City Council - Regular Meeting

like to call to order the meeting of the Bristol Virginia City Council. Today is Tuesday, March 25th, 2025. At this time, I would like to have a moment of silent prayer. Please join me and stand for the pledge of allegiance. I allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Well, good evening. It's nice to see a a great crowd out here tonight. Thank you all for coming. Um, I just have a few comments I would like to make. Uh, first um had the opportunity of attending and being part of the ribbon cutting for the PBS Appalachia. And if you've not heard about their new studio, it's located in the Hard Rock Casino. Um, it's down on the lower level and they have like a studio entrance down there. If you get a chance, uh, go by and check it out. It's pretty amazing that we have a studio, state-of-the-art facilities there that they're going to be able to record and tell the stories of Southwest Virginia and Appalachia uh, right here in Bristol. So, we are thrilled to have that studio um, located right here. Um secondly, I'll just want to mention that on Sunday, March 30th at 6:30, um we're going to have the 100th uh birthday of the cameo. And that's going to be of course at the cameo, but it's also part of that celebration is the ribbon cutting and grand opening for the

new owners as Bristol Theater moves to that. So, if you can and want to come out and support it, come on out on Sunday. and as we celebrate the 100th anniversary or 100th birthday of the Cameo Theater. And so I would like to open it up now for any other council comments. Thank you, mayor. Um, just wanted to jump in and say I wanted to thank our first responders, especially our firefighters. Over the last several days, several weeks, we've had several fires in the city. They've worked incredibly hard. Um, I know we've had some issues in the past with the fire hydrant system. So, I'm I'm hoping we can get that squared away. Um that is I believe a BVU situation there. So hopefully we'll get that fixed sooner rather than later so our folks can do the jobs well as they do. But then also just remind folks that we are in a a drier time drought. We have we still have Mr. E, we still currently have the ban on on fires in the city. Is that correct? That's correct. So just ask that folks keep that in mind. Be safe. Um, we've as as I've said, we've we had several fires recently, so we don't want to add add to that. We don't want to make it worse and we uh want to take care of our folks out there that are keeping us safe. Uh, I've got a couple things I'll just note. Uh, first I just want to um officially say thank you to Governor Yncan for signing uh he went through and signed a whole bunch of bills in the past day or two. And one of the bills he signed into law included our uh our blighted property bill uh which will be a very big deal for the city of Bristol, Virginia as far as being able to handle our um our situation with the Virginia Intermount property. So, uh, we appreciate, um, him signing that into law and we appreciate the work of our legislators who got the bill introduced and got it through the legislature. We appreciate that. Uh, the second thing I'll mention, um, I know a couple weeks ago we talked about kidney health awareness. Um, March

is also uh, colurectal cancer awareness month and uh, that's one that hits close home for me. It's uh the disease that took my dad and um there are 150,000 people diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year and 50,000 people die every year from it in the United States. So, uh if you're at risk or you're of the age where you need to get checked, go ahead and get checked. Get your colonoscopy. It's not fun, but it's uh it's worth it to get it done. And uh you know, keep an eye on your health and um watch out for these type of things. All right. All right. Thank you. Next, city manager comments. I just want to follow up on one of Councilman Osborne's comments. Uh the governor did sign uh Senate Bill 1476 uh which is the blighted property bill. I want to say thank you to Senator Pillion uh for all the work he did to champion that through the Senate and through the House and to get the governor's signature on that. Uh hopefully we'll be able to utilize that bill on July 1st to take care of some blighted property um in the city of Bristol. not only the VI property but maybe potentially other properties in the city as well. Uh not only does it help the localities in Bristol, it helps localities all across the Commonwealth deal with blighted issues that so many uh localities deal with. And this is another tool in the toolbox for those localities to use. All right. Thank you. Okay. Looking for an adoption of agenda. Uh I move for adoption of the agenda as presented. Second. Okay. We have a a motion and a second. Clerk, please call the role. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pard, yes. Nave, yes. All right, moving in to item number one. Um, D1, a proclamation designating March as American Red Cross Month. And, um, I'm look to Randy for staff report. Uh,

sure. This is a um declaration for American Red Cross month. and my iPad is messed up. Um, and it's a special time to recognize and thank our Red Cross heroes who volunteer, donate blood, and take life-saving courses and provide financial donations to to support this organization whose mission is to help those in need. So, we just want to take this opportunity to thank the Red Cross and for everything they do, not only here in our locality, but across the Commonwealth and the United States as well. Thank you. All right. Uh, reading of the proclamation. A proclamation. And whereas March is American Red Cross Month, a special time to recognize and thank our heroes, those who volunteer, donate blood, take life-saving courses, or provide financial donations to support an organization whose mission is to help those in need. And whereas we would like to remember those who help all of us here in the city of Bristol by giving their time and to help their neighbor and thank our hero, our volunteers, our blood donors, class takers, and financial supporters who help assist us, assist those in need. And whereas in the city of Bristol, the Red Cross works tirelessly through its nine employees and 640 volunteers to help when disaster strikes when someone needs life-saving skills or the comfort of a helping hand. It provides 24-hour support to members of the military, veterans, and their families and provides training in CPR, aquatic safety, and first aid. And whereas across the country, the American Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters a year. It provides some 400,000 service to military members, veterans, and civilians, collects and distributes about 40% of the nation's blood supply, and trains more than 7 million people in first aid, water safety, and other life-saving skills every year. And whereas our community depends on the American Red Cross, which relies on donations of time, money, and blood to fulfill its humanitarian mission. Despite these challenging economic times, the American Red Cross continues to offer help and comfort to those in need. Now therefore, I, Mayor Becky Nave of the city of Bristol, and

on behalf of the city council and all of our citizens, do hereby proclaim the month of March 2025 as American Red Cross month, and I encourage all Americans to support this organization and its noble humanitarian mission and witness whereas I have set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Bristol, Virginia to be affixed on this, the 25th day of March, 2025. All right. Thank you so much. Looking for a motion. I move the proclamation designating March as American Red Cross Month. Second. All right, we have a motion and a second. Um, I'll just say before we call the role that I'm really glad and happy to present this. Uh, the American Red Cross does so much for our community and we appreciate you so much. Um, I served on the Mountain Empire chapter board for many years. I I think it was close to 10 years and um always enjoyed u being part of that and never realized how much work came from that center until I actually was on that board. So thank you all so much for everything that you do for our community. Any other comments? All right, with no further discussion, clerk, please call the role. Arnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pard, yes. Nave. Yes. And so at this time we have a couple of folks here from the American Red Cross and I'll ask you to come forward and we'll present you with this proclamation. Mayor, vice mayor.

