MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING  AI REGULAR meeting ofthe Hopewell City Council was held on Tuesday  September 10, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.  PRESENT:  John B. Partin, Mayor Jasmine Gore, Vice Mayor (late, 6:12) Rita Joyner, Councilor Michael Harris, Councilor Janice Denton, Councilor (Absent) Brenda Pelham, Councilor  Dominic Holloway, Councilor (Virtual until 6:08)  Councilor Pelham makes a motion to allow Councilor Holloway to participate in the meeting remotely, Councilor Joyner seconds the motion. No discussion.  ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore - Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner - Motion Passes 4-0  Yes Yes Absent Absent Yes Abstain Yes  Councilor Joyner makes a motion to go into closed session pursuant to Va. Code Section $2.2-3711 (A)(I)to discuss and consider personnel matters, including board and commission appointments; the assignment and performance of specific appointee and employees of City Council, and to the extent such discussion will  be aided thereby, Councilor Holloway seconds the motion.  ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin -  Yes Yes    Vice Mayor Gore - Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner- - Motion Passes 5-0  Absent Absent Yes Yes Yes  Councilor Holloway makes a motion to come out of closed session, Councilor  Joyner seconds the motion. ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore - Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner Motion Passes 5-0 Reconvene Open Meeting  Yes Yes Absent Absent Yes Yes Yes  CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO VIRGINIA CODE $2.2-3712 (D): Were only public business matters (I) lawfully exempted from open-meeting requirements and (2) identifiedin the closed-meeting motion  discussed in closed meeting.  ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin- Vice Mayor Gore - Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner  Yes Yes Absent Absent Yes Yes Yes    Motion Passes 5-0  Councilor Holloway makes a motion to appoint Cassandra Vanderkeeft to the BZA, Barbara Patton to the EDA, Bryan Hurdle, Niki Gilley, Bill Champer, and Latonya Doctor to the DSS board, and Deborah Marks and Elliot Eliades to the Bright Point  Community College board, Councilor Pelham seconds the motion.  ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore- Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner - Motion Passes 6-0  Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes Yes Yes  WS-1 - Conditional Use Permit Application from JRM Contractor LLC to construct a single-family dwelling on a non-conforming lot, Parcel # 092-665- Chris Ward, Director of Development  Director Chris explains what this zoning amendment is referencing and he is not asking for any action tonight. He lets council know the property is located in Ward 2, he then goes over the map he provided to council. He goes over the current dimensions ofthe property and the reason for the upcoming request ofthe CUP. Staff recommends approval with the following conditions, that the single family dwelling have ar roofoverhang of 12 inches minimum, the single family dwelling will include four inch wide trim around all windows on the front oft the house, the lot will have a minimum of tree canopy coverage of20 percent at full maturity, the driveway will be installed of asphalt of concrete, it will have brick foundation and foundation plantings, and the final house design will be in substantial conformance with the design as presented. The planning commission agreed with laf'srecommendation Councilor Pelham asks who goes out to certify that all special parameters are met,  and voted 5 to 0. He opens the floor for any questions.  Director Ward states himselfofthe CEO.    WS-2 - Request for change in developmental fees - Chris Ward, Director of Director Ward quickly goes through the revised developmental fees that they have come up with. He mentions hei is only asking for changes to the planning applications. He shows in the region they are they lowest priced in planning applications. With state law and requirements for ads and public hearings the fees alone for ads exceed the cost ofthe application. He shows a cost grid showing the difference and the changes. With the recommendation he came up with it would be $550 for the first submission, second submittal would have no change, ifthere are additional comments and additional submittals it would be $250 on top of the base fee for each resubmittal. Ultimately the department is proposing to keep the residential building permit and commercial building permit fees the same and to change the planning application fees to cover the costs and reflect the region. Those would be $1500 for rezoning, 550 percent for a variance special exception or special use, 650 percent for conditional use and $1000 for the zoning ordinance Councilor Holloway asks is there anyway possible that they could differentiate between what most businesses between the commercial charges and residential charges. Director Ward responded he will look further into it and get back with  Planning and Development  amendment.  him.  Mayor Partin Opens up regular meeting.  