City Council - Regular Meeting

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Praise the Lord. Good evening everyone. Welcome to our January 29th city council meeting. Please stand for invocation by Dr. Wilder followed by the pledge of allegiance. Let

us bow our heads. [clears throat] Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for our city, our city staff members, our workers, especially working during this winter storm. Give them guidance and and give them warmth. Lord, we thank you for our citizens, our taxpayers that continue to fund this city so we can be the best city we can. Continue to give our city staff strength to endure and give them give them comfort and and just encourage their hearts, Lord, during this time period. Thank for our city council members. Give them guidance and wisdom as leaders organization. Give them your love, love of peace and kindness as we speak to one another. In your precious name we pray. Amen. Amen. [snorts]

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America [snorts] and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [snorts] [clears throat] Phil Center. Uh here to bring us a little more remark about that is Anna Benson with communications. [snorts]

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, and city council members. I'm here this evening to recognize someone who has spent nearly two decades doing some of the most important work in city hall while almost never being seen, which honestly is exactly how Phil Spinner likes it. [laughter] Phil is retiring after 18 years of service to the city of Lynchburg and the Department of Communications and Public Engagement. And it's hard to overstate just how much of our public life he has quietly supported. If you've watched a city council meeting, a planning commission hearing, an EDA meeting, a or a historic preservation committee discussion, or any number of other boards and commissions, chances are high that Phil was behind the scenes making sure it all worked. And not just worked, worked smoothly, worked calmly, worked even when something inevitably went sideways 5 minutes [clears throat] before go time. Phil has personally produced and streamed more than 500 city council meetings. That's at least when I stopped counting. That alone is an incredible legacy of public transparency and civic access. Add to that countless other meetings, special events, productions, highlighting our leaders, our projects, and our community, and you begin to see the scale of his impact. Phil has also overseen the modernization of the city's broadcast system little by little over the years, making it look far easier than it actually is. He has an uncanny ability to fix just about anything, often with whatever tool or YouTube video is available. And no matter the pressure, Phil remained steady and unflapable. If he says it's fine, you believe him. His story is even more remarkable in that he's been working out of the same office on the first floor of city hall since 1983. Initially with I didn't believe him when he first told me that. [laughter] Initially with Lynchburg cable and other cable providers over the years and and then with the city. That's more than four decades in this building quietly witnessing leadership changes, technology revolutions, and more microphones than any one person should have to manage.

Phil, we will miss your expertise, your reliability, your behind-the-scenes humor and your calm presence, and we are so grateful for your service. On behalf of your colleagues and all of us who have depended on you, perhaps even without knowing it, thank you. We wish you all the best in retirement. The mayor is now going to present you with a bronzed mic. Um, [clears throat] and because we know you will appreciate it. Thank you. [applause]

[laughter] [laughter]

remarks that I'd like to make. Um, the first thing I would like to say is thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Joanne Martin. She was the one that hired me and Steve Smallshaw to start broadcast services in 2008. She also created Citizens First and the Communications Department. At the time that Joanne hired me, she had no idea how wonderful I was. [laughter] It's true. She didn't have a clue. She knew I knew things about sound and video and stuff like that, but the wonderfulness that was just a big bonus. So when my journey started in 2008, it has been an incredible journey. I've been everywhere from the top of the clock tower in the city museum building all the way down to the bottom of the James River interceptor. I've been all over the place, done all kind of events, meetings, and all that kind of stuff. And but my time now has come to an end. But Fred not, I leave you in very capable hands uh with uh Shaquille Cook and Bradley Byer. They're taking over the torch of telling this story now. And I also like to thank uh Anna Benson and Jan Ramsey. She is also retiring from uh this department. and Anna is a visionary and about what all of this can be and I appreciate that and Jan is like the glue that held our department together all these years. So

I appreciate those two. So the big question is what am I going to do in retirement? [laughter] I'm running for me. That's could be could be an option. But pretty much the same thing I've been doing uh all along. Just hanging out with my family, tinkering with my toys, and trying to be just a little bit better than what I was yesterday. Amen. Amen. [applause] [applause] Thank you.

Go ahead. [clears throat] Just a quick story about Bill Spinner.

Um, it's a long a long service. That's amazing and it deserves recognition. But my first Phil Spinner story is I had a public access TV show back in the 80s in the basement of City Hall called Rising Tide. I even remember the name of it and we did a few shows. I will pay you good money to destroy those 3/4 inch tapes. If they still exist, hopefully they don't. But Phil, you've been here a long time and you deserve recognition for that level of service and that commitment to our beautiful city. Thank you for that and I wish you much well in whatever you choose to do next. Thank you.

Mayor Council agenda is divided into three sections. Consent agenda, public comment, and general business. The first section is the consent agenda includes routine items that can be approved with one vote. Yes, sir. [clears throat] I would ask the council take up the consent agenda as his last item if possible. You want to take that up last [snorts]

curious as to why but because our order of business and rules of procedure has the consent agenda first. So let's do I have a motion on the consent agenda? Motion to move the consent agenda. Second. Do we have a second? So moved. Okay. Let's vote. Cast your vote. Mayor.

