated October 5th as the nation's second annual Energy Efficiency Day.

Now, therefore, Michael Signer, mayor of the city of Charlottesville, does hereby proclaim October 5th, 2017 as Energy Efficiency Day in the city of Charlottesville.

and urges members of the city of Charlottesville community to join us by learning more about energy efficiency, practicing smarter energy use in their daily lives, moving toward more energy efficiency now and in the future.

So now, Ms. Elliott, would you come forward and say a couple words and then I'll bring this down.

Thank you.

My name is Susalia.

I'm the city's climate protection program coordinator.

This council and previous ones have made commitments to Charlottesville reducing its community-wide greenhouse gas emissions and then its contribution to climate change.

Over 70% of our emissions from our community-wide profile come from our buildings, and energy efficiency, particularly since we have a very built-out community already, is one of the key strategies through which we can, as a community, reduce what those emissions are

improve what our energy demand is and lower utility bills.

So thank you very much.

On this Thursday in the evening, LEAP, the Local Energy Alliance Program, is holding an event on reducing and producing an energy.

That's all I've got.

No more announcements or

Okay, so are we just doing proclamations first, or do we do proclamations and announcements?

Well, I'll go in my direction at this point, and then I'll bounce over to Councilor Fenwick, and if you don't mind Vice Mayor Bellamy being last tonight, that's okay?

Well, that's your comment.

So, my proclamation is about a day without water, and it's going to bring up Ms. Elliott again.

The City of Charlottesville has again joined partners with the Rivanna Water Conservation Authority and the Almonte County Service Authority on October 12th to promote the Value of Water Coalition's campaign, Imagine a Day Without Water.

The campaign is to educate the Charlottesville community on the value and importance of water in our everyday lives and we will be holding its third annual event for the Imagine a Day Without Water campaign on October 11 on the downtown mall from 11 to 1.

I'm going to read the proclamation now.

So imagine a day without water, whereas water is essential for everything we do in life.

Whereas we need water to make a cup of coffee, fight fires, swim on a hot day, or consume a glass of water, or even take a bath.

And whereas most sectors of our economy rely on water, and without water our economy would grind to a halt.

Whereas while nature provides water, it takes pipes, pumps,

treatment plants and people working 24-7 to deliver clean water to our homes and businesses and then remove and treat wastewater so that it can be safely returned to the environment.

Whereas water infrastructure is largely invisible because it is out of sight and out of minds of most people and needs our attention.

And whereas the staffs of the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County Service Authority and Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority have joined to work together to locally promote

Imagine a Day Without Water with each of the three governing boards adopting this resolution.

Now be it resolved that the City Council of Charlottesville, Virginia hereby proclaims October 12, 2017 as Imagine a Day Without Water to help Charlottesville residents and Charlottesville water utility customers recognize the value of safe, clean water to our community.

Signed and sealed the second day of October by Mayor Mike Signer.

So Susan, yes.

Do you need to make any more statements?

I want to say that this event is put on by one of my coworkers, Jill Greiner.

She's actually on her way to the annual EPA Water Conference, so she can't be here tonight for it.

But I participated as a judge in the last several years of this, and it's pretty amazing seeing all the different creativity.

So anyone who has kids who would be interested in this contest, I would encourage them to go ahead and submit a drawing for it.

I've got one more quick announcement.

The UVA 200th Bicentennial Celebration.

This fall, from Thursday, October 5 to Saturday, October 7, the university will celebrate their bicentennial.

On the evening of October 6, the university will commemorate the historic laying of the cornerstone by Jefferson Madison and Monroe.

with an opening night ceremony entitled the Bicentennial Launch Celebration.

They will partner with the University Arts to present an evening of performances and celebrations that commemorate the first 200 years and envision the next 200 years at the University of Virginia.

This is a historical moment for the university, and we encourage any who wish to join in the festivities to come.

To see the entire list of events, please visit www.bicentennial.virginia.edu.

And that's it.

Announcement October 2nd, 2017.

Voter registration information.

Voters who need to register to vote or update information before the next election have until Monday, October 16th to do so.

A voter registered at his or her current address does not need to re-register.

Voter registration applications must be received in the voter registration office by 5 p.m. on October 16th or be postmarked by October 16th.

Applications are available in the City Hall lobby, public libraries, and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

If you have a Virginia driver's license or DMV ID or you are only updating your registration,

You may complete the application online at vote.virginia.gov before midnight on October 16th.

Absentee voting is now underway.

In Virginia, voters must have a reason for voting absentee.

For example, if they will be away on election day, have a disability or an illness.

Eligible city registered voters may vote absentee in the city voter registration office through November 4th.

The office is open 8 30 a.m. to 4 30 p.m. Monday through Friday and will also be open for absentee voting on two Saturdays, October 28th and November the 4th.

The office is in the city hall annex next to the pavilion.

Curbside voting is available in the car for absentee voters who are disabled or for those ages 65 and older.

For more information, call the office at 970-3250.

Voters must show a photo ID when voting in person, just as on Election Day.

Voters who do not have an acceptable ID may apply for a free photo ID for voting during office hours in the voter registration office.

The deadline to apply for a mailed absentee ballot is October 31st, but voters are encouraged to apply earlier to allow time to receive, vote, and return the ballot by Election Day.

Voters may apply for a mailed absentee ballot online at vote.virginia.gov.

Now I know y'all have listened very carefully and you know everything that I just said, but if you have any questions, please call 970-3250.

970-3250.

Announcement October 2nd, 2017.

Fall special waste collection dates are coming up.

Help keep our environment safe and clean by participating.

Bulky waste amnesty days will be held on three consecutive Saturdays in October from 830 to 4 p.m. as follows.

Saturday, October 7th, furniture and mattresses.

Saturday, October 14th, appliances.

Saturday, October 21st, Tires.

These special waste collections are free to residents of the city of Charlottesville.

The events are held at the Ivy Material Utilization Center, located at 4576 Dick Woods Road.

For more information, please go to rivanna.org forward slash hhw.

Thank you, Mr. Fenwick.

So I have a few different announcements tonight.

The first of which comes from the Legal Aid Justice Center, and it reads as such.

And if you have any more questions about this announcement, you can see Ms. Emily Dreyfus.

Emily, my resume.

in the back.

So are you or anyone you know interested in working to root out racial injustice?

Legal Aid Justice Center is hiring an organizer to increase police accountability and end practices that over criminalize black people and low income people.

Responsibilities will include attending meetings and speaking up for change, involving community members, providing educational workshops and one to one outreach.

The position is full time.

and for more information go to Legal Aid Justice Center's website www.justiceforall.org.

Again www.justiceforall.org.

Click contact us and then select jobs from the menu and once again for those who are interested www.justiceforall.org.

Next up I have an announcement about an event that's taking place on Wednesday.

It's called Black to Business.

So have you, excuse me, do you own a black owned business?

Are you thinking about starting one, need resources, or want to learn how to get your foot in the door?

If you're looking to pool your resources in order to make an impact,

This meeting on Wednesday is for you.

Join us on Wednesday, October 4th at 6pm at City Space in Charlottesville for the Black Business Empowerment Session.

Items that will be discussed will be include how to obtain local government contracts, which businesses are currently needed, how to market your business, which resources are currently available for your business,

and other issues will also be covered.

Again, that's Wednesday, October 4th, 6pm at City Space.

The next announcement that I have is one that's very special to myself and several others.

As many of you are aware, at our last, or excuse me, a couple meetings ago, we decided and voted as a body to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day.

So while the city has never formally, or excuse me, we currently didn't recognize Christopher Columbus or Columbus Day, we now are officially recognizing the second Monday of every month as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Columbus stole people year round.

I got a little carried away.

So here's the information about Indigenous Peoples' Day and the event that's going to take place on next Sunday.

So Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday celebrated in many U.S. cities to honor and acknowledge the past and continuous presence of Native people in the Americas.

It began before 1992.

as a protest of Columbus Day, with Native groups contending that Columbus did not discover them, they were already here, and that the ancestors of Columbus and his men were less than heroic towards their ancestors.

Some states, such as California and Tennessee, celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on different dates, but many have chosen the second Monday in October, at least 50 cities and municipalities

have also chosen to proclaim Indigenous Peoples Day.

On Sunday, October 8th at 6 p.m., local native people and supporters were gathered at the Free Speech Wall in Charlottesville to hold a press conference about Indigenous Peoples Day and talk about why it matters.

If you have any questions, you can contact Ms. Karen Wood.

We also have a resolution that we're going to read briefly for her.

Ms. Wood, would you like to come up?

Where's Ms. Wood?

There she is.

So we want to read this specifically for you, my sister.

So this proclamation reads, whereas the city of Charlottesville understands that in order to help close the equity gap, government entities, organizations, and other public institutions should change their policies and practices to better reflect the experiences of American Indian people

and uplift our country's indigenous roots, history and contributions, and whereas the idea that Indigenous Peoples' Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of native nations to the United Nations sponsored international conference on discrimination against indigenous populations in the Americas, and whereas in 1990 representatives from 120 indigenous nations at the first continental conference on 500 years

of Indian Resistance unanimously passed a resolution to transform Columbus Day into an occasion to strengthen the process of continental unity and struggle towards liberation and thereby use the occasion to reveal a more accurate historical record.

And whereas the U.S. federal government, state of Virginia, and the city of Charlottesville

recognized Columbus Day on the second Monday of October in accordance with the federal holiday established in 1937.

Now therefore be it resolved that the city council shall recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October and be it further resolved that the city shall continue its effort to promote the well-being and growth of the Charlottesville American Indian

and Indigenous Community.

And be it further resolved that Indigenous Peoples' Day shall be used to reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous people on this land and to celebrate the thriving culture and value that Indigenous nations add to our city.

And be it further resolved that the City Council encourages other businesses, organizations and public entities to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day, signed on the second day of October 2017,

Thank you so much.

I'm sorry to have my back turned to you all.

I was looking at the comments after this was passed and people were like, Indigenous people, what is that?

I don't even know what this is.

some kind of PC substitution just like getting rid of monuments.

And I thought, you know, it's so much more than that.

You know, this is about acknowledging the continuous presence of Native people for more than 18,000 years in one place.

And if nobody knows that Monacan people are still here, we are.

We're not invisible.

Maybe you haven't been able to see us.