Yes. Yes. Thank you so much and thank you all for all you do. [Applause] All right. Second item, a proclamation designating April 6th through the 12th, 2025 National Library Week. Staff report from Randy. uh council. Uh April 6th through the 12th, 2025 is National Library Week. We just want to recognize our Bristol Public Library, which is located over on Pedmont Avenue. It's a joint venture between the city of Bristol, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee, and has been so for a number of years. Uh the library provides numerous services to our citizens here in Bristol and throughout our region. And uh we just want to take this time to recognize it's National Library Week and for everything that they do for our local citizens. All right. Thank you. and the reading of the proclamation. A proclamation designating April 6th through the 12th, 2025 as National Library Week. Whereas libraries of all types are at the heart of cities, towns, schools, and campuses serving their communities. And whereas National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contribution of our nation's libraries and library staff and promote library use and support. And whereas libraries support democracy and affect social change by ensuring access to information for all individuals regardless of background or circumstance. And whereas libraries look beyond their traditional roles and provide transformative opportunities for education, employment, entrepreneurship, empowerment and engagement. Whereas libraries transform lives through innovative educational resources and forwardinking programming. And whereas libraries are ever evolving to best serve our communities and fulfill their

role in leveling the playing field for all who seek information and access to technologies. And whereas libraries ensure that all individuals, regardless of background or circumstance, have access to opportunities, resources, and spaces that empower them to learn, grow, and contribute to their communities. Committing to a fostering environment where all voices are valued, perspectives are respected, and everyone has the ability to thrive. Whereas libraries, librarians, library workers, library board members, volunteers, and supporters across America are celebrating National Library Week. Therefore, be it resolved that Becky Nave, the mayor of Bristol, Virginia, proclaims April 6th through the 12th, 2025 as National Library Week and encourages all residents to recognize and support the vital role of libraries in our community. Adopted this the 25th day of March, 2025. All right. Thank you. Looking for a council motion. Move to approve the proclamation designating April 6th through 12th, 2025 as National Library Week. Second. All right, we have a motion and a second. Um, going into council discussion, um, I know that uh, Tanya Kesner and Brenda Dunn are here with the library and we just want to say thank you so much for the work that you do in our community and for um, all that you do. Um, so many things are done through our library, so many services that it's not just about checking out a book. So, there's a lot of other things that you all do and we appreciate you. Thank you. All right. Um, clerk, please call the role. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pard, yes. Nave, yes. So, I'll ask um Tanya and Brenda to come forward and we'll present you with a [Applause] proclamation. [Applause]

Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you so Thank you [Applause] all. All right. Next item on the agenda, a resolution of the Bristol Redevelopment Housing Authority to seek approval for authority name change to the city of Bristol, Virginia Council. Um, let me see if anyone has signed up for public comment. Mayor, we do have a couple of folks here from the housing authority if there are any questions. Okay. Um, we do have one person signed up for public comment. Um, Mr. Frank Goodure III. If you would like to come up and uh, you have three minutes um, to share your information. Please state your name and address and you will have three minutes. Thank you. I'm Frank Good 520 Lawrence Avenue, Bristol, Virginia 24201. Uh, I saw this uh announcement today in the uh Cardinal News. I couldn't get it from the Bristol paper, but and it it struck me as uh good intention, but the uh the

current name Bristol Redevelopment and Housing Authority is definitive and it lets you know what it's all about or it suggests what it's all about. the uh the name housing and beyond I think is that what it is that's kind of vacuous. I uh would strongly object to changing the name because the the new name may last for a couple of years but uh over time it it uh presents problems I think. So I would uh hope that you vote vote against it. Okay. Thank you. All right. Um, we'll move into the staff report from Randy. Uh, council, the Bristol Redevelopment Housing Authority, uh, seeks to change their name to Beyond Housing. Virginia Code 36-4 was amended in 2022 to allow localities the opportunity to approve a housing authority's request to change their names. The Bristol Regional Housing Authority uh did by resolution in January of 2025 vote their board voted to change the name uh from Bristol Region Housing Authority Redevelopment and Housing Authority to Beyond Housing. Uh they're here tonight to seek council approval for the name change to Beyond Housing. All right. uh reading of the resolution. Uh council, there's actually the resolution that is involved. It's a resolution uh submitted by the RI Bristol Redevelopment Housing Authority. Uh that is in the packet. Uh so there's no city resolution. It's just an approval for city uh for them to change the name. All right. Before we can get into

council discussion, we'll have to go through we need a council motion. So moved. Second. All right, we have a motion and a second. Oh, council discussion. Well, um I guess I'll start. Would it be appropriate for us to ask some questions to the to the housing authority folks who are here? Um yes, Mr. Patel Panel, I know and and I I don't know you. I'm sorry, but uh Yep. Uh I'm Ray Austin. I'm the deputy director of the housing authority. Uh Miss Porter is actually out of town this week, so I'm here representing uh the authority. So, I I do have a couple questions. Um first, what what necessitates the name change and how did you land on this name? So, a lot of the a lot of the housing authority industry across the nation over the past decade or so have uh uh really made a push to try to redefine uh what they do. There's negative connotations uh with the word housing authority. Uh you hear that and you you know a lot of people think uh think negatively. Um so it in following that trend um the a lot of the organizations in Virginia uh approached the general assembly because it has been defined since 1938 or so when the uh code of Virginia originally created the housing authorities. It had been defined that that the name was locked to what the code said. Uh so having the ability to change um allows us to look towards the future, look towards other things that we do. Um, we're not just a housing authority. Um, you know, you hear the word redevelopment housing authority. Uh, we have tremendous uh uh programs that uh help our residents uh that help the elderly. Uh, we have children's

programs. Um, the resident service is a big part of what we do. Um, we're also looking to redevelop the entire, you know, community with the choice neighborhood grant that we just applied for and received. Um we uh have a lot of new developments uh going on that's hopeull hope hopefully going to replace some of the older uh public housing that's been around for 85 years. Um so we're trying to uh create more positive uh name. Um and so in going through we we selected beyond housing because we really do go beyond just housing. Uh we'll always be uh at our core the housing authority uh but we do so much more now. So, uh, we're hoping to, uh, shed some of the the stigma of the housing authority name, uh, and present a new positive approach to housing in Bristol. The I think the staff comment said that there had been or you had said there had been a board vote in January of 2025. Yes. What was that vote like? What was the the break? Was it unanimous? It was unanimous. Yes. Um, yes. And the bylaws have been changed effective u based uh on the vote the approval of the city council tonight. So on the resolution that I'm reading it says to change the name to Beyond Housing and it's titled to the housing authority of the city of Bristol, Virginia. So you're looking at changing would it say beyond housing or to or would it say the housing authority of the city of Bristol Virginia? So the way that the uh uh the code 36-4 is written it says that uh the housing the the authority um within the locality can will be called uh a name either blank redevelopment