Yes. Um, I would first uh request the uh those who motioned for and seconded the motion to have the ability to speak, but I I do have some comments I'd like to share. Do you want to speak to your motion? No. Uh, Mr. Mayor, I don't think that uh our minutes are supposed to be a repository for written speeches of council members and the minutes are supposed to be a summarization of the events. Um order to the motion on the floor.

Continue. Matt, uh the minutes contain just that and for that reason I I'm not in a position where we should uh [snorts] be adopting those. I can't see another time in [clears throat] council's history in my tenure uh where that has happened. And so for that reason, I think they need to be amended. [snorts]

Anyone else? Oh, we call the vote. Okay, let's vote. Council fraud.

Not all members are in such call for a voice. Quite frankly, it's because I think some members refuse to log in and want to do a voice vote so others can see how they're voting. [clears throat]

Point of order. Point of order. Mr. Mayor, I want point of order. I'm I'm getting a little um frustrated with Council Member Feraldi continuing to insult the members of this body by insinuating their intentions while I'm sitting here looking at the screen on the vice mayor's laptop that it is dead and he just plugged it in. He can't log in if his screen is dead. But the the it's this this stuff has got to stop with call for speculating clerk call for a voice vote. Let's vote. Councilwley, I'm not voting.

Mr. Mayor, he's got a duty to vote and I'm not going to under the code of Virginia. Well, we we have if we have a 43 majority, we move on. [clears throat] [snorts] I have council is abstaining. Council member Richens. Point of order. Council member Veraldi is required to to state the conflict that requires him to abstain for the record if he's abstaining from the vote. He never said abstain. I'm not voting until we get this resolved. So yeah, you didn't he didn't. [snorts] Which which item do you not want on I mean do are you confused about

which I said I've stated the minutes can't coach you [snorts] so it's not an abstension Mr. Mayor, that's the point of order. You got to you got to rule on the point of order because we're required to vote. Mr. Mayor, if I may speak. Yes, ma'am. The rules do require a member to make their best effort to vote. Um, however, it is silent on if they do not go forward. However, the rules do require uh that the rules that council has put forth requires that.

Mr. I'm not voting. I will vote through the electronic system and it pops up on the screen. This has been a consistent issue for a number of weeks and I've been the first person to vote every single time. Politically, that is a strategic disadvantage to the person just so happens to sit here and I think that's an unfair advantage. That is why I asked us if this could be the last item because I knew it was going to be a problem. That's why I was asking, could we move through the business so the folks who want to speak can speak? We can get the staff out of here and then have our back and forth as to this particular issue. Okay. So, what's what's your point? The point of order is that

I'm just going to read it out loud here. Council member who wishes to be excused from voting shall state his or her reasons for abstaining and the presiding officer shall ask if any of the remaining members object. If there are any objections, the council shall take a vote of the remaining members on the question whether or not to allow the council member to abstain from voting. So, so, so Mr. Fraud actually has to ask for permission from a majority of council. No, I'm willing to vote just with the electronic system. Do you have a system up? Uh, we are waiting on one member. Um, I believe yeah, he is working on that now. It's charging. It's charging. It may be a while. [clears throat] Can I speak to the point of order? Yes, speak to your point of order, please.

Point of orders are not debatable. I just I want to reiterate that it's not an option. Each council member who is present at a meeting shall be required to vote upon all issues presented. It's not a question. What I'm going to do, you waiting on your computer, right? What I'm going to do is is is accommodate Mr. Ferrari. We're going to move the consent agenda to the back of the list and move forward. We we we got to move forward. We We got We got We've got to keep you can't just meet moving. Mr. Mayor, you you can't just accommodate Mr. Faldi on your own without a majority of counsel. We've made a motion and a second to adopt rule on the point of order.

And there's a rule and you have to rule on the point of order. either he is allowed to abstain and and not vote. Well, the ru the rules you just read said shallote that if he [clears throat] do not ask to abstain himself council have to vote on it on his abstension. Each council member who is present at a meeting shall be required to vote upon all issues presented for decision unless prohibited for doing so by Virginia conflicts of interest actor unless excused from voting by the other council members. So we So we would either have to vote to excuse him. Well,

he did ask to obtain, did he? I didn't hear my No, no, he he's not. He's he Let's get this uh machine working so we can vote or else we're going to vote by voice. Mr. Ferrari, I need you to vote. I won't. God mercy. Robert elected to vote. Yes. Did you get that up? I'll keep trying. He's moving.

I've spoken with the clerk. It's my understanding that uh the people who do have access to the electronic can vote electronically and those do not can vote by voice. And I think that'd be appropriate to go forward. Very well done. Chris, Chris, can you vote by your machine if prompted? Please vote, please. [clears throat]

All right, initiating vote. Now you got to do your voice vote. Hang on one second. [cough] [clears throat] I got a guess. Thank you. One second.