I don't look like I showed up in 1607 with my brothers and brothers.

You know, but we're still here and we're so happy that we're being acknowledged and if we haven't been speaking it's because we weren't asked to speak.

But we're speaking up and we're going to be kicking off UVA Bicentennial with 20,000 people and we're going to be there so that's going to be very cool.

Thank you so much for this.

Much love to you Ms. Wood and all of the Monakins representatives here in our area.

That's all I have.

Thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor.

A couple of items from the last City Council meeting.

Missy Wernstrom talked about her concerns at Tonsler Park and hoping to see some improvements, especially with the Tonsler Fieldhouse.

Just wanted to inform folks on what we've done at Tonsil Park in the last couple of years.

We renovated the basketball courts here, renovated the playground.

The field house does have funding for that will be completed in fiscal year 19.

For a total of $1.5 million that will go towards building a new field house and a new spray ground is being built at Tonsil Park.

as well, so a lot of activities taking place there.

There are a lot of questions raised about affordable housing that the City Council addressed that night, making a commitment to four and a half million dollars, close to four and a half million dollars in affordable housing investments in a number of different areas.

One of those areas is an issue that Council is considering tonight, $900,000 to the Rental Assistance Program, and then a couple of other items that we will be bringing back officially to Council.

in the next month or so on issues like funding for AHIP and funding for Habitat for Humanity as well.

So we'll bring that back to city council.

and another issue that was raised by a couple of residents is the independent review that is being conducted on behalf of the city by Mr. Timothy Hafee who's a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

We are partnering with Mr. Hafee, we hired Mr. Hafee to conduct this independent review because of his critical eye, his experience and his understanding of law enforcement procedures and practices and his connections.

We fully expect Mr. Hafee to come back with a

a detailed report that will explain to us what we did well, what we didn't do well, not only on August 12th but July 8th and then also on May 13th as well.

And so I've invited Mr. Hafey to speak to us a little bit about his investigation.

Generally, tonight, just for your background, Mr. Hafey served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 2009 to 2015 after being appointed by President Obama.

and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

He is currently chair of the White Collar Defense Investigations Group at Hunton and Williams.

And Mr. Apey is here.

Thank you, Mr. Jones.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak briefly about the status of the independent review.

Before I get into what I prepared to say, let me just go back to two things that Mr. Jones said that I feel that I need to clarify.

The first is that this is not Tim Haffey's independent review.

This is an independent review being conducted by a team of people that I supervise.

The city has hired Hunt and Williams, my firm, a firm where I am a partner, to conduct a thorough and objective assessment of how those events were handled.

And while I am

The person in charge of that, I'm not doing that work myself.

There are a lot of people within the firm and some outside of the firm who are involved.

There's a team of four lawyers that are working on this more or less full time.

There's a team of other professionals within the firm that are poring over material that's been submitted and material that's available open source.

So I need to sort of depersonalize this.

It's not me doing this.

It is me supervising a team.

We also have

hired law enforcement professionals as consultants.

The Police Foundation is a national organization that does training and technical assistance, a great deal of data assessment and research about law enforcement practices.

And we reached out to them because we felt we needed some police professionals as consultants to assist us in our assessment, both gathering facts and making recommendations.

and they agreed and they're actually working for free to help us gather these facts, assess the facts, make sure we're asking the right questions, gather the facts and then make recommendations and they are a vital part of the team and they're even separate from the law firm.

The other thing that I should start with that Mr. Jones said was that we are partnered with the city and I don't think that that's a fair characterization of what we're doing.

I don't really consider the city to be our partner

I frankly think that we are hired to be critical of the city, to look hard at what occurred with respect to those protest events and provide a candid objective assessment of how those events were handled.

While we've been retained by the city,

The direction I have received from Mr. Jones, from Mr. Brown and his office is to get the facts wherever those facts lead.

This is not a whitewash to affirm decisions that were made.

It's not a witch hunt to point a finger necessarily at any individuals.

It is rather an attempt to objectively assess what occurred.

So I don't know that I would characterize it as a partnership.

I think to some extent it is an arm's length relationship where we are gathering information and we will present it

and it assuredly will be critical, perhaps critical of our own client and people that work for the city.

So I wanted to make sure that it was clear to council and to everyone that I don't really see that the city's our partner in this.

So let me just talk briefly about our process.

As Mr. Jones said, we are not just looking into the Unite the Right August 12th rally.

We've been hired to look at all of the summer

civil unrest protest events in context.

They start back in the spring with the May 13th and 14th events that occurred by the Lee statue in Emancipation Park, the July 8th KKK rally, and then the August 11th and 12th events of that weekend.

And it's important to look at all those events, we believe, in context of each other and how they compared to each other.

We're also not strictly looking at law enforcement and the police response.

While that might be the most visible issue that is included in the review, that's only one of many different tentacles of this.

We're looking at the permitting process.

We're looking at interagency coordination.

We're looking at how all entities of city government worked together and with outside agencies to prepare for and respond to those events.

internal and external communications, how communications with the public were handled, the relationship frankly between council and staff, and there are a lot of facets of this that we believe all need to be considered in a comprehensive way.

So it's not strictly did the police do a good job or not, it's much broader than that.

Our process is fulsome and comprehensive.

We have already now, it's been about five weeks since we were retained,

have obtained tens of thousands of documents with the help of Mr. Brown and the city attorney's office.

We have gathered a lot of what was electronically available through the city through servers, but we've also submitted FOIA requests.

We've also solicited information from the public.

and are poring over tens of thousands of separate documents, pieces of paper that reflect reports, assessments, plans, emails, text messages, really anything at all relevant we've asked for and we're going over.

There's also a lot of images.

There are a lot of photographs and videos.

Some of that was in the possession of the city, some of it was not.

Some of it is just out there open source.

And we have a whole apparatus to review and gather and clip and highlight all of that material and try to use it to forward our understanding of what occurred.

That is an ongoing process and frankly a tremendously difficult one because of the volume of that material that's out there.

We established a tip line and a website because we believed we wanted to give members of the public who were present, or not present, whomever had a perspective about these events, we wanted to give them an opportunity to raise their hand and provide information.

So we created a portal for that process to take place.

And it has been active.

We've had a lot of submissions.

people that have asked to be contacted and we have followed up with all of those people.

Some of them have uploaded material, video or documents that we are assessing.

So that has been a helpful process.

And our hope is that it would also give people a sense that this process was a way to vent or to provide information to someone that would impact how these events were handled in the future.

So it's useful in terms of our report but it also has a broader, we hope,

and a cathartic value as well.

And then the main source of information is interviews.

And we've already done, I think we're over 60 now, interviews in five weeks.

Some of those are officials, are folks you'd probably predict we would want to talk to.

Others are not, are folks that were just in the crowd who have a perspective, who we have found one way or another.

And there are people with various different perspectives.

We've believed, continue to believe it's important to try to gather the perspective of people

who came at this event from lots of different places.

And we are trying our best to get a comprehensive report from various perspectives about how these events were handled.

And some of the people, as I said, who have volunteered information have asked to speak with us and we've accommodated that.

I will say that I can't report that we have had universal acceptance of offers to listen or to interview.

There is, as you're aware, some skepticism about this process that we've confronted.

Some of that is a function

of the fact that we were hired by the city and I don't need to tell you that there's skepticism about city government in some parts of this community and the fact that our client is the city and the information will be presented to the city makes some people frankly skeptical that this isn't truly independent exercise and we've confronted that directly.

And some people are concerned about my own personal background in law enforcement, that is what it is.

and because of that I think there's this perception in some corners that this will be too favorable to law enforcement or to the police.

And we have worked hard to try to disabuse people of that skepticism and reinforce that our intention is to do a truly candid assessment, critical as I said, of law enforcement of our own client.

but that's easier said than done and a lot of people frankly just have not accepted that.

So I wish I could report that everyone that we've wanted to speak to has come in and has provided us with information but that's not the case.

That said, there are voices within really every significant community or perspective that have come in and while we're not getting universal participation, I feel like we have gotten

participation from a lot of different perspectives, frankly perspectives that are polar opposite with respect to how these events were handled.

And that gives me a sense that while we won't get universal participation or feedback, we're getting enough of it from different sources that we are getting, I think, an increasingly complete picture of what happened out there on those events.

So I think we've made good progress, but there's a lot more to do.

We're five weeks in and we continue moving as fast as we can.

The destination is a report.

What we are planning is a report about what happened.

Our operating principle is that you start with facts.

In every evaluation, investigation I've ever done, you start with the facts.

What can you verify is actually what occurred?

Let's get our hands around

a objectively verifiable narrative of what happened.

And from that, we report that.

We put that forth.

And from that, you learn.

You can move on to recommendations and best practices and hopefully create something that will inform the response to future events.

Our hope is that we will be able to deliver that report around the Thanksgiving holiday, certainly before the end of the year.

I was hesitant at the beginning to sort of put a time frame on this because it was hard to tell how easy it would be to get our sort of arms around this universe of facts.

But as we go forward I think I'm comfortable now sort of making that an arbitrary deadline.

I think we'll be able to issue a report that will be the facts and the recommendations November, December of that time frame.

And again I'll just finish where I started and that is that report will be

Truly independent.

I don't know how many times I can say it, but our intention will be to not withhold, to not spare criticism, to not in any way sugarcoat those facts that we have found, to provide what we've been asked to provide, which is a sort of unvarnished account of what occurred.

Hopefully, like I said before, right around the Thanksgiving holiday.

I have a question.

So a lot of our members of the public have been asking if they could get, and even council members have asked, if they could get some kind of mini update before the final project, or excuse me, before the final report is completed so that some people can have some answers.

It depends on what the questions are.

I'm hesitant to promise an interim report because as I said it's important to see the events in a comprehensive way and not extract from those events bits and pieces of the story until we understand the whole story.

So a couple we know people have asked repeatedly

Why was 4th Street open after it was closed earlier?

Some would also say, just answering the question, although some of us may know, was there a stand down order?

Other questions that people have been asking for, why were these individuals allowed to have shields or weapons drawn and things of that nature?

I can't give you answers to those now because those are

Questions that are complicated.

It's not as simple as, was there a stand-on order?

There's a question of what was the direction to police?

What did police hear and understand?

Whether or not orders were understood and interpreted.

Again, those are contextual issues.

Same.

What was the plan and then how was the plan?