housing authority or as approved by the locality uh and a title. uh the tit the word and title is also in the code. So we provided both and we thought the beyond housing being the new name that will be the new logo that'll be the new branding. Uh but we also have that tagline that calls us the housing authority of the city of Bristol and leads to less confusion we think on on that. So it keeps some of the old but it still gives us the new fresh name. Okay. Yeah, that's that would be um one of the things I would be concerned about because I think sometimes people are automatically looking for that housing authority, right? So, if I saw beyond housing, I don't know that I would know that's the housing authority. M I would maybe have some concern, you know, instead of, you know, if you're if the point is to clear up confusion. I don't know that having two names would would clear up the confusion, even though it's it sounds like it's the the equivalent of, you know, like a a DBA, you know, this is the name of the business and this is what we're calling ourselves. Yes. And one of the the differences in the the state of Virginia versus other places is that we were not able to register a DBA. uh that would have been a much simpler process if we could have done that, but because we're an authority uh from the state uh we're chartered through the the the general assembly. Um we cannot register as a DBA because we don't we're not we don't have a registration with the uh state uh corporation commission. Have there been other localities that have changed their name? Um not in Virginia. We will be the first housing authority that's uh that has requested and and seeking approval. Um many others have um local ones that I know Morristown uh changed their housing authority from Morristown Housing Redevelopment Authority to uh I believe it's Tennessee Valley Ser Housing Services. Um Knoxville has uh long ago changed from Knoxville Housing to uh Knoxville Community Development Corp. Um there are some uh really large ones

across the US. Uh Charlotte, Atlanta. um some of those chosen names that are even Charlotte's Enlivian uh is a bit odd u doesn't contain housing doesn't let you know but uh it's a trend to like I said try to rebrand us as doing more than just a a public housing affordable housing low-income housing and I know you all probably I know you you your board's I'm sure put in a lot of thought into the house into beyond housing. I'm still wondering if that's not going to be confusing to residents looking for housing. And I know you're you're saying you have other services, but I'm just thinking out loud here on this process. Um because I think that's one of the first things we recognize as our housing as a housing authority. So having that Bristol redevelopment housing authority I think's important. So I don't want to lose that piece of it either. And then people go, "Do you not have a housing authority?" We're like, "Yes, it's beyond housing." But I'm open to hear the thoughts of the the rest of the council. And I think that being that we were titled through the state um with with and maybe that's why they put they left that in there so you can have the title. Um so it you know basically it'll serve as a tagline. you know, the website may may have the the new logo and say beyond housing, but we'll say the housing authority, the city of Bristol, Virginia. Um, so I um thank you for being here. We appreciate that. Um I you all definitely do more than housing, so that we appreciate that and kind of the scope that you're trying to to bring to this and a title can only hold so much. So we we understand that trying to cram everything into one spot is is not

possible. Um, I I do appreciate that you have the the the tagline too that will be incorporated as you put your new logo out there and things like that. Um, and I I would assume as you start the shift, as you start going from one to the other, you're going to have to use that tagline just on just about on every single thing you put out just to until you can kind of build that brand recognition, I guess. Yeah, I think so. And and we'll we'll of course be known formally as Bristol Reed Development Housing Authority for a long time. It's going to take us a long time to shift this. I mean, this is uh I think we we originally were the housing authority of the city of Bristol, Virginia in 1938. Um when the city created us, um we were uh I think the name changed in 1946 48 when the state changed their uh code to be redevelopment and housing authority and so we've been that since then. Uh so, you know, it is a lot of years uh that we've got to uh but I I don't think it's going to I don't think it will be an issue. Uh we've not heard any issues with industry. Um you know in in in other problems with um in the conferences or anything that we go to other authorities who have changed their name or looking to rebrand. Um we've not had any issues that I know of come up. Nobody said I wish we hadn't done this. Uh everybody, you know, thinks of it as a as a fresh new start. Um and you know, we're trying to change the look and the feel of the entire uh neighborhood that we're we're sitting in. And so I think this will help us uh kickstart that. And I think I would like to add just one more comment. I um I served as the liazison to the board for I guess two years there and um they have a very active and engaged board. Um they're very involved, very knowledgeable about what they do. So I I know that this went through a when I was there this process started. I know your board went through a very thorough process discussion of this. So just knowing the expertise they have and and kind of how they approach subjects that come before them. I

I I think I'd be okay with this. I I trust their their judgment on this. Okay. Any other comments or concerns, questions? I think the biggest thing would be I do like that you got it in the tagline. Leaving that tagline if you do use this name. I think that's going to be important. I also because I also like having the Bristol, Virginia name in there as well. Yeah. Right now we're confused a lot with our neighbors across the state line. Yeah. Because we don't have Virginia in the name. So we get a lot of calls from asking if we're in Bristol, Tennessee. Gotcha. This will clarify that a bit. Yeah, that's a great point. All right. Any other comments or questions? All right. With no further discussion, clerk, please call the role. Thank you. Thank you. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, no. Pard, I think I'll side with the board and say yes. Nave. Yes. All right. Next item on the agenda. Request for proposal of temporary employment administer administrator HR-25-00001 staff report. Tamara. Thank you. Mayor Nave, members of council, the request for proposals for temporary

employment administrator was issued on February 26, 2025 with sealed proposals due not later than 2:00 p.m. on March 13, 2025. A due date extension until March 14th, 2025 was granted to accommodate an addendum release on March 4th, 2025. The request for proposals was advertised on the city's website and Virginia's electronic procurement website, EVA. 11 sealed proposals were received, an evaluation committee consisting of myself, um the human resources director, and the public works operations manager evaluated the proposals based upon the evaluation criteria listed in the request for proposal. The rankings were finalized and competitive negotiation was conducted. separately with the offerers ranked number one and number two per the Virginia Public Procurement Act. After negotiations were conducted, Latrell staffing was found to have the best proposal and the best value for the city. Staff recommends that council authorize the city manager or his design to enter into a contract with Latrell staffing per the request for proposal. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Looking for a motion. Uh I move to approve the request for the city manager to enter into a contract as stated. Second. All right. We have a motion and second. And I'll just say first um thank you all for your work on this through the uh proposal u process and reviewing those. I know that that's a long process and we appreciate your hard work on that. Um and also this is the same um company that we have had in the past. Is that correct? Yes, we have a current