Oops. I'm sorry. The motion did not fail. It passed with a 4,2 and one absent. Okay. Thank you. One second. [clears throat] Public comment. Public comment.

Speakers have three minutes to talk. If you're speaking for a group, you have five. City council listens to your comments. You may ask the city manager uh uh to follow up. Citizens often have different opinions to make everyone feel comfortable. There's no applause, cheers, or jeers. Do not intimidate, insult, or disrupt others. Do not use profanity. may promote businesses or campaign for office. Agenda item number 10 hear from group representative regarding appreciation for support from council for CVACL programs including elves of elders uh and Medicare insurance assistance during open enrollment. Zachary Carter, Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living, please restate your name, group represented and locality of residents. Absolutely.

Mayor Taylor, city of Council. Um my name is Zachary Carter. I'm a Lynchburg city resident. Uh, do I have to say the area code or like where I'm from or just Central Park City res? Okay, perfect. Perfect. I am the VCAP counselor uh for C Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living. on the behalf of the Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living Incorporated, um, formerly known as the Central Virginia Area Agency on Aging or CVAA, I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your support for CVACL's Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program, or VCAP for short. Your commitment to supporting us in free, unbiased, unsolicited Medicare advice and information for people receiving, requiring and looking for Medicare helps assist helps BCAP assist a yearly average of 800 to,200 individuals in our region 2000 for prescription assistance, enrollment, enrollment assistance, for uh cost comparisons and just information regarding changes year-to-year with Medicare CV. PVACL also uses the senior Medicare Patrol or SNP, the bipartisan national business model to protect, detect, and report Medicare fraud. In 2025 uh in the United States, S&P saved and recovered over $60 million nationally uh in Medicare fraud, tactics, and scams. Your leadership, vision, and dedication to serving our community is truly commendable and does not go unnoticed. Because of your efforts, contributions, and ongoing support for older adults in our community, we not only get across the finish line, but are ready to race another day. We deeply value your partnership, support, and are truly grateful for your continued effort to make the city of Lynchburg a wonderful

sanctuary for our growing vintage Virginiaians. Again, thank you so much for all your support and dedication. We hope that you have a wonderful evening. You're always invited to come see us right up on 12th and Madison Street. Never hesitate. Again, thank you so much and we hope that you have a great day. Thank you. Bless you. Bless you. All right. Agenda item number 11. Hear from a group representative regarding addressing public safety in light of current events. Pat O'Hara, Indivisible Lynchber, please restate your name. Group representative, locality residents.

Good evening. Uh my name is Pat O'Hara. I'm a resident of Ward 4 and the co-chair of Indivisible Lynchberg. Uh, I'd like to personally thank Councilman Missions for acknowledging our peaceful demonstration on the 13th. Um, when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I recall almost every member of this council expressed their condolences for him and his family. I was surprised we didn't see any of you join us to pray for the families of Renee Good and other victims of ICE violence. Um, I'll make sure to invite you to the next event. Um, we're standing in solidarity with communities nationwide to bring attention to torn families, shattered dignity, and lives lost because of aggressive tactics by immigration and customs enforcement. The most recent victim of their aggressive tactics, Alex Prey, had a concealed carry permit for his firearm, and it had been removed from his person before agents unloaded nearly an entire clip into his body. This clearly violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution and it really muddies the waters regarding this council's plans to double down on making the city of Lynchberg a second amendment sanctuary. I support the Second Amendment and its original intent, lawful gun ownership for the purpose of mobilizing the people to resist tyranny and defend a free state. I also support the First Amendment which protects free speech, peaceful demonstrations and petitions. And I definitely support the Fourth Amendment, which protects all of us from the government taking our property without a judicial warrant and without probable cause. Alex Prey had the right to film someone, even if it was a federal agent. He kept his distance, yet agents approached him anyway. By taking his gun, they violated both the Second and Fourth Amendments, and then they shot this unarmed man 10 times. There are many Americans who are denying what they saw with their eyes and heard with their ears. But the fact remains that the federal government is no longer acting in the interest of its citizens. I've served in the public education system for 13 years. I understand the threat of gun violence. Charlie Kirk himself said that he thought it was worth it to have a cost of some gun

deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other god-given rights. But now a federal agent will go without prosecution for violating the same constitutional right that enabled Tyler Robinson to assassinate Kirk back in September. So if this unnamed killer can get away with murder, what was the point in sacrificing all of these men, women, and children? Thousands of American lives have been lost in vain. And for what? To protect the constitutional right that never truly existed in the first place. It's become apparent that our present federal government preper prefers to pick and choose which parts of the constitution to uphold based upon what is convenient and self-serving at the time. The hypothetical tyrannical government that gun advocates have warned of for decades is here. People should have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their property from those who would cause them harm. When the founding fathers um added the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights, they were referring to the kinds of conditions that we're seeing in LA, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and now the Twin Cities. So, I'd like to make my own proposition regarding this Second Amendment sanctuary proposal, instead of reaffirming our defense of just the Second Amendment, why not expand that to all 27? What good is it to uphold the right to bear arms if the feds have demonstrated they don't need to respect that right anymore? If one part of the Constitution no longer holds up, how does any of it hold up anymore? We need our elected officials to take a hard stance on defending not just one part of the Constitution, but the whole document. Expand your resolution to uphold the First Amendment through the 27th amendment. Pledge to protect this city from unconstitutional aggression in all forms. Demonstrate to voters and their families that you will do everything in your power to defend these principles. And what better time to do that than with the appointment of a new chief of police. Lynchburg cannot afford this kind of crisis. We cannot afford