Was the plan deviated?

Who specifically made it?

Those are very much in focus for us, but I can't at this point give you a narrative about why Fourth Street was open, whether it was open, why cars made it down that street.

Mr. Haffey, thank you for your presentation.

As far as I am aware, no.

There's nothing that will be prevented from being disclosed.

Can you talk to the public about how to get everything they have to you?

I know there's a portal and maybe a little bit of information about how

Yes, so the website is www.CharlottesvilleIndependentReview.com.

If you go to CharlottesvilleIndependentReview.com, there's a form that allows you to provide your name, your contact information, and upload

any information that you want us to review.

There's also a box that is checked as do you want to be contacted and if the box is checked then you will be contacted with a follow-up interview and that as I said has been active.

There's also a tip line I believe it's 1-800-4-HUNTON the number four H-U-N-T-O-N which is the

First name of the firm.

Again, that is a number that is a voicemail box that is monitored by our staff.

And if people have information to provide, they leave it there.

If they want to be contacted, then they will.

And that information is then reviewed by the team that we have created.

I can say that I have not yet once been asked by the client for a list of people that have reached out for information about who has called, what are they saying,

I have not had that request and don't frankly expect that request.

I'll say Mr. Jones and Mr. Brown have been very deferential to hands off about updates.

I frankly haven't felt like we've had a lot of independence, which is useful for me because I don't feel like there are interim tasks or anyone who's looking to monitor who's calling or what information we're providing.

And that's really frankly a question that you can ask the city manager and the city attorney, but I will say that no one has, we have not made any sort of list of who has reached out or what they have said available to anyone.

Mr. Mayor, I just wonder if there's like an opportunity for us to talk a little bit that when we do get the report from Mr. Haffey, I think that the public is so hungry for news and information about what has happened that it would be incumbent upon us and Mr. Jones to turn that report around

as quickly as possible, that we cannot hold it, we cannot, we need to disseminate it.

Well, I agree with that.

From the very beginning there was a

question whether any part of this could be protected by attorney-client privilege, whether some would just be private to us, the client.

At the beginning, I think there was some discussion.

I certainly spoke out.

I didn't think that that would be appropriate, that the public should see what we see.

And that's certainly come up.

And I think that's open in your presentation here.

Absolutely.

Yeah, I will say that once the report is prepared, I don't believe our job is done.

I believe we then are here to explain and add more color to the findings, to the narrative and to the recommendations.

And I would be happy to continue to engage with council or in any forum that the city believes is useful once the report is done translating, explaining, amplifying what we have found.

That is fine with us.

I have one other question.

There's a lot of video that's coming up out there to the extent that all of us can absorb how much is being produced publicly.

Just to make sure that eyes are being dotted, are they proactively looking at the stuff that's coming up on Twitter?

Because there are a lot of videos, I just watched one that was a fairly long one on Market Street.

Yeah, absolutely.

We are not simply relying on what has been submitted.

There's a lot that was out there that no one has sent us through the website or no one has provided that is publicly available.

And yes, we again, we have a whole team, even beyond the lawyers, the people that do nothing but monitor social media are skilled in

in the IT process of downloading video and they are capturing all of that and actually going through it and highlighting particular portions which suggests that here's someone who has a perspective who we might want to identify, reach out and talk to.

So part of this is people stepping forward and saying, hey, I saw something, could I come talk to you?

Some of it is we see something and we identify a person or we identify an incident

and we would try to find out who that person is and reach out to them and say, hey, we saw on Twitter or whatever on this video that you were there and we'd like to talk to you about what happened to you or what happened at this event in which you're depicted.

So, yeah, it's sort of two stages.

It's receiving but it's also reaching out affirmatively and there is our, as you know, there's so much of that and that's why there's this whole team of people

It's doing nothing but sitting at a computer.

We started that right away five weeks ago and it's still going on because of the volume of data that's out there.

But it's useful because there are needles in that haystack that are really valuable and things that have not been solicited or not been volunteered but they're moments within the events that are significant and they depict real

that are useful for learning for us to see how this interaction, again plugged into a context, but how that interaction was handled, that's vital for us.

So to answer your questions, Mr. Mayor, we're not just sitting back and saying, hey, send us stuff and we'll gather it all and put it in a report.

Questions?

Okay.

Okay.

That's it for now.

So we'll look forward to the process to your report.

Thank you.

Mr. Bellamy, you want to wrap up anything?

I know people are trying to leave, but if we could

It was something that I meant to say earlier.

There was a young man by the name of Kevin Grace who lost his life last week.

Everyone called him Laced Up Grace, Kevin Laced Up Grace.

He was well known within the local community, very much so known for his fashion sense, very much so a trendsetter in a lot of different ways.

And if we could, I'd just like to ask if we could have a moment of silence for Kevin Laced Up Grace, please.

The next item on the agenda is matters from the public.

First of all, I will just give the rules, the same as always.

There's no cussing interruptions or speaking out of turn.

Everyone has three minutes to speak during matters from the public.

If you can make your comments in less than three minutes, that's great.

The people behind you in line will appreciate it.

The timer will help you keep track of time.

It's right up here.

When the yellow light goes on, you have 30 seconds left.

And if you go over, I will ask you to stop.

If someone breaks any of the rules or if they keep going after the three minutes are over, I'll give them a chance to stop and stay in the room.

And if they continue or if it happens again, I'll ask them to leave the meeting.

And if they need help leaving, the sergeant at arms will be able to help them.

And if someone has to be escorted from the room, they won't be allowed to come back this evening.

We have these rules so that everyone can have a chance to address city council without fear of being bullied or drowned out and so that we can focus on what you have come to say.

Good evening, I'm Marta Kane with the Jefferson Area Board for Aging and it's that time of year again when people should be signing up if they're on Medicare for Part D prescription plans.

There are over 15,000 people in the city of Charlottesville who are registered on Medicare according to their website.

So I felt tonight would be a good chance to share this with the public.

Last year we saved people over $968,000 by helping them pick the right prescription plan.

So I think it's really important, the flyers, I hope you'll help us share.

The open enrollment starts October 15th and runs until December 7th.

We're at Hillsdale Drive Monday through Friday and on October 20th we'll be at the Mary Williams Community Center and residents should call 817-5248

to make an appointment.

We also are doing Affordable Care Act counseling.

That's really important.

There's not a lot of choices, so it's important to make sure you understand them.

And the enrollment's been shortened this year, and the money available for advertising it has been reduced.

So we want to make sure that, again, residents of Charlottesville know that both Java and the Legal Aid Justice Center will have counselors available from

October 15th to December 15th.

So please make sure again that you go to either the Legal Aid Justice Center or Java for that.

And the other thing I'd like to share with you is that Mountainside Senior Living is going to be adding a floor that will become a dementia unit according to a recent market study.

There are over 400 people in our area that need a dementia bed, and there aren't enough in our area.

And as you know, Mountainside is an affordable housing for assisted living right now, and so we are glad to be able to help with meeting the need for those who have dementia and need the special care with a very person-centered unit that will have activities and everything right there on the floor for those people.

and it will also be at an affordable rate.

So demolition started, we're pretty excited, jumped through all the hoops and if all goes well we'll be opening on Valentine's Day.

So I wanted to make people aware of that.

We've already got people giving us deposits to reserve space so it's important to get the word out to people.

And lastly,

We have finished the construction for the Mary Williams Community Center to move over to Hillsdale.

The members came over for their hard hat tour and we're very excited at the space and the possibilities there.

And we'll be sending you invitations, but I wanted to get on your calendar that we'll be having a grand opening on November 28th to help us celebrate that new space with them and welcome them and help with the transition from one place to another.

A lot of good news to share, but a lot of important information for the residents to know about.

Thank you for letting me share it.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, council members, city managers.

What's coming down is Laura Robinson Reed and she's a black educator.

She educated my mother who would be 86 and she educated over seven generations.

Now when you're thinking about naming something on the street and stuff, I'm urging you to look at this and understand that we have a rich history here.

and don't just make it a little plaque that nobody sees or a street like you did with Reverend Hayes.

I mean, he's a humble man, but you gave him a back alley.

You know, if you want to say you respect minorities, put us out there with you.

Put us up on the street just like you did John Warner Parkway.

but also reach back and find out what made Charlottesville, Charlottesville.

This young lady, I call her young lady, she was 103 when she died, but she went through the strife.

She went through Jim Crow, she went through civil rights, and she taught us how to be strong and educated.

And those are the kind of people we need to remember.

Also,

Tonsil Park, I fell down there a couple of weeks ago, Mr.

Manager.

I called your office.

Got some run around.

I would really appreciate you fix that buckle, because I got news for you.

If a child or a senior falls and hurts themselves, the city's on the hook.

You already know about it.

But it's very, very, it's about that much of a buckle that someone's going to fall and hurt themselves.

Also, last thing, Monacan Indians are not the only Indians in this area.

My grandmothers were Cherokee.

And that's not just something I'm saying because I'm black either.

My grandmothers were actually Cherokee.

So when you include Native Americans, include us all.

Bill Emery, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Four miles of Charlottesville's eastern boundary, as defined by the Rivanna of Virginia State Scenic River, is our city's waterfront.

The Rivanna isn't an industrial watercourse.

It's not the mighty Mississippi.

It's a little homegrown river.

In the 1800s, the Rivanna powered the beginnings of local industry.

Before the arrival of the railroad, it was an important transportation link.

And before that, for thousands of years,

Rivanna was a home river site to many settlements of the Monacan nation.

But for the past century, the Rivanna has been ignored and abused.

But 20 years ago, cities large and small, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, Virginia, Providence, Rhode Island, Austin, Texas, Greenville, South Carolina, cities got the memo.

Urban rivers hold benefit for urban residents.

Rivers are a critical element in placemaking.

and in planning and they promote quality of life.

The cities mentioned have realized the benefits of the rivers for residents and visitors.

Charlottesville got the memo, too.

As part of the 2001 comprehensive plan, Torti Gallas wrote to thousands of visitors that approached Charlottesville each week from the east.

High and Long Street represent the continuation of a route that includes both a spectacular vista, the view of the city from the summit of Pan Tops, and a natural threshold of great beauty, the Rivanna River.

Unfortunately, neither the route into town along East High Street nor the current status of the Rivanna Riverbank live up to the potential that such an entry portends.