contract with them that expires shortly. Yeah. So um hearing that and we know that that's the best value and that we have been pleased with our services before. Um I think it's a um a good good process that we go through with this contract. Any other comments or questions? All right, clerk, please call the role. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Polard, yes. Nave, yes. All right, moving into item number five, budget workshop. Uh, staff report. Randy. Well, council, we got started, I think, three hours earlier tonight than we did our last budget workshop. So hopefully this won't last three hours. Yes sir. Uh tonight is our budget second budget workshop of the budget season and we will be discussing um revenues tonight for the city of Bristol and how the revenues are going to impact our budget moving forward. So we'll talk about the schedule and the revenues. Um here's the remaining schedule for our budget workshops and for our adoption of the budget. April 8th is the budget presentation. We will then have a public hearing on the tax rate and then the council will set the tax rate based on a resolution on April the 8th. On April the 12th of 2025, the advertisement for the fiscal year 25 budget will be um advertised in the Bristol Herald Courier. On April 22nd, 2025, there will be a public hearing on the appropriation ordinance that was advertised on April 12th. On May the 13th, there'll be the first reading of the budget ordinance. May 27th, there will be the second reading and the adoption of the budget ordinance. I should also note that on Saturday, March the 29th, uh the tax rate will be advertised in the Bristol

Herald Cyer for citizens to see. As we still uh continue through the budget process, we will develop that tax rate shortly uh by tomorrow and uh have that published soon. So, the revenue, we'll go over the big ticket items that we normally see. Our current real estate taxes in the 2025 budget was $14.6 million. In this current fisc or in this upcoming fiscal year, uh we're proposing 17.3 million in real estate current taxes, which is an increase of approximately $2.7 million in taxes. Uh real estate delinquent taxes, that's going to stay the same at $800,000. uh current taxes on the development on real property at the development of regional impact, also known as the falls. The 2025 budget was $280,000. In the 2026 budget, it'll be $285,000 for an increase of approximately $5,000. current taxes on the development of regional impact phases two and three. Um that's $335,000 for this current fiscal year and the upcoming fiscal year is $49,800 for a total increase of $74,800. And then the public service corporation's current property tax is $29,000 and that will be unchanged as well. personal property current taxes. In the 2025 budget, it was $4.193 million. In the proposed budget, it will be $4.62 million for an increase of $68,500. Uh the personal property delinquent taxes remains the same at $400,000. Uh the PPT current taxes remains the same at uh $723,990. Current taxes on your personal property in DRRI phase 1 is 73,600. In the upcoming budget will be

$74,800, an increase of $1,200. And then in DRRI 2 and three, uh, in the current budget, it's $38,000. In the 2026 budget will be $39,500 for an increase of $1,500. Uh penalties uh for this upcoming budget uh have increased approximately $103,000 to $284,000. Interest has increased $55,000 to $175,000 from $120,000 this current year. Um the tax administration fee, delinquent tax administration fee stays the same at $78,000. Local sales and use tax, we see an increase there of almost half a million dollars from 5.4 4 million to $5.9 million. Local sales and use tax in the DRRI phase 1 has in uh decreased by $21,000 from $484,000 to $463,000. And that's due to the loss of a a retailer. Local sales and use tax DRI 2 and three uh increased $28,000 to $260,000. The consumer utility tax stays the same at $182,000. Your business license tax we are estimating to stay the same. Business license tax and your DRRi one and two and three will remain the same. Um as well your motor vehicle license tax an increase of approximately $20,000 from $233,000 to $253,000. Our bank stock taxes are going to stay the same at $314,000. Taxes on recordation of wills has decreased by $84,000 from $274,000 to $190,000. Cigarette taxes have increased by $3,000 from $440,000 to $443,000. Lodging taxes. Uh in the 2025

budget, we budgeted 3.5 million. In this upcoming budget, we are uh estimating almost an additional million dollars in lodging taxes to $4.5 million. restaurant mills tax. We are uh increasing from $10,150 to $10,500 for an increase of $350,000. In your DRI1, uh we are increasing restaurant mills tax by roughly $100,000 from $900,500 to $1 million. Restaurant mills tax in the DRI 2 and three increased from 356,000 to 359,000, an increase of $3,000. Electric consumption tax is remaining the same at 73,500. Our admissions tax, we are increasing by $60,000 from $120,000 to $180,000. Interest on bank deposits is remaining the same at $650,000. Interest on investments is increased by $68,000 from $332,000 to $400,000. State sales tax on your DRRi1 uh increased by $63,000 from $840,000 to $93,000. State sales tax on your DRRi 2 and 3 increased from 168,000 to $455,000 which is an increase of $287,000. So that concludes what our revenue items are um in this upcoming budget. I know uh Mr. Pard, you had one item uh that was one of your goals, which was the animal license uh pet license fee. We have taken that out of the budget this year. So, we will do an amendment to their ordinances later and uh take that out of the out of our ordinances. Um so, that is all that we have on the revenues. I'll be happy to answer any questions that I can tonight in regards to the revenues. Uh the majority of these revenues are based on

actuals that we are currently seeing. Um, I would uh be remiss if I didn't say that uh we have to be careful on some of these items because there is u one large economic development opportunity in the city of Bristol that we only really have two months of data on. Uh so we are basing some of these numbers based on two months worth of data, two full months worth of data and we will continue to watch that as the year progresses to see if we need to make any significant changes. But based on what we have right now, uh we feel comfortable with these numbers. I also want to say uh thanks to Tamara Sprdlin. She has worked tirelessly on this. This has not been an easy uh budget year uh especially with the reassessments and making sure that our um uh real estate taxes are correct based on information that is provided by the commissioner revenues office and uh this could not happen without her. So I want to thank her uh for everything that she does in regards to this uh revenue projections and the budget in general. All right. So is there any questions? So thank you very much for the presentation and thank you uh Tamara as well for all the work that you all have done. I know we have had many discussions as we go through this process and in trying to um have the best budget we can have um for our residents. So, um I know that we may have several questions, but I will also ask that um we work on compiling those questions and and having one-on- ones or two on twos with you all to kind of go through those. But I'll open it up for any questions you all may want to ask. Now, I would have uh three questions. Well, one two questions, one of which is a two-parter. Um you gave us an estimated uh real