politicians that will not put our safety first either. So, I support all of our constitutional rights and I know that you do, too. So, please amend this resolution to uphold the entire Constitution and I hope to see some of you at our next event. So, thank you for your time. Agenda item number 12, hear from a group representative regarding life. Greg Barry, city elders, please restate your name, group representative, and locality of residents.

Good evening. My name is Greg Barry. I live in Ward 3 and I represent the Lynchburg city elders. To God and his son Jesus Christ be all the praise, honor, and glory. In Genesis 1, we read, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them." And God blessed them and said unto them, "Be fruitful and multiply." Since the very beginning, Satan has worked relentlessly to destroy all of mankind. In John 10:10, the thief cometh not, but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and they might have it more abundantly. God values all life while Satan wishes to destroy it. Satan has always used pagan religions such as the gods of Baal and Moolik and use their altars on which to sacrifice their children to appease their false gods. Now we are confronted with new false gods of convenience and choice on which to sacrifice the most innocent. Perhaps we should hear from the greatest proponents for abortion what they had to say about it. Margaret Sanger said eugenics is the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political, and social problems. advocating the destruction of minorities and other undesirabs. She encouraged others to convey in or covertly invest in non-white areas, invest in ghetto abortion clinics, help to raise money for free abortions in primarily non-white areas. Perhaps abortion clinic syndicates throughout the North America that primarily operate in non-white areas and receive tax report uh support should be promoted.

The masses of Negroes, particularly in the South, still breed carelessly and disastrously with the result that the increase among Negroes, even more than among whites, is from that portion of the population least intelligent and fit. The most successful educational approach to the negro is through a religious appeal. We do not want word to get out that we want to exterminate the negro population. And the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members. Look around you and see how many ministers are actually wolves in sheep's clothing leading you to your own destruction and extermination. She also said birth control appears appeals to the advanced radical because it is calculated to undermine the authority of the Christian churches. I look forward to seeing humanity free someday of the tyranny of Christianity no less than capitalism. So we can see from what she says that this is a truly a fight between the the people of God and the forces of darkness that would destroy all mankind. Dr. Nason who was co-founded the National Association for the repeal of abortion laws in 1970 and was an integral influence in the Roie way decision. He said, "I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age." In his 1996 autobiography, all told, Mr. Dr. Nathan admitted he was personally responsible for 75,000 abortions. However, one abortion in particular would haunt Dr. Nason for the entirety

of his life, that of his own child. A favorite proabortion tactic is to insist that the definition of when life begins is impossible, that the question is a theological or moral or philos philosophical one, anything but a scientific one. He continued to write, "Flogy makes it undeniably evident that life begins at conception and requires all the protection and safeguards that any of us enjoy. Anyone who has ever seen a sonogram knows this truth. Dr. Nason uh well, I said all that to say this. Lynburg is a god-fearing, god-honoring community that recognizes the sanctity of all life. And because of that, we must restrict and limit the number the murder of the innocent, even if we cannot completely stop it. We must do everything within our legal ability to prevent Lynchburg from becoming an abortion tourist location and to prevent the targeting of vulnerable segments of our community. Thank you.

Agenda item number 13, hear from a citizen regarding support to keep Peacemaker Peacemakers Inc. in our community. Alan Davis. Don't see Alan. Yeah. All right. Agenda item number 14. Hear from a group representative regarding the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Mara Abe, Lynchburg Church of the Brethren.

Hello, I'm Mara Aby. I'm pastor at the Lynchber Church of the Brethren, 200 Atlanta Avenue. And I think Mr. Demer, you're our church's representative, but I'm not really good at the words. [laughter] I was surprised when I first came to a council meeting and also glad that this group had a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk. I would ask us now to have a moment of silence in honor of Alex Prey and I will be glad to close with a prayer. God, our hearts are saddened when any life is taken. We ask Lord that you be with his friends, his family, his co-workers, those who knew him in various ways, his patients. We ask be with those who were traumatized by what they've seen. And we ask with be be with those who felt a need to pull their guns out and shoot and how they must be feeling and how their families feel. We ask that such kind event would just help our country to become more peaceful and more able to share with each other in love and in caring. Amen. I had a senior moment. I really did want to talk more about Second Amendment rights than fourth. While I have personally never felt a need or a desire to carry a weapon of any sort, I do understand that it is important to many people. One of the ministries of our church is to hand out free gun locks so that children and teens cannot easily access guns in their parents or grandparents' houses. And we also find out that it prevents suicides if they have to think a little bit longer before they can get to the gun. But I come here with another concern. I would like to make it this council to make it clear that if you are carrying a firearm, your