Lower East High is a confused, ill-defined and scrappy commercial strip.

at present where the riverbank is virtually cut off from public access with little or no amenity value.

Frequent curb cuts, anyway, continues.

I ask for your leadership.

Reread the memo from Tortigales.

Reread the environmental chapter from the 2013 comp plan.

Instruct the planning commissioner and the city manager to revitalize stalled initiatives to encourage appropriate use of the river district.

An example of objectives that could be incorporated into river-oriented form-based code.

Consider river context, visibility and access in building and site design.

Minimize the quantity and appearance of parking and loading.

Maximize access to and awareness of the river and its relationship to the city.

Employ high quality, attractive and distinguishable architecture adjacent to the river.

Let's realize the promise of the Rivanna and the life of our city and plan proactively.

Good evening everyone.

Three things tonight.

Here we are again, now some 51 days since a murder occurred that shook our city.

51 days since our citizens were tortured and tormented.

51 days since the hounds of hell marched in our streets and we still have no answers.

This is not just going to go away, we will not just let it go.

Your citizens demand answers for that weekend and it will not magically leave the forefront of our consciousness.

If necessary, I will call upon other community activists and panel our own review board and present answers that we come up with to both the citizens and to the media.

Possibly then we'll get some viable responses.

Secondly, in light of today's horrific event, I remind you of Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, Aurora, Sandy Hook, Washington Navy Yard, Charleston, San Bernardino, Orlando, and Las Vegas.

Please don't delude yourselves into thinking that it couldn't happen here.

Please press the General Assembly to change Virginia's gun laws,

Also remember these numbers, 737 in 2017, 963 in 2016, 991 in 2015, and 258 blacks in 2016.

Those numbers represent the number of people killed by police in our country.

Finally, I come to you tonight to ask that you take a bold and courageous step and make a statement of conviction.

Please no longer ask us to start these proceedings with the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag or to a country that shows no allegiance to us.

There's now been almost a full two weeks since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the idiot in office still has not visited the island.

Yet he's had time to play golf, demean the mayor of Puerto Rico, attend the President's Cup golf tournament, belittle the NBA champions, and verbally abuse NFL players for exercising their First Amendment rights.

When we sat in at lunch counters, we were told it was the wrong time to protest and we were beaten.

When we refused to give up our seats on the bus, it was the wrong time and we were jailed.

When we marched for equality, it was improper and the dogs and water hoses were turned on us.

When we stood up to white supremacy, we were driven over in the street with our vehicle.

When we took a need for racial justice, we were called SOBs by the misogynistic maniac in D.C.

So I ask you now to offer instead a moment of silence at the start of the meetings for people to reflect however they see fit.

Take the example of the New York City City Council and join us in taking the need for racial equality, for justice, and for all those oppressed and treated unfairly.

In closing, I offer you this.

David O'Shine.

Are you here?

David O'Shine, going once.

George Randall.

Ms. Szakos and members of the city council, my name is Paul Long and I live at 1410 Grady Avenue here in the city.

And Mayor James Shields of the Salvation Army recently estimated that there's 400 homeless people living in the city as well as Albemarle County.

And these are people that tonight will be sleeping on street benches or cars or living in tents both in the city and the county.

And I don't want to,

To leave you the impression that I know that this city is making good faith efforts to address the problem of homelessness as well as, you know, private organizations like the Thomas Jefferson Coalition for the Homeless, Region 10 and the Rapid Rehousing Program, and even Miss Nancy Carpenter who's in the audience who's making great efforts.

But I think in a city as wealthy as the city of Charlottesville and in this country, there's no reason for people to be sleeping on the bench,

and abandoned cars are intense.

And I would like to see the city, with all the money being spent on outside consultants and law firms that do investigations, to buy or build a building where people who are homeless tonight can have a clean bed to sleep in out of the elements.

You know, and I'm not downgrading possum, but I think that's a big Band-Aid approach.

They're doing the best they can.

with the private fundraising, but it's simply not enough.

It also only lasts five or six months.

We should have a year-round facility as a baseline to help the homeless, in addition to the efforts that are being done with the city and other agencies for long-term solutions.

Thank you.

Good evening everyone.

I'm Dave Camonde.

I live in Albemarle County.

I want to second what Mr.

Gather said.

We need to get rid of the Pledge of Allegiance.

It's a silly waste of time.

Smacks of nationalism.

That's the type of thing that fuels the neo-fascists.

I'm going to reiterate the demand.

Mayor Signer, you need to resign.

You said that you're going to return.

You said you're going to return the $200 donation to Mr. Hafey that he made to your campaign.

So that means

On some level, you acknowledge what Cornel West describes as legalized bribery and normalized corruption.

And I'm sure Brother West regrets shouting you out at St. Paul's back in August.

In your twisted language, you describe giving the money back as a quote, an excess of caution.

If you wanted to exercise an excess of caution, you would have resigned back in August and never come back when you fled out that back door.

You ran and lost for Lieutenant Governor in 2009, then you moved to Seville.

Becoming Seville Mayor was a consolation prize, and we've been treated as such.

If you wanted to show an excess of caution, you would not have let Mr. Haffey call in his favor when he emailed on August 13th.

I'm wondering, was the blood even dry on the pavement that we're going to rename Heather Hireway when he wrote that email that he's going to profit from the tragedy?

Sorry, I meant him and the people who report to him and partners in the firm will profit from the tragedy.

In addition to the other things that Sister Tanisha mentioned at the last meeting that represent the conflict of interest and show that this is not independent no matter how many times everybody wants to say it, Mr. Haffey was on the board of the Charlottesville Police Foundation, which I found out is a non-profit 501c that, among other things, collects donations to pay for cops' dinners.

and to host an appreciation banquet for the Charlottesville police.

That's your definition of independent.

So we won't rest until there's a real independent review, if Mr. Gathers has the lead it or not, and an independent review that has enforcement power, that doesn't just hand a report back.

So that means that the unaccountable Mr. Jones, Mr. Thomas, and the council won't be able to hide behind the attorney-client privilege.

So I'm going to finish with reading some from a Daily Progress op-ed that sums up what's going on.

I encourage everybody to read it.

Professor David Rapace says, to be blunt, the structure of the Charlottesville government is basically undemocratic.

All power resides in the hands of the city manager.

He is not elected and therefore not accountable to the people.

He is accountable to the city council, but not to the head of the council, the mayor.

And as we learned from the fallout on August 12th, the city manager can tell the mayor he can't attend meetings of city officials who are making key decisions.

A city manager who was not elected need not worry to be responsive to the people.

Every day there are citizens who have urgent needs requiring government assistance, but when they seek redress at City Hall, they are often met with indifference.

So basically, to sum up, you all need to fix this problem or you will continue to have a major problem.

When Akaya gets on council, that means we get on council.

And you all need to look at what's going on in St. Louis because that can come to Seville.

When we say no justice, no profits, you're not going to be afraid of us, but you'll be afraid of the business owners who are going to be upset.

Good evening.

My name is Neil Goodlow.

I live at 708 Grave Street, the city of Charlottesville, and I serve as a criminal justice planner for the Thomas Jefferson Area Community Criminal Justice Board.

Two years of collaborative study involving the jail, Region 10, the Virginia Department of Corrections, Offender Aid and Restoration, and UVA Systems Engineering Department have shown that approximately one in four individuals involved in the criminal justice system at every key decision point we examined

meet the screening criteria for serious mental illness.

It's estimated that four percent of adults in the general population suffer from serious mental illness, so the criminal justice population by comparison is significantly over-represented and many of those individuals are identified as high known utilizers of the jail.

We use the University's Institutional Review Board protocols governing human subject research to match

the identified jail cohort to Region 10 service records.

And what we found was that fewer than half of those identified as in need of further evaluation for serious mental illness at the jail received a service of any kind at Region 10 and fewer than one in four received a mental health service specifically.

This research is groundbreaking and we can find no other example of its kind in the country at this time.

We now seek to address this identified treatment linkage gap in several ways.

At a group of local criminal justice leaders have been meeting regularly over the past year to craft a detailed plan to establish a therapeutic docket in Charlottesville and Almar County General District Courts.

This docket will provide diversion opportunities for eligible defendants who meet mental illness criteria, which played a significant role in their offense.

The model is loosely based on our drug court model, which has been in operation in the city and the county for over 20 years.

Our application to operate a specialty court is currently pending approval before the Virginia Supreme Court.

We've secured grant funding through the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in the amount of $64,504 to begin implementation.

Ongoing funding is needed beginning in July of 2018.

We understand that many defendants will not be eligible for the docket.

or we'll choose not to participate.

So we also are seeking ways to reduce the treatment gap for those individuals at the end of their jail stay to increase their chances of a successful re-entry.

Clifford Hall, 938 Fifth Street, Southwest, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901.

Now the first thing won't mean anything to you all, but the people that it means to, they're listening.

3946436, IBO number, 5174 Pecan Drive, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 22407, August 1st, 2011.

13628106497, invoice number.

Thessalonians 1.

Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the Church of the Thessalonians and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you.

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians in faith.

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.

Remember before our God and Father you were preceded by faith.

You labored, promoted by love and faith and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know brothers and sisters loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you

not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.

Technology.

You became imitators for us

and Conviction.

You know how we lived among you for the sake.

You became annotators for us given by the Holy Spirit and so became a model of all believers in Mesopotamia and faith in God and has become known everywhere.

Therefore we do not need to say anything about it for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us.

They tell you

you turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God and wait for the son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who rescues us in the coming wrath.

Rosia Parker.

Hello, I'm Rosia Parker.

And like they said, we still don't have no answers since May.

Now May has come and gone.

And I do remember that it was said that y'all knew the answers.

But even as y'all knew the answers, y'all still had to print out to ask what was going to happen.

And you see it, Mike Signer, we'll see things like you see it.

I don't think so.

Not you, you.

You, not you.

Y'all was on vacation, so what is it that you see?

You seen the television and what took place in your city.

And as for Mr. Heafey, that's still conflict of interest.

Because if you hired him as an independent investigator, he's doing y'all's work that the police should be doing.

and he wasn't here when the state police was here on July 8th as they retreated to hurt the citizens, which you say this is a city of resistance, do you mean resistance of the city?

But also, you don't feel us, you don't feel us, maybe you might, but you definitely don't and I never see him engaged in anything.