PRESENT:  John B. Partin, Mayor Jasmine Gore, Vice Mayor Rita Joyner, Councilor Michael Harris, Councilor Janice Denton, Councilor (Absent) Brenda Pelham, Councilor Dominic Holloway, Councilor    Prayer is concluded by Pastor Hart and pledge ofallegiance by Councilor Joyner. Councilor Joyner makes a motion to amend the agenda to include an R2 for the  legal firm search. ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore- Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner Motion Passes 6-0  Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes Yes Yes  Councilor Pelham makes a motion to approve the consent agenda, Mayor Partin  seconds the motion. ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore - Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner - Motion Passes 6-0  Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes Yes Yes  UNFINISHED BUSINESS  UB-1 - CLG Contract - Chris Ward, Director of Planning and Development    Director Ward begins his presentation by letting council know that the city attorney has reviewed his documents and had no issues with it. He opens the floor Council congratulate Director Ward and says this has been a long time coming.  for any questions or conçerns.  ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore- Councilor Denton Councilor Pelham Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner - Motion Passes 6-0  Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes Yes Yes  UB-2- Staffing Request- Tabitha Martinez, The Department of Parks and Tabitha Martinez, The Department of Parks and Recreations Director to request consolidation of part time positions and allocate the funding, that is already in the current budget, for a full-time position. She shared they are severely under staffed and wants to make sure there are enough operational hours for the community. She mentioned the new position could bring better services to Hopewell as well as  Recreations  resume normal operating hours.  Vice Mayor Gore asks how does consolidating impact operations. The answer was they already have a full-time aquatics Specialist position available making the requested full-time position the third position available. She would like to have 4 full-time positions available and only rely on part-time positions for a few hours because the full-time positions will overlap. She asks for some clarity on the pool team that uses the pool in regard to their presence in the pool and the city's commitment. Vice Mayor Gore then asks what the impact has been on the operations SO council can help make a decision about going forward with the relationship. Tabitha Martinez shared the pool team does impact her operation  hours and availability for the community.    Councilor Hollaway asks what were the new hours for the operation oft the pool. It was shared the operation hours were 7:00 am to 11:00 am or 12: 00 pm. Councilor Holloway responded with asking how was that allowed due to that being school hours. Martinez stated they were the morning hours and they reopen at 4:00 pm. She speaks about their partnership with Swim RVA and they provide life guards for the second grade Learn to Swim program and when they are short staffed and cannot provide two life guards, they have a backup guard sO they can operate the pool. He asks how does having the swim team change the operational hours. The answer is they practice in the morning from about 4:45 am to 6:45 am, as well as some Saturdays, so that's hours of prep time outside of operational hours that has to be given up to the citizens in order to accommodate the outside request. He then asks ift they are paying additional fees to accommodate over time or anything of that nature. The answer is their Memorandum of operation understanding is $11.00 per lane per hour and offered to do a cost analysis. She stated they are working under the understanding of a proposed Memorandum of operation understanding but there is not currently a signed Memorandum of operation understanding. Holloway shared they need to work on a new Memorandum ofc operation understanding to make sure its not pushed back on the citizens.  Councilor Pelham begins with sharing when there is a Memorandum of operation understanding it is a decision that needs to come by way oft the city manager or the city council. Martinez responds with she understands and Dr. Manker is aware and involved in the conversations about the Memorandum ofc operation understanding. She asks will Martinez try to reach out and get a Memorandum of operation understanding. Dr. Manker answered they are currently working on one at this time. Pelham expressed concerns ofthe citizens paying taxes for the swim team's  private use.  Vice Mayor Gore asks for clarity correcting agreements that were in place before Martinez became director and wants to expedite the process under the new administration SO it will stop impacting operations. She reiterated to do a new cost  analysis to really show the impact to operations.    Councilor Pelham asks does the budget include benefits for the position. It was answered yes, Ms. Veronda Carol double checked the numbers and the correct  number is in the packet.  