face should not be covered. It is hard enough as someone who will be always unarmed to face somebody who may be having a weapon faced at me and also not be able to see their face. That puts me at a double disadvantage. It is said that dogs that have their tails cropped get in a lot more fights than dogs who do not. And you know why that is? Because dogs use their tails to communicate. We use our faces to communicate. And if all I can see is this, I'm losing a lot of the communication and we have a chance then that things will escalate. I can't tell if you're teasing me, if you're smiling, if your jaws clenched, if you're really angry, if I can see this, I'm pretty good at reading eyes, but I like entire faces. So, when you're considering Second Amendment rights, I ask that you would also put in there that you may not carry weapons in this city unless you also have a face that is clear. If you have to wear a mask because you're physically ill, fine. We do not ask, our policemen do not ask to have their faces covered. I see absolutely no reason for that. I want us to follow all the bills of rights. One of them, amendment four, is to be very careful that property is not seized or taken. We've been I've been astonished at watching windows broken in cars and houses being broken into. As the pastor of a church, I want our privacy maintained, that people cannot just come barging in and go wherever they want. Article five says that everyone gets a trial. They may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without a trial. And it says that no one should be taken, put in a locked area, held without trial, nor sentenced without a trial and legal representation. And according to the Sixth Amendment, that is to be quick. and they are not to be left languishing in jail or tried by public opinion because it lasts days and months. The eth [snorts] amendment keeps anyone from

being subject to cruel and unusual treatment which I am sure you would agree means adequate medical care, a bed, not something on the floor, adequate bathrooms, good food, and ability to talk to family and a lawyer. I don't know that that's happening here. I'm just mentioning it because I think we need to look at all the rights that the Bill of Rights gives to us. [snorts] I moved here years ago and have been very impressed by our police force who has had a chance who actually invited pastors to talk to them and by the many public servants that we have here. But it remains up to you, this council, to keep this a place where we keep faithful to the Constitution that of the United States of America. Thank you. All

[clears throat] right. Agenda item number 15. Hear from a citizen regarding second amendment resolutions. Jeff Rosner.

I am Jeff Rosner, Lynchberg resident. [snorts]

Uh second amendment resolutions were on the last that were discussed [clears throat] in the last two city council work work session ag uh work sessions. Unfortunately, some of the support for those resolutions is based on wrong information. At the January 13th work session, Council Member Demer spoke about the January 2020 hearing on a Second Amendment resolution. Mr. Deamer said that the attendees spoke quote almost unanimously that they wanted that resolution unquote. I was present at the 2020 hearing. Many people spoke on each side, but there was nothing like almost unanimous support for the resolution. It simply did not happen. Also on the issue of public support for second amendment resolutions, in January 2023, city council passed a second amendment resolution, not in a regular meeting where there are public comments, but instead in a work session where there are no public comments. One uh new resolution expresses concern that proposed general assembly bills may threaten second amendment rights and it lists those bills. I have read all of the bills listed in the resolution.

There is nothing in them that would threaten legitimate firearm use, such as self-defense and hunting. For example, House Bill 110 would provide a fine for leaving a visible firearm in an unattended vehicle. Why would anyone oppose that bill? So gun owners should not worry about the general assembly. Instead, we should all worry about the real possibility that our police officers and sheriff's deputies may be outgunned. Finally, polls have shown that gun owners support many limited and reasonable gun control proposals. Those who resist even limited and reasonable gun control proposals should think about the consequences of that resistance.

Thank you. Agenda item number 16 here from a citizen regarding respect for Lynburg citizens, Peter Sepharati. Please restate your name and locality of residents.

Good evening. I'm Peter Sepharati. I live in Ward One. I hope you all are feeling well and are in good spirits tonight and stay there for the rest of the meeting. I just want to begin tonight by stating my appreciation for city staff for the outstanding job they did clearing snow and ice off the roads the last couple of days. Really appreciate it. I know it ain't it's I mean I'm from Syracuse originally and I know we're not set up like Syracuse is to handle that stuff. So good job. Uh [clears throat] I want to talk tonight just a few comments about city council and city government res respecting um Lynchburg citizens. First of all, I'd like to I'd like to really ask that uh city council does not cancel any public comment sessions or any public hearings again on important matters, especially tax matters. Please uh respect our right to give you input on the laws and the regulations that you make because they're supposed to be in our benefits. So we we're supposed to have input. Um budget talks are coming soon. I'd like to ask that you please make sure that documents and information given to the public actually tell the story about what's planned. Some of the stuff they handed out last year, those little brochures at the budget of Bruce did not tell the story about what how the money was going to be spent on the library and on the pool. Uh it was very very misleading. We didn't find out what was really going on until I heard it on the radio month later. Uh please respect our right to know what's going on with our money. Um, in this vein, we've heard that the cost of the new police headquarters was uh significantly came in over budget. Um, I'd like to know what was the final cost? How much overbudget was it? Um, who approved the extra spending? Was there a public hearing over this? Uh, was the public advised about what was going on? I mean, excuse me if it was made public and I just don't know about it because I