So,

What are y'all gonna do as we have went through that struggle, still dealing with it, still no answers, still no answers, still no answers but y'all paying this man $545 an hour to tell us what he did not know today and he don't even have an answer and he will not get an answer because he's definitely a liar and he will forever be a liar because if he really wanted to do his work

He would have been done it in the correct manner and not asked to be here to do that.

But also, I'm still hurting mentally, physically, still have emotional, still have environmental toxins in my lungs.

Still hard for me to breathe while I was on that front line defending your city, as was many others defending your city, as y'all must didn't care about your city because y'all left.

Y'all wasn't there on July 8th as your police officer hit me with that tear gas grenade, but there was no reason for him to do that.

And then y'all still got them young men that was charged with felonies for their mask.

What about that KKK that had that mask on his face?

And I'm still asking, what are y'all going to do today?

Because they're back.

We went through that stuff on August the 12th.

What are you going to do today?

Because the statute gets, uh,

decided on Wednesday, but they're here on Monday.

Do something about it, because if anything happens, we're going to retaliate just as you will.

Katrina Turner.

Katrina Turner, Charlottesville.

I just want to say that the focus on that day, I mean everybody has forgot about why we were even there that day it seems like.

That day to a whole lot of people, as I said before, we trained for that day.

We trained for months for that day.

but where's the appreciation?

I haven't heard anything about thank you to Black Lives Matter, to Surge, to Antifa, to Clergy, to APOC.

Where is our appreciation?

Because for the simple fact, all the information you all had leading up to that day, I want to know

that if all these organizations didn't come together on that day, how would that day have looked?

Because it sure would have turned out worse than what it was on August the 12th.

If clergy wasn't called in here, APOC, ANTIPA, everybody, if they were not called in here to protect the city, who would have been here to protect the city?

The same people that protected McIntyre Park when the last city council meeting when she came and said there was literally no police there.

and they threatened her life, they threatened to kill her.

Just imagine if we wouldn't have came together on that day.

Y'all left the city.

Who would have been here to protect this city on that day if we would not have did what we did to bring all the people together on that day?

Where is our appreciation?

That's all I want to know.

Why I understand there was a life taken on that day.

But I don't feel that Heather would want everybody else to be forgotten either.

Because she stood with us that day.

She stood with us that day.

And that day was for everybody to come.

The citizens, all the citizens that came forward.

When are y'all gonna recognize us?

What are y'all gonna do for us?

Instead of that street, I think that street needs to be named for everybody who came out on that day to fight this city.

I wanted to thank the leadership in this room, Don Gathers, Rosia, and Katrina, for their words.

Tim Hefe stood up here and tells us he's going to disabuse us of our skepticism.

I don't know how that works exactly, even if ultimately he presents the most even-handed, truthful report.

The way that he was chosen is the problem.

The white supremacy didn't just show up on August 12th or July 8th.

It's how we conduct business.

And as white people, we have a responsibility to really do some deep internal investigation about how we choose to do things.

So it's hard to listen to the white mayor, talk to the white independent counselor, whatever, and feel

disabused my skepticism about that.

And so I think that what I would ask all of us to do before we leave city council or before we get voted on as city council, I'm speaking only to the white people in the room right now, that you do some investigation of why you want to sit on this dais and why you want to be up here and who are you serving.

Are you serving the Virginia tourism board?

Are you serving only Virginia business?

Only our business owners are you serving the service workers who work all of the time and who have been forgotten through the fallout of August 12.

I certainly have a lot of friends who are local business owners but I also know that if we funnel money to them that there's a lot of dishwashers and servers and bartenders who are not going to remake those tips that they lost and they can't afford to live here anymore.

So there's a lot of issues.

It's all tied in together.

Thank you.

David O'Shine, who did not respond earlier, is actually on here twice.

Second call for David O'Shine.

and second call for George Randall.

All right, the last person signed up to speak.

The last person who signed up to speak is somebody that I find very disturbing to find on our list.

I don't see him in the room.

I don't know if he's here.

He is the person who called down the wrath of the far right on our city and organized the Unite the Right rally.

Well for the moment we will call it volunteer service.

And Mr. Mayor that is the end of public comment.

I'm calling this meeting to order.

We will have another session of public comment and this meeting is not likely to be very long.

We have several items that have been removed from the agenda.

So I welcome you to stay till the end and then speak again.

OK.

There's a motion from Ms. Szakos to take a break.

We have a 9 o'clock break.

Is that?

Is that?

No, it's not OK. OK. We're going to take a 9 o'clock break a little early, and then we'll be back in in 10 minutes.

We can't drop charges.

OK.

Ms. Szakos?

At least I didn't go far.

We're back in order.

Go on to our matters, I'm sorry, consent agenda.

Ms. Rice, would you mind reading?

I'll start it.

When she gets here, she's getting more parking.

So the consent agenda includes the minutes for September 18th, 2017.

Item B in appropriation, risk management fund, line of duty act, insurance reimbursement, $28,200, second of two readings.

Item C, appropriation, fiscal year 2018, fire programs, aid to locality funding, fire fund appropriation, $145,343, second of two readings.

Item D, appropriation, Virginia Homeless Solutions Grant, VHSP, $477,151, second of two readings.

Item F, appropriation, Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act Grant,

$452,704, first of two readings.

Item G, appropriation, Virginia Department of Health Special Nutrition, Child and Adult Care Food Program, $32,000, first of two readings.

Item H, Seminole Square Shopping Center, critical slips waiver, first of one reading.

Item I, resolution, Pepsi bottling plant, critical slips waiver, first of one reading.

Item J, special use permit, SUP for automobile sales at 1530 East High Street, first of one reading.

There was originally a desire to pull item J which is the resolution on the special use permit for automobile sales at 1530 East High Street

However, I've heard that there is some news.

I think it probably is still worth pulling, since we have a relatively short agenda, just to clarify the terms of that.

I would like to pull that.

So it sounds like there's, and I would too, so there's consensus to...

Everyone else okay?

So we'll pull item J and we'll discuss it separately at the end of the agenda.

Yes, I'm sorry.

All in favor?

All right, Senate agenda with item J removed for discussion passes.

Moving on to the first item on our regular agenda, item number two, resolution honorary street naming.

Good evening.

My name is Alex Ikafina.

I'm the NDS Director.

This is a very difficult presentation.

It's going to be a short presentation and it's unfortunate what happened in this community on August the 12th and one of our residents paid dearly for something that she believed.

I stand before the City Council this evening to present a proposal requesting that the City Council designate a portion of 4th Street

Southeast and Northeast, from Eastwater to East Market Street, has had the higher way in honor of ultimate sacrifice made by Ms. Heyer on a dreadful August 12, 2017, ultra-right rally here in Charlottesville.

I think the mayor provided a great overview of this particular request tonight.

I'm not going to have to go over that.

However, I just want to point out that the proposal aligns with the city council's vision of commitment to create a community of mutual respect and also aligns with goal 1.5 of the city's 2018 to 2020 strategic plan of intentionally addressing the issues of race and equity.

And finally,

The community has expressed a desire to honor Ms. Haya in several ways and this particular designation, if approved by the City Council, will be in keeping with the spirit of the community.

Also, Hada has gone home.

As far as we know, we can't bring her back and if we could bring her back, we would.

However, we can only designate this street

this stretch of the street, the remembrance of this special lady that stood for fairness, social justice, and positive change in our community.

So I ask the city council to approve the proposal.

Thank you.

A motion from her?

Yeah.

I would like to ask my colleagues if we would consider a longer now, therefore it be resolved.

Now make the motion.

That was head nodding consensus.

So I second that motion.

So seconded.

Just a point of clarification.

I think it was noted by Sister Heather's mom at the NAACP meeting Friday night where she said, to paraphrase,

It's unfortunate that in her words that a white woman had to die in order for the unity or kind of for us to take these steps forward and furthermore from hearing some of the comments from the public tonight while I'm in agreement with moving forward with naming Heather Hiram Way I do think it's important for us to in some way

as we've made commitments to do but in some other way also look to acknowledge those who have come before Ms. Heather Heyer and who have also sacrificed their lives.

Whether we do that with other street renamings and while I may not always agree with Mr. Kenneth Jackson, I do think that he made

A valid point tonight in regards to placing the names of other individuals on prominent roadways is important because currently we don't have a great deal of that.

So we could also take that into consideration.

If I might add, I think it's a terrific insight, Mr. Bellamy, and one that has been heard tonight.

One of the instructions actually in the Blue Ribbon Commission report was to look for naming

It's throughout the city and there are buildings and not just roads and bridges and I do think that this instruction we're hearing from the community could be very well taken in the years ahead, not just the months ahead.

We could name First Street Dede Gilmore Way.

I guess we need to stipulate whether the person has to be alive or has passed away.

Yeah, good point.

And I would appreciate the opportunity to acknowledge Susan Breaux is not here right now.

No, she left.

A woman of uncommon courage because she has been asked to do a lot since a few days after August 12th.

And every time she does a public event, a mother has to relive the loss of her daughter.

So I would just like to publicly acknowledge my admiration for a woman who had great courage, who provided the city leadership in a time when many of us were confused.

We didn't know what to do.

We didn't know how to act.

And I'll say that personally.

Amen.

All in favor?

There's five to zero.

All right.

The next two items have been deferred to, I believe, October 16th.

Those were item number three, Resolution Meadow Creek Valley Trail Bridge Grant.

and then item number four resolution 250 bypass commuter path grant.

Those are both deferred to October 16th.

Next item on our agenda is an ordinance solar energy systems zoning text amendment.

This is the second of two readings.

We have a full vote.

We already had the first reading motion made and seconded.

So as you said, this is the second of two readings.

The first one was in July that we came before you.

I'll give a quick recap of where this came from and then a couple of discussion points and then we'll get up to you.

I'll take it from there.

So in May, we came before you and City Council initiated the Stoning Text Amendment process.

The proposed zoning text amendment is intended to establish the underlying zoning code for all the zoning districts in the city and to maintain any additional review or restrictions as applicable by overlay zoning or design control districts areas.

This was brought forward because we've been seeing an increasing demand for solar energy within our community.

Through the Smoke Growth America technical assistance in 2015 and then also through the city pursuing its SolSmart Silver designation as a solar-friendly community, it was noted that our current zoning codes does not reference solar energy systems, which leaves a bit of ambiguity in terms of

where and how solar energy systems can be installed on properties.