estate tax total. Um could you tell us what the tax rate is that that was based on? We are currently looking at those tax rates. Um so I do not want to give a tax rate until we uh verify some things first thing in the morning, but um that is um I will let council know tomorrow as soon as we u finalize that. Okay. I'd like to know particularly the second part of that question which obviously you don't have readily available as of yet. Um the average uh personal real estate tax increase if someone had a property that was uh uh had to pay X number last year. What would their uh the average be next year? Well, I think that involves multiple numbers, right? And I think you just have to it depends on each individual property. Uh, you know, some properties may increase more, some may not increase much at all. Um, some, you know, potentially may decrease depending on the condition of the property, an average number. Um, I don't have that average number today, but we will have that average number and I can get that to you. Thank you. But the second question that I had is um the admissions tax um forprofit versus nonprofit sources. Um I know there's been some discussion as to uh potentially having u some of our nonprofit organizations which currently pay the admissions tax um concerning potentially dropping that. Obviously there's that's an extended discussion that would have to be had but uh one of the starting points of that discussion would be roughly how much are they making out of the total? Well, we cannot give specifics on what each individual business per the state code

we cannot give the specifics for what any individual business produces in taxes. So I wouldn't want to say that here in public. You know, in regards to the admissions tax, I did have a meeting with Melissa Roberts with believe uh Perth Place for Country Music on um Thursday and we did have a discussion in regards to the admissions tax. Uh I was very straightforward with her. Uh you know, I don't think that is something that I would recommend the council to start reducing admissions taxes or getting rid of the admissions tax. Uh here in the city of Bristol, we do rely on those taxes. Uh we provide numerous services uh during rhythm and roots weekend and uh from public works staff to fire, police and other staff members and you know some of those admissions tax help offset the cost of uh doing that. So, and you know, we have to be cognizant of the fact there are other businesses in Bristol that um could potentially be impacted if we would get rid of the admissions tax for um nonprofits. So, I would not recommend to this council to get rid of the admissions tax. And one follow-up question on the emissions tax, just clarity sake, that tax is paid by the customer as they're purchasing a ticket. It's not paid by the organization that's having the event. Correct. They're just holding it like a mill tax. That's correct. You know, if you go through Tixster, I believe is the birthplace of country music specifically. That's the ticket agency that they uh sell their tickets through. So, when you go through that and you see a ticket, we'll just say for $100. Uh you will go through that process. At the end of that, there will be a 7.5% admissions tax. On top of that, there are fees that you have to pay to Tixer. And typically those fees are even more expensive than what the admissions tax is in and of itself. So not only are you paying for the ticket, you're paying for the admissions tax,

but you're paying a ticketing agency, you know, $15 to $25 just to get the ticket downloaded to your phone. Um, so that, you know, that is a an expense that the customer bears. I would say that, um, most people who go to concerts, uh, that is probably one of the last things they think about if they want to see a specific artist. I don't think they care about a certain admissions tax or even the uh fee that you have to pay to the ticketing agency. Um we do have a huge music lover uh that works within the city and goes to numerous concerts throughout our region and throughout the south and uh she has stated that she pays a lot more for tickets at other places and pays a lot more in taxes and fees than what is here at Rhythm and Roots. So, you know, I feel like our admissions tax is reasonable uh based on uh what people may pay at other locations. Yeah, I agree with that. I think anytime you go to purchase tickets for any event where no matter where it's at, whether and no matter which agency you're buying it through, any of the online agencies, you you know, there's going to be some taxes and fees. The taxes are usually much less than the fees, and the fees they add are much higher. And I will say that our admissions tax I feel like is really low. When I've bought local tickets and had that on there and I've compared it to what I've paid for tickets, you know, Knoxville, other places, um it's it's been several hundreds of dollars honestly added on to my ticket versus here it's been a minimal amount. It did it stop me from going to the event? No, because I was buying that ticket regardless. I wanted to go. And so I think that it's expected um when people buy tickets to events, they know there's going to be some type of of fees on there. And just to be

clear, I wasn't making a recommendation on way or another. Just the topic's been brought up. And I felt uh we deserved to our residents to make an informed decision rather than a generalization. But um I definitely understand the point on both sides. I wasn't making a recommendation one way or another. I say we maybe we can't, you know, there's nothing that we'll always all agree on, but we can all agree that we hate ticket master, I guess. Um, but no, I I think that, you know, I think admissions tax specifically along with lodging tax is is going to be a line item that grows over the coming years for, you know, reasons that we all know. And so, you know, I'm excited to see that it's that it's coming up in this budget, that the revenues are projected to increase in this budget, and I'm excited to see what it does over the next, you know, year and if I'm here beyond that, you know, in those future years. Um, I appreciate the work you've done on this, and, you know, I think that I appreciate that these are these are on actuals, you said. Um, that that's kind of a conservative way to do it, which I think is the correct way to do it in our in our fiscal situation. So, I appreciate that. Well, and I know you've also you you've tried to make the most with what we have because we knew this was not going to be a pretty budget season. It's not going to it's not just not going to happen. And so, I appreciate you all and I appreciate all of our departments because they have put in minimal requests knowing that we didn't have a a lot of funding to work with. So, thank you all for being creative in your efforts to um present the best budget possible. And I'd also be remiss, I think I mentioned it last time in regards to expenses, but I'll go ahead and mention it in revenues because there isn't revenue impact. Our landfill is going to cost us roughly $9 million this

year out of our general fund budget. And uh there is no revenue to offset that like when we had um the landfill open. I'm not advocating, dear God, to have the landill open again, but um you know, we do not have any revenue to offset those expenses. And now that is being borne by the taxpayer in the general fund. And as you pointed out, $9 million is a large chunk of change. And as you pointed out at the last meeting, we have an extremely large debt coming due related to that as well in another couple of years. Yeah. The 9 million there. Um, and the thing about it is that's not just a one-time thing. It's probably going to grow in the years to come and something that we're going to have to continuously deal with. And I know a lot of people have been hopeful that the casino and having the revenues from that would pay for a lot of the things we're dealing with. If we didn't have the the large debt with the landfill and dealing with that 9 million plus per year, yeah, it would be helpful. But just a reminder, we also uh split those gaming tax revenues 14 ways. So we don't get just the whole bulk of that revenue. It's split between 14 localities. And so, you know, if we got all of it, yeah, it would we'd be painting a different picture, but um so we're having to work with that as well. Well, and you know, while we're talking about debt, let's just, you know, uh talk about debt as a whole for the city and how it impacts our taxpayers. uh you've got roughly $62 million in debt associated with the landfill itself that is producing zero revenue and you've got roughly $84 million of debt associated a little less than that but uh 80 some odd million dollars in debt associated with the falls and if we did not have those two huge projects uh that have occurred well before our time um you know the city would be sitting in a different financial position than what we are right