missed that email or whatever it was. But you guys have to respect our right to know what's going on with stuff like that when you're spending tens of millions of dollars. I mean, maybe nobody else cares, but I feel it on my property taxes. Um, respect our right to know. Uh, we we need to have an auditor position. Uh, there's no good reason not to fill that position in city staff. We need somebody to monitor the use of our money. So, please respect our tax dollars. Um, and I'd like to have you folks, this would really be nice if you could tell us each one of your vision for Lynchberg for 2026 and how you plan to get there. Respect our primacy in the city government hierarchy. I showed you the chart before. The citizens are supposed to be on the top, not on the bottom. And lastly, um, please create a vehicle to provide council feedback on public comments. There needs to be some kind of way to know that you actually heard what we're saying and and you think enough about what we say that you're actually thinking about stuff that we say. The only none of these requests would be difficult to answer. It just takes the will to do them. So, is it asking too much maybe to do some of these things? We'd really appreciate it and thank you so much for listening to me. I appreciate it. Agenda item number 17, hear from a group representative regarding Lynchburg City Schools. Gary Taylor, Citizens for Better Lynchburg.

Gary Taylor, good Virginia, President and founder, Citizens for a Better Lynchburg. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor, council members, distinguished city staff, distinguished law enforcement, glad we're all here tonight after this weather we've had. A great job to the city staff for everything they did during this uh not wasn't a snowstorm, it was ice storm. So, uh just want to correct that. [snorts] But, uh I want to kind of let you know I'm going to be talking about city schools tonight. I'm kind of getting back into my groove now and stuff like that. So, uh I'm a little old so I have my whole year planned out. So, in the first month, the fourth month, the seventh month, and the 10th month, which is the laws of city council, I will be speaking regarding schools, school board one time, city schools another time, totally separate subjects. The other will be election and politics in the second month, the fifth month, and the eighth month, and the 11th month because uh that's after the election every 90 days and the city business the 3rd, the 6th, the 9th, and the 12th month. So, I just kind of want to let you know in case I don't make it back or stuff or something happens to me. But with regard to the city schools, I didn't bring my poster board tonight, but we if you'll remember from my last speech, city schools in Lynchburg are 122 out of 131. That's just a fact. I'm not that doesn't that's not blaming the council. That's not blaming the schools. That's not blaming the school board. That's a fact. In Virginia, they're 122 out of 131 for so scores. Now, that's the fact of the situation. The good thing is, and this may or may

not people know on city council, is we have changed the entire city school system in one year. Okay? We have a new superintendent, a new director of instruction, and a new finance director. It just is the way God made it. You know, you don't normally get a complete change. Those are the three leadership positions in Lynchburg City Schools. Superintendent, instruction, and finance. Okay. So, we have reset completely Lynchburg City Schools. Now, we can say, well, that's that's a good thing only, and that's not saying that the last group was bad. It's just saying it makes it a clean change. So, we have we're starting at square one again, which is a great thing. This Dr. Majette, you know, I introduced myself to her when she first started and stuff. She kind of smiled at me like she knew who I was or something like that. I said, "I'm not going to bother you for 6 months," which I haven't. And the reason I haven't is because she needs to engage people in the city to get different opinions. But from my experience and what I've learned about her, she's our secret weapon. She's our secret weapon. Okay. So now she has just published her first budget. I don't know if y'all saw it. They had it in the newspaper. That's the 40. That's the starting point again. That's at square one. So, she's asking for a 2% raise for all employees, which is $1.7 million, which will take a teacher from $50,000 to 51,000. Okay, so that's one major item. Then $17 to $20

per hour for hourly employees, which is another 1.4 million. So, that's $3.2 million. They're asking for a $4.5 million increase. Okay. Now, the paper report is something about 4.9 million. I think it has something to do with what the state contributes. So, last year it was 42.1 million. This year they're doing 46.6 million. All I'm kind of saying is we're starting at the beginning. I would encourage Mr. mayor yourself, whether you ever how you can do it to invite the superintendent and the finance to director to speak directly with city council in some kind of form of a joint meeting at some point just to talk about the different different things because everybody up here has their own opinions. So I would just encourage let's I think everybody was in their own silos. Everybody's throwing rocks at each other. It's all good. It's big. We're all big big people, grown-ups, but let's break down those silos and have everybody working together and we have a fresh start. So, please consider that. Thank you.

I know my time's up. I don't want to interrupt Miss uh Vinnie, but I have here this people did an amazing job with and we heard all about it today. That's the first 17 years of my life. I just wanted to say I have something I'd like the officer to give to you if you could or I can give it to you pass along and that's for the council members. Uhhuh. Have a great night. Good to see you again. Good to see you. Agenda item number 18, hear from a citizen regarding Lynchberg burial grounds. Kimberly Dicarsley. Thank you. Hello.