Additionally, moving this forward supports the Streets at Work code audit as well as the MOU for collaboration between the city and the county regarding the environment.

The proposed zoning amendment was put together through the environmental sustainability staff working cooperatively with a SolSmart advisor that we received through the SolSmart program, neighborhood development service staff, and the city's attorney's office.

We looked at what the current conditions were that were accepted for solar installations, existing zoning code allowances for related and similar type items throughout the city, best practices that are specific to solar PV rather than other types of mechanical equipment, feedback that we got from our local solar industry, sample model codes from both Sol-Smart and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and comments that were received from the Planning Commission on May 9th meeting.

In the council packet you have, we have a summary of what the proposed changes are to the ordinance.

One of the pieces in the Planning Commission did vote in support of this, but they did want it to go in front of the Board of Architectural Review and the Entrance Corridor Review Board to provide comments back to council before you would vote to make your decision on the proposed amendments.

When it went to the results of going to the VAR and entrance corridor is that, and there's a summary also in the attachments that Mary Joy Scala has written up from those two meetings.

In terms of the entrance corridor, no amendments seem to be warranted on that front.

For both the historic conservation districts and the architectural design control districts, there are some wording changes that were recommended.

Also on the VAR, they were suggesting that the words in aggregate

were added to a section that's embodied within this that wasn't specific to the solar piece to clarify that in a list of items that talk about percentage of roof cover that it's an aggregate 25% rather than each of those individual items being able to be 25% of the roof cover.

Additionally, while we did engage the solar industry here, after this had begun to move through the process, one of them noted that the height restriction for solar PV

on the ground could end up causing some conflicts in terms of design for parking canopies.

One of the things they noted was that tractor trailer trucks tend to go up to about 18 feet, and so we currently have a 15 foot maximum in this.

And so that was something that they expressed interest in us trying to, if we can't fit into this process, going back and working on.

That's something that staff is supportive of.

A couple other things to note.

The city has currently been awarded the bronze level designation in the SolSmart program.

We are aiming in pursuing the silver level.

Having by right zoning code approved for solar and clarifying that is one of the prerequisites for achieving silver.

Later this month at the ICMA conference, SolSmart will be recognizing cities that have reached different levels of designation.

And then in terms of being able to address the comments that we received from the solar installers around parking canopies and also the comments from the BAR and the Entrance Corridor Review Board, those would be additional processes that would have to move forward to address those pieces.

And my understanding is that either City Council can initiate those or the Planning Commission.

If City Council initiates them, it has a 100-day timeline that we then have to bring it back to City Council.

So with the text amendment, staff recommends that Council adopt the proposed zoning text amendment and also to direct staff to address the comments that were put forward by our local solar industry, the BAR Entrance Corridor Review Board.

under the alternative section we laid out a couple of different ways that you could possibly go about doing that for your consideration.

And then along with your packet we have as the attachments what the proposed zoning text amendment language is, some supplemental reference materials that include a summary table trying to put into regular people language what the ordinance language is trying to say, some diagrams showing on the actual kind of bird's eye view of where on a site you would be able to put solar energy systems

and then a collection of solar energy systems, some photos that we pulled from the internet from places around the country and the world, but also some that are Charlottesville specific for energy systems already installed here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have a question.

You're recommending that we go ahead and do this partly because of the silver status, right, for the timing.

And then when the staff, if we did that and recommended that staff address the concerns that were brought up by the BAR, would end up

ECRB, would those then come back to us as amendments to vote on?

Yes.

I believe they would have to.

Okay, even though they're relatively minor, it's still, okay, all right, that's fine.

Thank you.

So do we need to then, whoever made the original

Motion?

That was one of the things that we wanted to get direction from you all as to our recommendations that you direct staff to bring back amendments to address the additional comments that we received.

Right.

That sounds like a direction board.

So is there a motion?

It's already been moved so we just call for a vote.

So I'm calling, without any objection, calling the vote right now for the second of two readings.

All in favor?

And before we go to the changes, I just want to, since we've done this now, just reiterate that this is not just so we can get a silver designation as a sole smart city, but it really is going to help people in our city, businesses, individuals, and the city itself be able to generate more solar energy so that we are less and less reliant on fossil fuels, things that pollute the environment, both when they're extracted and when they're burned.

All right, second?

Any further discussion, questions?

Okay, all in favor?

That was the direction.

This amount of $850,000, first of one reading.

We'll have a full vote.

Good evening, I'm Stacey Pethe, a Housing Program Coordinator for the City of Charlottesville.

In September 2007, City Council approved a loan of $850 from the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund to assist Woodard Properties with the purchase of 57 rental housing units, commonly known as Dogwood Housing.

The original loan term was for a period of five years, and in August 2012, City Council approved a five-year loan extension, and that extension expires on October 31st of this month.

Back in June of this year, Keith Woodard, on behalf of Dogwood Properties, the company managing the units, approached staff this past June to discuss the possibility of extending the loan for an additional five years and also requested a few modifications to the existing loan terms.

After a meeting with both Keith Woodard and Amanda Hester, who is the property manager for Dogwood Properties, to discuss their concerns and reviewing the

current loan terms.

I agree that some of the terms can be modified to make program management a bit easier and more efficient, as well as to assist many of the existing residents to stay in their homes a bit longer.

And after that meeting, as staff does recommend, that the

The loan be renewed for another five years.

These are 57 really valuable affordable housing properties in the city and it would be a shame to lose them.

and I also recommend that the following loan terms be added or amended.

The first is that I recommend allowing Dogwood residents to pay up to 35% of their household income towards their rent.

Currently, Dogwood Properties applies a 30% of income housing affordability measure to all of their tenants and that exists throughout their entire tenancy.

And so that actually ends up with some of their residents who

through rent increases over the years end up paying slightly over that amount.

So even if they end up paying 31 percent of their income, the current terms of the loan require that those residents leave those units.

So allowing them to pay 35 percent of their income towards their housing allows them to remain stable in their housing for a few more years.

And there is precedence behind that action.

Moving to Work program, which is a designation to housing authorities.

There are about 38 that have that designation now.

And MTW authority gives housing authorities the ability to request waivers to program regulations to the housing choice voucher program.

And about 19 of the 38 housing authorities that have that designation have received approval from HUD.

to allow the residents to go over that 30% income limit towards their rent.

And this allows them to, one, have a greater opportunity in housing choice.

It's particularly important in high income or high rent areas like Charlottesville.

So it expands their opportunities for housing in different neighborhoods.

And it also provides housing stability for them over the longer term.

The second

Modification I am requesting and recommending is an increase in the income recertification period from annually to once every 24 months.

There are several reasons for that.

The first is that it will allow, it will decrease administrative costs.

Tracking down tenants, 57 tenants, every 12 months can be a bit tricky.

So this gives them a little extra time to fulfill that requirement.

Also, it makes it easier for tenants to enjoy any income increases, however modest they may be.

The third modification I am recommending is to a,

Dogwood Properties currently allows the city to go in and inspect all of their properties.

We tend to do it half in one year and half the following year, but many of those units are filled by Housing Choice Voucher Program participants or families that are in some other rental assistance programs, and so many of those units are already inspected once a year by a different entity.

So it was just double counting, so to speak.

So I am recommending that Dogwood Properties allow the city to inspect units that are with residents who are not receiving some sort of rental assistance.

And for the rest of the units, Dogwood Properties has agreed to provide verification that those units have been inspected and passed the inspection.

And finally, Dogwood Properties provides a report to city staff on December 31st of each year that covers all 57 units and household income, household size, how much rent they pay.

They will continue to do that but add one additional data point to that list and that would be for those households receiving rental assistance, how much the rental assistance payment is.

Looking at the reports that they submitted last year, it looks like many of the families are paying far more of their income towards the rent.

I think in some cases, I think one person was paying 135% of their income towards the rent.

But that household received housing choice voucher assistance and the amount of the housing assistance payment or HAP payment was not included in that list.

And so that way, I know in the past when staff has reviewed some of the reports,

Kathy McHugh had mentioned that many of the households were paying over 30% of their income and I think that added to some of the confusion.

So that data point will be added to the reports in the future.

I have one.

I'm getting a little heartburn about the 35 percent of income as a rent.

I understand this is something that Dogwood has asked for.

What I don't want to have happen is that suddenly automatically every family in Dogwood housing, all 57 apartments is going to

I'm not sure that would work.

Through discussions with Amanda Hester, she has no intention of raising rents from what they are now.

And so this was really to cover those families that through rent increases annually.

I'm not sure if we could do that.

I mean, it seems slightly unfair to say you five can pay more, but perhaps we can't.

That would be something else to write in that this will be monitored on an annual basis, subject to change.

So I talked to her in length.

There had been one other modification I was going to suggest and she asked me to remove it.

and that was actually to have them increase, it followed the HUD low home and HUD high home rents and those are about $150 more per month than they are currently charging in rent.

Ms. Hester felt that the units were not going to rent at those higher rent levels and so she's really keeping a close watch on

what the market will bring for those units and she assures me it's never going to get that high.

So they know that?

There you go.

Has there been any community dialogue or engagement from the public in regards to this matter?

There has not been.

According to Ms. Hester, they appreciate being able to live there.

I know they work very closely with families through the IRC placement and they do very well in those units.

They like to stay in those units.

That was part of the thing.

A lot of the families that they have had to ask to leave have really wanted to stay.

They've made that their home.

They've been there for a number of years.

Right, but sometimes you can find yourself with individuals who believe that they literally have nowhere else to go.

Right.

And out of fear, they will say, hey, this is great.

This is the best thing ever.

I agree.

As you are well aware.

So I just wonder, what kind of parameters can we put in place specifically if this is going to be a loan from the city?

One being, do we get an assurance in writing that the rents will not go up?

Secondly,

Right.

And we do have limits that the rent cannot increase any more than 5% each year, so that does limit how much they can raise rents.

Mr. Bellamy, does that satisfy you?

I do have one question, I guess, for Ms. Pethia, and it's related to some other policy ideas that the HAC has been recommending to us to expand using private for-profit landlords to provide rental assistance.

Okay, so I think that's how I'm looking at this is that it is one more avenue to provide affordable housing through private

property owners.