Well, thank you again and I'll just say if for the council as as we meet in the coming weeks, please if you have any questions, um please send those to the city manager and assistant city manager and we'll make sure we get them addressed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Next item on the agenda, item E1, ordinances, second reading. Ordinance 25-1, second reading, prohibiting the use of certain vehicles and devices on specified sidewalks within the city. Um, we do have someone signed up for public comment and I will ask if uh Dom Richardson would come forward and uh state your name and address and you have three minutes and you'll get a green light. a yellow warning light and red means your time is up. So, welcome. Um, my name is Don Richardson. I live on 355 Edmond Street, Bristol, Virginia. Um, I' I'd actually like to real quick reintroduce myself. I the last time I've been here was about 3 years ago and I was around for the whole landfill situation and uh I I remember when I I was talking about wanting to pay attention to roads and sidewalks and wanted to be an asset to the city um passively as a citizen. Um, I would like to one day eventually work into the field of urban development, uh, city planning, something what she's doing. Um, but I just want to get that out the way right. So, nice to meet you guys. Um, with the, uh, with the ordinance 25-1, um, I noticed, um, I I believe that the Bristol, Tennessee side still u prohibits bicycles and other motorized uh, vehicles and equipment on their side of State Street as well. And um I think that if we are going to do that as well,

I I think it would be great if we had collaborated on um allocating funding for creating signage that would let the public know not to write um bicycles or any motorized equipment on the on the roads. And I feel like that would give uh the pedestrians peace of mind as they're walking down State Street trying to shop around and not worrying about a bike zooming by or a skateboard. Um, I I think also it would it would save the kids from being getting onto by the the friendly fire or not the fire department, but the police department. But um that's basically I I think um if we had signage on State Street in regards to this, I think um I think it would bring the pedestrians peace of mind and it would let the citizens be well known of uh the policy that's in place. Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right. I'll now turn it over for a staff report from Randy. Yes, council. This is the second reading of the ordinance for um to prohibit bikes and other types of vehicles on sidewalks in certain locations within the city. And if you will give me just a moment, I am there is a change that we need to do in the ordinance. But to address um the speaker's concern, by state law, we do have to put signage up where uh there are no sidewalks. So before the 30 days expires, when the ordinance goes into effect, there will be signage up stating that there will be no no types of bicycles or skateboards or things of that nature on those sidewalks. Um Mr. Pard had mentioned that in section four, we had changed uh last week some language in regards to where u that where where this would be prohibited. It just narrowed it down

into more of the downtown area than what was previously noted. So, I would mention that section four, based on the conversation at the last council meeting, uh the it shall be unlawful for any person to use, operate, or ride any of the following on sidewalks adjacent to State Street from Commonwealth Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard, south of Scott Street on Piedmont Avenue, south of Scott Street on Lee Street, south of Scott Street on Moore Street, and east of Piedmont Avenue on Cumberland Street within the city of Bristol, Virginia. So, uh, when someone makes the motion tonight, if you so desire, please, um, mention those changes that I just mentioned to section 4 so that we can update that ordinance. All right. Um, we are looking for a motion and second for the second reading full or by caption. Uh, I move for second reading of the ordinance by caption only with the changes indicated by the city manager. Second. All right. Um, is this or by caption? By caption only. Okay. Thank you. Um, council discussion. I just I want to thank the city staff, the city manager for his work on this. Um, I know this has been a big topic of discussion in the community. Um, and definitely we've definitely seen some issues downtown in the the the heart of the the State Street downtown area. Um, by ratcheting down kind of where this um, ban will be. I think that kind of fits our community a little better. Um, and then I appreciate you taking Martin Luther King out completely because there there's some discussion about trying to get to the Tennessee side, folks going

back and forth and having a thoroughfare still open to them is good. And then I know there is discussion on the Tennessee side of building a skate park and um part of their numbers that they're pulling for that plan is including Virginia kids, young adults. So um we don't want to mess up their plans either. Want to be a good neighbor. want to collaborate with our our neighbors there. So, I just appreciate the work that's gone into this and um just the the mindfulness of trying to balance um folks having access to public streets, public sidewalks, but also safety concerns and just the issues we're facing downtown. So, thank you. Uh and I agree. I think that this will um increase safety downtown for people who are going in and out of stores. Uh, I think one thing that we'll need to be cognizant of, you know, now that we're prohibiting people riding bicycles on the sidewalk is they will be riding them in the road. So, we will need to be more cognizant of people minding the speed limit and bicyclists following traffic laws as well. Uh, I think that's probably something we'll have to address, I'd say, within the next year after this. Um, that's my only concern, but but overall I'm uh I'm certainly in favor of this. Well, thank you to the staff for the work you've put into this. I'll just say um I was attending some events uh the past few weekends and and know the importance of needing to have this. Um, I was almost hit a couple of times by a bicycle, but then a little boy was out there with his family was 4 years old and just about got ran over. I mean, it was pretty close. It was enough to the bike jumped off the sidewalk cuz he was flying down through down through there. Um, and it was an older man, but that's okay. Um, but he was flying and and going really fast, faster than he should with that many people on the sidewalk. So, I do think it's a safety thing and

um I appreciate the work that the city's put into this to protect our residents. Mr. Eids, I have two questions on this. Um, kind of looking forward if if this passes, um, kind of the discussion that was brought up, the concern about folks being in the road on bicycles. Can we use the city social media account to kind of do like an education campaign on proper procedures, watching out for bicyclist, that type thing? Just maybe a few graphics that way. Yeah, I think we can probably put something together and put that on the website. Um, and get that done. I'll I'll work with community development to come up with a plan for that. That's a great idea. Second piece of that, um when it's if it is implemented, the law goes live. Um is there going to be a grace period? Kind of working with folks to Well, really your grace period is these next 30 days. Okay. Um because the law goes into effect 30 days from today. So April 26. Yeah, April 26, it would go into effect. And um so the grace period is now to educate the public. This is in effect if if it does pass tonight. And um so that that's really the grace period. That's why there is a 30-day period between the time an ordinance is passed until it goes into effect. Thank you. But, you know, I don't think our officers are going to be ticketing people, I'll say, you know, day one. I think it'll, you know, they're going to warn people and I'm sure there's repeat offenders that they will notice and do what's appropriate whenever that time comes. Dad, I understand correctly that the first occurrence is a warning anyway. I think so. Yes. By state law, it's a warning. This is so many things that the council deals with where there's two sides of everything. And I I believe that this revision uh strikes a good balance between maintaining safety while not overly restricting people's freedoms to