Hi, Kimberly Dicarsley. Lynchberg, Ward 2. And before I give my comment, I want to say thank you to Kent White for being Kent White. [snorts] Lynchber burial grounds in the Lynchber city charter. Miss Timmer, Mr. Mischins, Mr. Demer, Mayor Taylor, Dr. Wilder, Mrs. Reid, Mr. Faraldi. I would like these meetings to be more efficient and less something because I don't have a lot of time to sit and listen to things that could probably be worked out prior to arrival. Please and thank you. So on the old city cemetery website it lists thanks to the evil Walter Pleer so-called black people are listed in the historical race um under that in the Lynchberg Union Cemetery. Now prior I'm not sure what year but prior it said 700 block of Smith Street which is in Darington. I want to know who's buried there. And it's been recently cleaned, by the way. New polls put up. I was told that Sentra owns the land behind it. But I think those people as a descendy of Shaunie Cherokee and Black Feet, I would like to know if they are indeed aboriges or origin as myself descended from. And

it's very important to know between the years of 1925 and 1960s. That's all it says. No church affiliation. Very small and short-lived. And you all do have the power and duty of court. If this is correct, chapter six in the charter 17th section to provide in or near the city lands to be used as burial places for the dead to improve and care for the same and the approaches there too and to charge for and regulate the use of ground therein. If that applies to your duty as the charter writes, I want to know who's buried in that cemetery. Who are those people? Uh I have been able to get a little bit of assistance from Ted Delaney to tell me um a little bit about it, but I need more answers and I need especially at large and war 2 representative assistance. So I'll return another time. Thank you. I forget the section of the the rules,

but I I would ask it unless council's totally adverse public comment. Oh my god. Can I go two minutes without you cutting me off? Public comment. Well, agenda number 19, um, hear from a citizen regarding medical facilities, Jen Pence. I did hear from her earlier. She's unable to make it today. All right. I was just gonna ask if we could start d looking into that. I was going to say digging. That's probably not the best word. Um, but if we could start looking into that, I would be very interested in in understanding it. Um, [clears throat] and uh, know more about our history is always good. So,

thank you. Yes. make that as a motion research this and come back to us at the second work session in April with whatever you all can find to to answer this question. I'll make that as a motion. I see I see that Mr. Winter was taking notes on this as she spoke. So I'm I'm going to make it as a an actual formal motion and I I requested question somebody would second that. Anybody want to second Mr.

Okay. I just think that I appreciate you bringing that information forward to us. Um I don't want to just talk about it. I want to I want to actually direct staff to to see what they can find out. I think end of April's plenty of time. Um and let's find out and then and find out who's responsible for that because if we have a responsibility to do something there then we should do it. I have read that specific section of the charter that that you have uh that you laid out. So, I'm very familiar with it and and I appreciate you bringing that information to us. Thank you. Speak to my second. Speak to your second.

Yeah, that I really do appreciate you bringing that to us. It's very unusual for us to speak quickly and directly uh regarding some public comments, but I think this rises to that level. uh protecting the sacred areas where we bury our honored dead in this city is one of our highest responsibilities and uh if if there are uh unmarked graves or unknown graves or whatever I would like the city to put some resources into getting some answers on that. Thank you.

Thank you. Can I make a friendly amendment and just say rather than April just the soonest that you can get information that would be helpful on a work session rather than putting a dead uh you know date on it. How about we just say get some information because it could be sooner than April that you have information you can bring forward.

The the motion was by the second work session in April. I feel like that's plenty of time. Um, and and the reason is because I found that unless I time bound my requests of staff, I don't get them. So, um, I've it's come to my uh, attention lately that if I actually put time constraints on these requests that it's more likely that I get these answers and I don't want to just leave this one hanging out. So, while I appreciate what you offer, I'm not going to accept the friendly amendment. Thank you. Okay. The motion was to bring back a presentation on this item by the second meeting in April. Yes, Mr. Wild. Yes.

Um, thank you for the information. I've never heard that before. Um, but thank you for the information. Thank you. Anyone else? All right, we're all in. So, go ahead and initiate the vote now. I've got I've got a spinning ring vote. Okay, I will reset the vote. All right, [clears throat] initiating the vote again.

It's not going to let me. [clears throat] voice.

Sure. Would you like to cast your vote by voice? What's the name? Uh, yes. Yes. For the motion. Thank you very much. The motion passes 70. [snorts] Thank you. [clears throat] All right, we're on to general business. This section includes new items for discussion. Agenda item number 20. Consideration of introducing a resolution amending the FY2026 city federal state aid fund budget and appropriating $45,590 to enhance drug testing to comply with best practice standards. The Lynburg adult recovery court. This item discussed uh during the finance committee meeting earlier today. Deferred to the chair, Miss Reed. Yes, we heard this earlier

in finance. It passed unanimously. The item does not need a second. So we can go ahead and call the vote if you want to, sir. Yes. Is there any discussion? If anybody wants to Mr. Mr. Patrick, do you want to present on it or do you want to call our guest forward to explain a little bit?