It's not only working through our nonprofit providers and developed housing agencies.

It's using the private sector as much as we can.

It's like we're trying to change zoning to use the private sector as much as we can to actually build units.

These are units in hand, and it's in the private sector.

So I think this is well worth keeping and preserving, monitoring absolutely.

But I would like to expand this.

model actually to get more private land awards to be working with us on this kind of a program.

Okay.

Anyone else?

Nothing else.

Okay, I think we're ready for the vote.

So first of all, in the reading, so it's a full vote.

All in favor?

Ayes five to zero.

This is an amount of $900,000.

Dr. Fethio, we're lucky to have you presenting to us again.

We also have Phil Duranzi on the audience, who's the chairman of the Housing Advisory Committee.

On June 19th of this year, City Council approved the Housing Advisory Committee's recommendation to create a city-funded rental assistance program.

At that time, we didn't actually have a program, so the City Council tasked me and the HAC to go back and create one program structure and implementation plan, and this is what I have brought before you tonight.

As presented, the Charlottesville Supplemental Rental Assistance Program, or CSRAP, will provide monthly tenant-based rental assistance for extremely low-income households, defined as those households with household incomes less than 30% of their immediate income.

The program will be managed by the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, or CRHA, with program rules and regulations aligning closely with the regulations governing the Federal Housing Choice Voucher Program.

The CSRAP assistance will be issued with three priority groups in mind.

The first ten CSRAP vouchers will be issued to households experiencing homelessness.

Twenty vouchers will be reserved for households enrolled in a local self-sufficiency program.

And the remaining vouchers will be issued to households on the CRHA's Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list.

who are found to be eligible for housing choice voucher program assistance.

Key features of the program include assistance will only be provided to households currently residing in or working in the city of Charlottesville.

Any household on the voucher program waiting list who accepts a CSRAP assistance voucher shall remain on the housing choice voucher program waiting list and retain their spot, their ranking level on the list.

Should one of these households be selected to receive a housing choice voucher,

they will be given the opportunity to replace the city funded voucher with the Federal Housing Choice Voucher.

Unlike the Federal Housing Choice Vouchers, the City Vouchers program can only be used within the City of Charlottesville.

The Federal Housing Choice Voucher program allows voucher recipients to use their voucher anywhere within the country after the first 12 months of being enrolled in the program.

This will only allow

households to use the assistance first within the city of Charlottesville.

However, if they are unable to locate a unit within the city within 90 days of receiving their assistance, then with CRHA approval, they can use that voucher to look for units within Albemarle County.

But they will not be able to use the assistance beyond that.

Households receiving city-funded assistance will not experience an increase in their portion of the monthly rent, which is currently set at 30% of household income.

more than once every two years.

That goes along with a biennial recertification process.

So again, if they experience modest increases in their income in that two-year time period, they get to enjoy that little bit of increased income and not spend any of that towards their rent.

In terms of program administration, the city-funded program,

will receive funding through appropriations from the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund in the amount of $900,000 initially.

Beyond that, it may be an amount determined to be sufficient for program continuation.

Part of the regulations that we, the grant agreement that we put together says that each year in anticipation of next fiscal year funding, the CRHA will provide a list of all current

Program participants, how much their housing assistance or HAP payments are, and then an anticipated increase funding to keep that moving or how to expand to more households.

For each household enrolled in the program, the CSRAP will guarantee 24 months of rental assistance payments

and additionally a 10% contingency fee based on the total amount of rental assistance payments for each household shall be set aside to cover the cost of any rent increases in the amount of CSRAP rental assistance.

Those increases could be due to either annual rent increases imposed by the landlord or if a family experiences a loss of income, then they can come back to the housing authority and ask for a recalculation of rent portions that would increase the city funded assistance.

Finally, the CRHA will submit household data to the housing program coordinator on a quarterly basis.

This data will track things such as household size, household income, housing assistance payments through the program, other demographic data, and time periods from voucher assistance until the time that they find a unit to lease.

And all of that data will be used to track progress, make sure the program is meeting its goals, and will be provided to City Council in a report each year.

A subcommittee of housing advisory committee members contributed to the development of this program.

The program presented here tonight incorporates a majority of the recommendations but does differ from a few and I would like to point those out to you tonight.

The primary differences between what has been presented tonight and the subcommittee's recommendations, there are two really.

So the first is

CRSAP assistance restricted to extremely low-income households.

Staff recommended this limit to households limiting the program to households earning less than 30 percent of area median income due to two primary factors.

One, the income levels of households currently on the CRHA's Housing Choice Voucher Program reading list and Housing Choice Voucher Program regulations regarding targeting of rental assistance.

According to analysis presented to CRHA's board,

of commissioners during the July 24th meeting, 84.4% of households on the voucher program waiting lists are considered to be extremely low income.

This equates to 1,183 households facing significant cost barriers to housing.

Targeting rental assistance towards extremely low income households also supports the Housing Choice Voucher Program regulations, which we are trying to follow.

And those don't recommend, they insist, that housing authorities through the voucher program provide

that voucher program assistance be provided to 75% of their program participants.

In the voucher program, 75% of the households receiving assistance through the program must be extremely low income.

Given the high level of need among the city's lowest income households,

and that approximately half of the individuals enrolled in the Pathways Fund program receive public subsidies and that includes temporary assistance for needy families which places them into the extremely low income category.

Staff believes that targeting assistance towards this group can have the greatest impact on individual and family incomes.

And I'd like to point out that I didn't put in the memo because I didn't think of it then.

All the HUD-funded family self-sufficiency programs.

Enrollment in those programs last five to seven years.

And my next argument for the program is going to cover that.

So what I'm going to recommend falls firmly within that five to seven year period.

And so going to guaranteeing the CSRAP assistance for 24 months for each household that is enrolled

As envisioned by the HACS subcommittee, the CSRAP assistance would be provided to approximately 125 households, and that calculation was based on an average housing assistance payment, or HAP, of about $600 per household.

Assuming there is no increase in the amount of annual funding allocations to the program, one of two scenarios is possible after year one.

So beginning in year one, 125 households are provided assistance.

That takes up all $900,000 for the fund.

In year two, two things could happen.

So it would either be that the funding is not increased to the program and we would then need to terminate assistance for five to six people annually until we run out of money.

And that is due to rent increases.

and that's assuming a 5% rent increase for everybody.

Or the second option is to not cover, keep people in the program, but then you would be operating at a deficit beginning in year two of about $45,000 if the fund was not increased.

So, neither scenario provides housing stability, which is an important factor for supporting childhood development and educational attainment.

Family well-being and family self-sufficiency.

So the more often you move around, it disrupts children's education.

The stress involved in not knowing where you're moving could lead to health issues for the parents.

Children, too, suffer the stress of that.

And family self-sufficiency-wise, it's difficult to become self-sufficient and gain economic independence when you're constantly having to pick up a new.

So, I am recommending to guarantee rental assistance for 22 months, 24 months for each household.

This decreases the number of households that can be served significantly, brings it down to 52 households, but those 52 households would be guaranteed rent for six years.

And again, that goes towards the family self-sufficiency programs, which are from five to seven years, so that puts them firmly within the middle of that and can support them to almost the end of that program.

Is there any middle ground between these two possibilities?

Six years, no, that's just, that was, that's how it worked out.

I used an average HAP payment of $638 per month and I took that from HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program participant information database.

That is what they say CRHA was paying in average HAP payments last year.

Dr. Pathia, would it make a big difference if we built in an escalator, a 5% escalator?

Probably.

I would still recommend a 10% contingency fee just to make sure that we cover those rent increases.

It seems like that would make sense.

It would solve us in the future and just establish the trajectory.

But I would also suggest if we do that to see how, I mean there is the possibility due to the limited affordable housing within the city that families may not actually be able to use their assistance in the city.

I do have some concerns about that.

Right.

I definitely would like to see that monitored because if it starts looking like there's more of the units in Almois County, that this needs to be a regional program shared by city and county.

Correct.

And that I'm pretty firm on.

I was wondering if we could get the chair of the HAC up to speak as well.

Well, first off, there was a

There was a question that was raised earlier today about the hard and fast rule of having it be restricted to very low income households at 30% AMI.

And that it was presented to us that participants of the FSS program actually they're often at a higher end at like 45% AMI.

And so restricting this seems to be counter

So maybe a couple of seconds sort of procedurally on how this sort of evolved.

There were two meetings of the subcommittee established to sort of get to the gut of the policy, one on July 14th, one on August 2nd.

And the idea of putting those in those sort of short time frame was to give us an idea, give us an opportunity to provide

the core of what we thought this program should look like, give staff time to chew on that, come back to us with some review, us then go back again, taking that into account, and then launching that back at staff to then come back to us with any sort of final sort of tweaks and discussions.

And that actually worked quite well.

We had a very active meeting on the 14th of July with a great deal of public engagement.

There were probably about 10 members of the public there and sort of providing some fairly detailed and specified thoughts about how best to do this.

We then went to the staff, did come back with several recommendations and sort of clarifying checks

and on August 2nd we again held a meeting where we sharpened that up.

We had a specific discussion about that, which brings me to the AMI issue.

While we did go, we had a fairly extensive discussion, not so much about that in itself, but that we wanted to use this as an opportunity not to establish a hard and fast program instead of criteria.

The point of this is that we have the ability with this money to

to cast some bread on the waters here and to make our own determinations about what the needs really were and how this could be most effective, most targeted, and tightest.

So for example, it may be very useful, these 10 that we've reserved for the homelessness, that these are people or some of these vouchers will not need to be flipped for future use.

Because if they are a gainfully employed homeless

a person, once you are not homeless, the need for the subsidy may not be there a year later or may not need necessarily be there in the same level that it was.

Similarly with the sufficiency programs, the idea is that if you're moving people up the ladder, then you may need less assistance in subsequent years and that you're really sort of trying to target a group that is not at the extremely low income.

and then finally that the extremely low income that the numbers that we can affect if we point that way, it is the largest area of need but it may not be best suited to voucher programs in and of themselves and some of the public

comment addressed that quite directly, that that may not be the best, most targeted way to do that, and that we were looking at going a little bit over the 30, but the whole idea was to be open and not tight.

Let us see where this is best used.