do what they want to do as long as they're not causing any problems doing so. Um, we've had some issues with safety. So, we need to address that, but we need to do so while not restricting people any more than absolutely necessary in the process. And I I believe this uh this uh revised ordinance does a good job with that. And it is written so that it will be re-evaluated regularly. So, I like that. I agree. You know, and back on what I talked about, what you hit on and what the vice mayor hit on, you know, these bicyclists will be in the road after this. And you know, some people like to ride bikes for health, some people have to ride bikes for transportation. Um, so, you know, we want to make sure that they're very safe and that they're able to get around from one part of town to the other, whether it be for fun or necessity, in a safe way, too. So, uh, this will this will make things safer for everyone, I hope. I promise, excuse me, I promise this is my last comment and I'll be done. Um, I I do just kind of want to point out to for folks that are concerned about it, um, I had Mr. Eids kind of pull some numbers for me. Um, with the the drilled down area that we're looking at, that's about 1.43 miles of road that we are restricting bikes off the sidewalks, bikes, and other things compared to the over 220 mi of roads in the city. So it it will have an impact in that one and a half just under one and a half miles but um it's not the vast majority of the city. So I just I think that's a good perspective to have. Thank you for that. All right. Have further discussion. Clerk, please call the role. Barnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pard, yes. Nave, yes. All right. Reading of the ordinance by caption only. Ordinance 25 hyphen 1, an ordinance of the city of Bristol, Virginia

prohibiting the use of certain vehicles and devices on specified sidewalks within the city. All right. Looking for a motion and second for adoption. I move for adoption of the ordinance uh with the changes previously indicated. Second. All right, we have a motion and second. Clerk, please call the role. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pard, yes. Nave, yes. All right, moving into item E2, ordinance 25-2, second reading, updating section 50-136, agricultural uses on residential property. We do have uh someone signed up for public comment and I will ask um as I call your name if you'll come forward and you have three minutes and you'll have a green light, a warning, yellow warning light and then a red light that signifies your time is up. Um and please state your name and address. U first person on the list is Taurus Lori. Uh my address is 255 Wagner Road, Bristol, Virginia. Uh and I was just uh comments is just basically uh from the perspective of uh charging someone just to help feed their family just seems like a draconious move. Uh when someone is having such a hard time purchasing eggs and stuff like that and then you're going to allow chicken coops and you're not going to allow them to sell them at their house or anything like that. I think there should be some type of way that allows some people to recoup some of the money that they're going to have to uh spend as far as uh the chicken coupe, as far as buying the chickens and stuff like that, and allow some type of balance and stuff like that. All right. Thank

you. All right. Um looking for staff report from June. All right. Thank you, uh, madame mayor and council members. Uh, I do have the presentation here if there was any interest. Um, but as far as item background is concerned, the staff has received a number of violations regarding this um, part of the ordinance due to the property line requirements that we discussed at the last first at the first ordinance reading. Um the planning commission council and staff have worked over the next p the past few months to find this ideal solution that reduces the number of appeals and staff time spent concerning said issues and violations. The primary changes this ordinance include a reduction of the property boundary requirement, the setting of permit fees, and clarification regarding the inspection and permitting process. All right. Thank you. Okay. Looking for council motion and second for the second reading full or by caption. I move for second reading of the ordinance by caption only. Second. All right, we have a motion and second. Um, council discussion. Uh, J, I do have a question for you. I know we had um to to discuss the the commenters uh concern about the permitting fee. Um I know that we had discussed that a couple meetings ago and and maybe you had you had reduced it from the original proposal. Yes. So the original proposed fee would have been an adjustment to $100 that you guys suggested that $50 would be a better uh number for that. And that number comes from the staff time that would be required for uh going through the permit, doing some inspections, um and making sure that everything would be in compliance and not a hazard or uh a nuisance to the neighbors, particularly with noxious odors or noise. And uh making any recommendations

or requirements that the uh chicken owner would have to make to reduce said um nuisances to their neighbor. because I do know that, you know, obviously I think and I think I said it at the last time we talked about this that, you know, egg prices are going up, everything's going up, people want to be able to, you know, feed their family and provide, you know, and save some money in places and this is this is an option to do that. Um but also at the same time you have to be we as a city have to be aware that we don't want to negatively affect anybody else's experience living wherever they live you know with if there are chickens in their neighborhood. Um and especially you know with you know bird flu is a thing that's out there you know so we we want everybody to be safe. We want u as you said not to have adverse impacts on the neighbors if they don't want to have chickens. So you know I do think that I I feel like $100 may have been cost prohibitive to some people. I'm hoping that $50 is not cost prohibitive to folks and I think this will provide some good bound, you know, boundary rules and stuff for this uh for this process to go forward and be helpful to folks and It's $50 the first year, but then every year after that it's 25. Yes, ma'am. Is that correct? So, it only be the $50 fee the first year, but then after that it's that minimal fee of 25 for renewing your permit, right? Yes, ma'am. And will you all when they get this permit, will you be going out and doing inspections or is that a case by case and or not? So, the current way that we are planning on this being implemented would be that would we do a, you know, inspection when the initial permit came in, see the site, let them show us where they're looking to put it

and make sure that that's not going to have any, you know, where it's maybe on a hill and it'll run down into a neighbor's property, something like that. Afterwards, the hope is that um we can kind of rely on that fire alarm type uh where a uh if a neighbor complains, we'll go and inspect um and then if the permit comes up for renewal, then uh we can go do a driveby and a less serious uh investigation, which would be the the less uh the lower cost for that. And to be clear, just to address, I guess some concerns that folks had had, this does not allow you to sell sell chickens or sell eggs. This is just for your personal consumption of of eggs or just for having chickens as pets. And that's something that um would be would have was from the original ordinance as well, that there's no slaughter or sale of of poultry or anything like that on your property. This isn't a business. This is for your, you know, personal use, a hobby, whatever. um what you call it. Um but it's not intended to be any large scale thing with the limitation on six chickens alone anyway. Yep. That's what I was going to add. There's no more than six chickens allowed and definitely no roosters allowed because that was something that came up quite often too. Yes. And roosters are something that even now we still get a number of uh complaints from citizens that they're they're a noise hazard. they can wake you up real early and that can that's probably the biggest nuisance that those animals can bring to to a city like this. I might also comment that home sales are not allowed under a home occupation permit either. Mhm. I'm a big fan of the uh the distance the u distance from the from adjoining property lines if if correct me if I'm wrong but the old ordinance was 100 ft from any adjoining property line. Is that correct? That is correct.