ROLL CALL  Councilor Holloway- Councilor Joyner- Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin- Vice Mayor Gore- Councilor Denton- Councilor Pelham-  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes  Motion Passes 6-0  UB-3-C Commonwealth Attorney Position Requests - Richard Newman, Mr. Newman begins his presentation explaining to council he has been using a grant to keep his current cold case attorney, and that grant will be over at the end oft the year. He mentions she has been working on 7 or 8 cases and making progress on the cases she currently is working on. He speaks to one ofthose cases specifically that it comes up early next year and he is concerned without her grant she will not be able to complete that case as well as others she is working on. He is asking to grant her a full time slot effective January 1, 2025. Councilor Pelham asks is she currently working on 8 cases, Mr. Newman mentions she has 8 and more he needs to give her but nervous to do sO ifshe won't be here. Councilor Pelham asks how many attorneys does he currently have, he says he has 5, this current attorney by grant makes 5 and a halfbecause she is not a full-time attorney with his department. She then asks is itj just cold case files she is working on, the answer is yes for any cases that are currently closed and still unsolved. Councilor Holloway asks is Mr. Newman is she a special attorney for cold cases or is the manpower the issue? Mr. Newman says his intent is to only work cold case and murder cases, but his biggest concern is if she leaves the attorney that takes over  Commonwealth Attorney    will have to start from the beginning with their own research. Councilor Holloway asks ifthe attorneys share work loads why would the attorney that takes over have to start from the beginning? Mr. Newman mentions that she is been working these cases solely on her own, a new attorney would need to do their own research aside from what the current attorney has done. Councilor Holloway asks the city manager for clarity because he believes this is a one-time funding that is available at this moment. Dr. Manker confirms this is one time funding, but there is enough funding to approve this request and in the upcoming budget, budget that position Councilor Holloway makes a motion to approve the position for funding for the second halfofthe fiscal year 25 and then make it into the actual budget, Councilor  into the FY26 budget.  Joyner seconds the motion. ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore- Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner - Motion Passes 6-0  Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes Yes Yes  R-1-L Legislative Agenda 2025 - Dr. Manker, City Manager  Dr. Manker begins her presentation going over the spreadsheet she provided to council. She mentions there are approximately 22 requests, the first seven are in detail by line item. She gave Virginia code where legislative requests have been approved and actually made into law. She mentions last meeting council agreed to the items that were currently in the agenda, sO tonight there are 4 items on the table for discussion and she is asking council to provide the legislative committee with some direction as to whether to include those items into the agenda or not. Mayor Partin mentions he think all of them are worth exploring and he is fine having all 4 Vice Mayor Gore makes a motion to adopt the draft legislative agenda for submission to the general assembly representatives for further discussion and  added to the legislative agenda.    evaluation, Councilor Joyner seconds the motion. Mayor Partin asks does that include the four new items and all the appropriation requests, Vice Mayor Gore  says yes. ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin - Vice Mayor Gore - Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner - Motion Passes 6-0  Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes Yes Yes  R-2-1 Legal Firm Search = Dr. Manker  Dr. Manker is asking council to consider authorizing the city to move forward with al legal attorney search with a talent agency. Those funds will come from the 2024 carryover funds from budget year 2024. Vice Mayor Gore mentions historically after council agrees to terms and how they advertise, mayor and or vice mayor needs to negotiate the contract for the person whose been selected and that comes back to council. She thinks that they need to make sure it's clear who are going to be points of contact with them initially as they are onboarded to figure out what the Vice Mayor Gore makes a motion to approve the City Manager to solicit the support of outside firm for the recruitment of the state attorney with the expectation the mayor, vice mayor, or their designees service primary points of contact for the recruitment, Councilor Joyner seconds the motion.  expectation ofcouncil is.  ROLL CALL  Councilor Harris- Mayor Partin- - Vice Mayor Gore - Councilor Denton - Councilor Pelham - Councilor Holloway Councilor Joyner -  Yes Yes Yes Absent Yes Yes Yes    Motion Passes 6-0 City Manager Report:  Dr. Manker formally submitted the strategic plan to council and let council know she emailed the plan out on Friday in the manager's weekly review. She lets council know it is not just the three priorities that council discussed earlier in the year. She mentions staff spent a lot oftime going through and updating every area oft the strategic plan and it was completed a little past the due date which was July  1b but it was done by July 19th. No further discussion.  Vice Mayor Gore makes a motion to adjourn.  ADJOURNMENT  Respectfully Submitted,  #RR  BR  Brittani Williams, City Clerk