Let us figure it out as we go so that in subsequent years this is something of an experiment, and there was a great deal of interest in

We want metrics back on this, we want quarterly data back on this, and that this is an idea to move things forward and then next year, when it comes time to reappropriate, we will actually have useful data and a useful way to target.

So that was sort of the thought coming out.

Admittedly, we had hoped to get some more feedback from staff in August and specifically from the city attorney's office in mid to late August.

Understandably, what we started out very hopefully in a very rapid fire back and forth sped up policy making process was slow to bet.

So this sort of last couple of steps, we sort of lost a step and did not have the sort of level of coordination that we would have liked.

I have two questions sort of for both of you.

Honestly, I think

And we've seen that the 30% is the hardest to get from any other means.

We can't get private developers to build 30%.

There's very few tools in our toolbox that can address that.

And so personally, I want this program to address the people at 30% and below.

If the two categories that we're calling out is reserved vouchers, if perhaps we can just let their status make them eligible rather than income gauging that.

Well, again, that may turn out to be true, but we don't know what we don't know.

And our argument was for the first year, again, and I reviewed the minutes of these meetings, there is a great deal of interest in the data to be collected from this.

How is this actually deployed?

And next year we may discover, oh, look, 85% of these ended up at 30% in the low anyway,

We don't need to make any adjustment to that.

But that is then an opportunity to address those needs.

But I don't think that's going to happen.

I think that if our three orders are up to 30 of these are not going to be on the list, on CRHA's waiting list, that a certain number of those are not going to be in the 30 percent and below by default.

if I think that the vast preponderance of the waiting list is going to be 30% or below anyway.

So that's my first question.

You're the first half.

So when it comes to the 10 vouchers that go to homeless families, they will most likely be in the extremely low income category.

There's a lot of speaking with TJAC,

Most of the households they work with that are homeless do fall within the low income category.

Looking at the family self-sufficiency programs, there is an argument to be made to increase, to not set that hard 30% limit.

However, many of the families that do go into self-sufficiency programs are actually extremely low income and providing that assistance to them

for five years, especially the first couple as they increase their employment opportunities and earnings really help stabilize them and allows them to be successful through that program.

That to me indicates that there might be some space there for a solution like that.

The other one is that I really appreciate your attention to quantifying the data and to reviewing the data

the quarterly ideas, we may not end up with new data except that new people are moving in but what I don't want to have happen is that we do say oops you know we missed all the 30s and these are all like 45s not that they don't deserve housing but that we missed our opportunity to house people who are at the bottom of the kind of ability to pay and personally I would rather look at it as

defaulting to 30, with the possible exception of the folks in the self-sufficiency program, and homeless, just because by their categories they are likely to be low income, but that doesn't limit them if they happen to come up a little bit.

And then review the data and say, are we not able to find enough people?

Are they not able to find enough space?

And then tweak it, rather than tweak it up front.

So that's just my preference.

Well we could for self-sufficiency enrollees.

We could sort of set another priority level so like the voucher, the federal voucher program and seventy-five percent of the housing choice voucher assistance needs to go towards low-income, extremely low-income families.

We could say, you know, 10 of these vouchers will be given to

families earning 30%, less than 30% of AMI, the other 50 could go up to 60% of AMI.

That is something we could do and then see how many people apply for assistance in both categories.

If it turns out that you have, of those 20 vouchers, you have five people

over 30% AMI and 50 that are at 30% AMI, that would go to the same point that he made.

Okay.

Yeah, so to that point,

As conceived, and to sort of use this as a pilot model, the idea of having that quarterly data, and that was also in our recommendations, was that there would be flexibility built into the program

to tweak where they went as they went so that if we, and we had asked in the original resolution that the data come back to the hack as it went to see where we were in AMI, where this money was actually going and with the consent of NDS and the hack

to tweak the guidelines and requirements and direction as we went to see how it was being deployed as it was moved out and as this money was diffused because we were looking at this as a pilot program instead of

saying that we know how this money is best used to see how it is being used and see how it is getting pushed out and then give the housing authority the ability to turn a little left or turn a little right or make their decisions as they go based on the data that we were collecting.

And Mayor Signer, may I make a comment?

Of course.

This is kind of the second time that we've had housing policies brought to us where there seems to be a big difference of opinion between staff and the Housing Advisory Committee.

And last time, the council did intervene and we wrote and created a resolution that included the HAC recommendations.

I'm feeling uncomfortable seeing this kind of, again, there's a legitimate dispute going on here.

We ran out of, we ran into a problem with August 12th, and you didn't have your normal cycle of being able to go back, you know, with the staff recommendation and then hack recommendation and go.

I don't like to delay this, but I really do want to respect everybody's time in this.

and get more clarity and consensus on this policy between this long-standing housing advisory committee and our staff.

That's my guts telling you that right now, that this, otherwise we're gonna see this over and over again, that there's always these disagreements and yet, I just would like to see some consensus on this.

Also, I would like to have some other eyes look at the scenario of playing out six years at 52 versus two years at 125.

Where does that get us?

That's just my feeling, is that I do want to see consensus on this between the Housing Advisory Committee and the staff, because I do think ultimately we get the better product that way.

It's very well cooked right now.

And what would be the difference in when somebody could get an apartment if we delay?

Of course, of course.

It's a huge issue.

But I don't want to also, we have a housing advisory committee to give us best practices and research to assist with staff, so I want to know what the right way to go is.

So, okay, so there's a

This is an interest in delaying to have a little bit more- To get resolution.

Resolution.

I think there is some middle ground that we could do.

Well, built into the recommendations that the HAC made was the idea that these quarterly reports would give flexibility to make the changes in line, if it made sense to do that.

Now, it could get, I mean, I think trying to craft that from the dais gets a little sticky.

I feel like that's, it's, I would, as, when, may I ask when is the next time there'll be a HAC meeting?

So if you want the HAC subcommittee to meet on this, I can try to wrangle one as quickly as I can.

So is there a motion that anybody wants to make to move us ahead or not?

Did you have one?

I'd be inclined to say that we go ahead and say that we would adopt this current recommendation.

I would like to build in some flexibility, at least for the self-sustainability program folks.

So I would say that 10 be reserved for homeless, 20

So one of the issues that... Well let's, hold on, I just want to make, I just want to see, is that a motion?

That is a motion.

Okay.

I have a second.

There's a second.

Now time for questions and...

Yes.

One of the reasons why I was kind of quiet, just I wanted to hear how the conversation was playing out, but when we look at specifically this population of people and we look at there are a couple of organizations who we know

worked directly with them.

I wonder if they were brought in.

So the answer to the question is yes.

FAR was actually at the subcommittee meetings and weighed in.

PHA was at the subcommittee meetings and weighed in.

Right, so then the flexibility piece is really like a non-negotiable for me.

We have to include the flexibility because as it's currently constructed in my opinion that it's really going to impact those who are at the lowest of the low and then those who are kind of not there.

They're going to be left out as it's currently constructed.

So can we send it back to you all?

Yes, that was not the recommendation of the HAC.

We didn't have any discussion about a hard limit.

Well, that's fine.

I just wanted to state where I am and let my colleagues choose to run.

I would also just

Remind Council, we've received a lot of feedback from the community on that, on attempts to address folks who are at less than 30% AMI over the course of the last couple of months.

So I think that's one of the reasons why staff felt it was important to try to do that, because we've been hearing a lot of feedback from the community on this.

Well, and the housing study that we did showed that that was the most dire need

I mean, again, I do respect all the players that are in the HAC that are providing our kind of policy analysis here.

I'm going to ask my second, given the discussion that I'm hearing, and then you can respond to this as well.

What about the idea of saying, because I prefer 30 percent, personally, but if we don't have the votes to carry that forward,

I'd just like to ask my colleagues, though, that all of us want this voucher program.

And all of us want to vote for one.

But I do believe in the value of the process and getting it to be more stable presentation before council.

How about if we do that and it might even be so based on interactions with council and this is a fulsome discussion we've had.

It could possibly go on the consent agenda depending on how.

But probably we'll vote on it, but we'll go over that in the agenda discussions over the next two weeks But if that is is fitting for everybody then There is urgency for the people who are waiting for housing and that response to that.

That will work.

That's great.

Does that sound reasonable?

Perfect.

Thank you.

OK, so that's a motion that was made and seconded, but we'll just let it go.

We're tabling it for the moment.

OK. All right, thank you all very much.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right, so to finish with the regular agenda, we have one item that was removed from the consent agenda that we're going to work on now, which is, I think, Jay.

So we have a special use permit for automobile sales, 1530 East High Street, first of one reading.

So I believe that we'll have, who's going to, is this going to be Mr.

Good evening, Carrie Rainey with Neighborhood Development Services.

Mr. Amir Zandijab, Acting as a representative for e-grant

and Barbara H. Cosner has submitted an application for a special use permit for automobile sales at 1530 East High Street, also known as Tax Map 50 Parcel 15.

The application describes a small dealership that would begin with three to five vehicles and would grow to no more than 15 vehicles.

The applicant proposes utilizing the existing building on site with no expansions and minor modifications such as paint.

Attachment B in your packet is the full staff report as prepared for the September 12, 2017 joint public hearing with City Council and the Planning Commission.

Among the matters that the Planning Commission discussed at their meeting include how the current update for the comprehensive plan and potential changes to the code of ordinance may affect this property in the general High Street area, non-conformance of East High Street with the Streets That Works plan and whether these standards could be applied to this application,

The existing billboards located on the subject property and whether advertising for the proposed automobile sales use is allowed on those billboards.

Whether provisional special use permit could be granted that limited the period of time for which the SUP would be allowed.

The similarities between the proposed use and the existing uses on the corridor and a desire to retain the entrance review board review pertaining to the required certificate of appropriateness for the entrance corridor overlay district regulations.

The project supports City Council's vision area for economic sustainability by providing a new locally owned small business.

The project also supports the City Council's strategic plan for an inclusive community of self-sufficient residents goal by contributing to objective 1.4 to enhance financial health of residents by allowing the establishment of a small local business.

The project supports City Council's strategic plan, a strong creative and diversified economy goal by contributing the objective to 4.2 attract and cultivate a variety of uses businesses through revitalization of an existing parcel with a new commercial use.

The Planning Commission took the following action.

Mr. Centowski recommended approval of the SUP with conditions as provided in your packet as attachment A, as it will serve in the interest of the public necessity, convenience, general welfare, and good zoning practices.