So you really need a property if if your chickens and their housing was right in the middle. You need a property that's at least 200 feet wide. 100 ft from this side, 100 ft from this side if it was right in the middle. And most people don't have a property that's 200 feet wide or more. No. And uh and it was certain zoning districts too. So that was very it was almost so restrictive. No one in the city could have chickens because of that. And that's where we came with uh with a lot of the the violations that that kind of kickstarted this whole situation was that we investigate maybe a rooster, some other complaint. And then unfortunately for a lot of the property owners to their dismay they found that even if they did clear up the rooster they were still in violation of the property line boundaries. Mhm. So the new ordinance is a lot smaller distance. So yes I I would just add kind of everybody said this to some extent but like this this ordinance change on multiple levels where whether it's the fee whether it's the distance it makes chicken owning however you want to phrase it much more accessible in the city. I know there were some concerns that we're we're tossing these restrictions on people owning chickens. We're actually lessening them with this. And so I think um this is a good move because as as Mr. Osborne has pointed out before like and we all know it um things are more expensive. Eggs are definitely more expensive. Giving folks an option or a better option to access eggs and chickens and um taking care of their own families is is definitely a good thing. So less restrictive, less cost, better outcomes. Yeah, I agree. I think our goal with this was to give our residents more options while ensuring that we maintain that balance between urban farming and neighborhood considerations being right here in the city. So, thank you, June, for your work on that. Thank you. All right. Um, looking for a council

motion and second for the second reading, full or by caption. We already did that. Oh, we already did. I'm sorry. Gosh. Um, clerk, please call the role. Apologize. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pard, yes. Nave, yes. Reading by of the ordinance by caption only. Ordinance 25-2 title update to the to chapter 50 land use article 2 zoning division 11 section 50-136 agricultural uses on residential property. All right. Um looking for now I'm got ahead of myself. Looking for a council motion and second for adoption. I move for adoption of the ordinance as presented. Second. All right we have a motion and second. Clerk, please call the role. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pollard, yes. Nave, yes. All right, moving into item F, matters to be presented by members of the public, non-aggenda items, and we have several signed up. Um, first I will call up U. Donnie Branson. Yeah, my name is My name is Donnie Branson. This is going to be short and sweet. I live in Spring Lake Estates and I would like for the council to uh to consider eliminating property tax, personal property tax for senior citizens. Quite frankly, if I got a wife that's got a car, it's half of my property tax. So that's how expensive personal property tax is. But in in the future, I would like for you to consider or reducing it. So, thank you very much. All right. Thank

you. All right. Next person, uh, Samantha Gray from Theater Bristol. Hello. Thank you. I'm Samantha Gray with Theater Bristol. the executive director there. Um, greetings to you all, the city council. Thank you so much for having me and the mayor. Um, I hope to see you on Sunday evening. We're very excited to be back in Virginia. Um, we're pleased to have served the residents of and visitors to Bristol, Virginia for 60 years this year. It's our anniversary as well. And we're back in our home city, originally incorporated and a nonprofit currently here in Bristol, Virginia. And we are now the new owner of the Cameo Theater as well. Um, the theater tells stories and creates a shared narrative and is a community resource much like the public library, a group we also partner with as well. We serve the community and serving that community in that context that is which we have stepped out and secured the wonderful performance stage of the Cameo Theater. So, we really see this as an act of ours to be um in service to our community. The work we do puts people on stage. It draws community together. It invites new community, new residents. It's an economic draw and it builds confidence and skills. And I would mention too, just like the other um group tonight with um the housing authority, uh we partner with them to provide free tickets for playtime in the arts space on Saturday mornings for very very young theatergoers. And we are also part of the choice neighborhoods effort representing the arts and helping to work very hard on that program. We both obviously invest in the community and we're a key part of the growth and we have made sacrifices now to prove this concept and we hope that in seeing it that others will join in and support what we're doing. And we hope the council will be ones to support affordable theater that without theater Bristol would otherwise not be be experienced by so many. That valuable experiences for school children

throughout the region are no longer turned away for lack of seating. classes, workshops, summer camp, and our growing school of theater arts. The increased numbers of audiences who come downtown and shop, eat, and drink before and after our shows. A significant impactful volunteer skill building program. Hundreds and hundreds of volunteers in our space that is active every day of the week downtown. New and unique entertainment that we're going to be introducing to draw children and families that's offered nowhere else in the region to right here to Bristol, Virginia. and of course the beautiful cameo theater in the hands of trusted people who are preserving and continuing its legacy. The case is though theater Bristol is community theater and with that we do not have the funds to buy million-doll buildings but we have now we have a mortgage and for this to work we must become debtree as soon as possible. We need the community's help and we're asking for help from the city council for our campaign. We hope you'll step out with us. We are requesting financial support from the city of Bristol for the Cameo Theater in the amount of $50,000 and support for operating funds for an amount of $25,000. The Cameo Theater is a strategy that's critical for preserving Theater Bristol and helping our city be on par with other theaters in the region. Um, it may not be, you may not be aware, but our seating was is now five times what it was and it was nothing. Um, it was very low compared to other areas. So, thank you for your time and consideration, and we look forward to seeing you at our centennial celebration and our ribbon coding ceremony. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for being here tonight. We're very excited that Theater Bristol is moving into the Cameo and bringing it back to life. I can't think of a better fit. So, congratulations on that purchase and and I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday night. All right. Thank you. Yeah. Thank

you. All right. Next person, um, Frank Good Pasture III. Thank you. Uh, do I have to go through the introduction again? Oh, it's okay. I want to talk about the intersection on uh 381. The best I can tell, it's just a timed stoplight, and it's where Pittston Road and Church Street connect to 381. I would request that the city come up with uh sensors that would turn the stoplight on when you have traffic coming into that intersection. as it is right now. It's on a timer and I came through there at 11 o'clock the other night from the airport and it required me to stop and there wasn't I was the only traffic out there and uh every time I go down there we're having to you know traffic is having to stop for no good reason and uh it'd be very cheap to have a sensor both ways so we can keep traffic rolling. And uh I'm not sure if it's the city that handles that or if it's uh the uh utilities board, but uh that intersection needs to be fixed. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Moving into um item G, consent agenda. I move for approval of the consent agenda as presented.

Second. All right, we have a motion and second. Clerk, please call the role. Farnum, yes. Holmes, yes. Osborne, yes. Pard, yes. Nave, yes. And looking for a motion to adjurnn. I move that we now adjurnn. Second. All right, clerk, please call the role. Farnum. Yes, Holmes. Yes, Osborne. Yes, Pard. Yes, Nave. Yes. We are adjourned.