Good evening. My name is Taylor Jones. I'm the program director for the Lynchburg Adult Recovery Court. Um [clears throat] so this item is for um approval of appropriation of a drug testing grant awarded by the Supreme Court of Virginia. Um this would be the second year that we have been awarded this grant. So we're very grateful for that. Um it would help us to comply better with state and national drug testing best practices. Um so this uh particular grant would pay for a contract. Um we've contracted with Abber Health who does all of our lab drug testing. Um, and it would take care of other uh testing supplies such as breathalyzers and mouthpieces. Miss Timmer, thank you so much. Uh, congratulations on being awarded the grant again. Thank you. Just a quick question.

Sure. Is there a local match for this amount? Yes, there is a 25% match that can be um in kind. So um we estimate that'll be uh taken care of with my time and our local probation officer's time resources. So that's already in the line item of budget. Awesome. Thank you. What's the world? Just thank you for the information. This is amazing program. We're so glad to see our citizens get a second chance in being rehabilitated. So, thank you for the for the court system and also the combat attorney's office. I believe the sponsor of this program for the work you're doing in our community. Thank you. Thank you, [clears throat] Mr.

Really important. and uh appreciate the the time and effort you guys put into applying for this and and keep on doing what you're doing and try to grow it and do more. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Dean. Good. Thank you, Mr. Ferrari. Thank you, Miss Taylor. We appreciate all the work that you do. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. All right, I'll initiate the vote now. I'm Yes.

Thank you, sir. With that, the motion passes 70. All right. Agenda item number 21. Consideration of adopting a resolution correcting the initial lease terms described in Lynburg City Council resolutions R25071 and R25090. Um Mr. Cedric Simon, director of the airport, will provide a summary of the request.

Yeah. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council. Thank you for hearing me tonight. Um as you all may remember, I was here a couple times in the fall for lease agreements related to Bon Air and Freedom Air. those uh those ended up being passed and were resolutions 2571 and 250090. They gave the respective leases a 5-year lease and everything in the lease documents matched up with that. Um unfortunately, I'm here because there there was an an error in the resolution that was presented those nights and it had the leases ending in 2031 instead of 2030, which is what the actual the leases say that, but the resolution doesn't. So, the resolution that's in front of you tonight, and we hope you adopt that, um, corrects that error and extends the leases out to 2030. Um, this item was briefed in finance committee tonight today, and I'd be happy to make any clarifications after discussion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. I defer to Miss Reed for this. Thank you. So, we just decided to um uh the committee passed it unanimously to go ahead and just make that adjustment correcting the year and does not require a second. So, we can vote submission. I do have a question. [snorts] Who d who drafted the leases up for you? Where did they come from? The leases were drafted by my team. By your team? Yes. So, just kind of like a little oversight thing. Did the city attorney's office review them or anything? The leases that had the error in them, where where did they come from?

The leases were correct. It was the resolution that had the the one-year difference in it. And where the resolutions come from? Did that come from our end from the city attorney's office? So, the city's attorney's office does vet everything that we do. They do look at the documents, but you know, as a department head, really this mistake, you know, it all flows through my department. So, I'm just Yeah, I was just I'm just curious see see where it was a it was a a scribner's error. So, it was just a it was an error and as a department head I'm gonna stand up here and ask for that. All right. Thank you. And I'll approve it. It's no problem. I'm just curious. That's all. Cast your votes, please.

Initiating the vote now. There we go. All are in. And motion passes 70. [clears throat] Agenda item number 22, consideration adopting an ordinance approving the transfer of 25,000 for funding provided to the Central Virginia Alliance uh for community living. This items discussed during finance committee meeting earlier today. Defer to Miss Reed.

Yes. So, uh, after discussing this with Miss Wit and her explaining to us that this would do nothing but require a transfer that would again require a transfer again at the end of the fiscal year. Uh, the committee just decided to uh make no recommendation and leave it as is. Mhm. So that is what our recommendation or that's where things stand is we're just going to leave it alone. [snorts] If Miss Whit would like to come up for questions and she can. Is there any discussion? Miss. Well, I'd like to make a motion that we do it. Um

I'll second that. I I I appreciate that it takes multiple steps, but it keeps money in the appropriate categories. Mr. Missions can speak to it more clearly. Um he he brought this forward before, but essentially it restores to the reserve for contingencies an amount of money that we shifted out. And so we need to keep that reserve for contingencies whole. Um I just think that's wise financial practice. But I'll defer to Mr. Mishins for the second. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Sure. And and you know what's going to happen with this money if we don't put it back in the reserve for contingencies is we're going to have to fill it back up at the end of the fiscal year could get spent on something else, right? Um council previously decided to do this. I don't know why it got reversed, why it's even brought back up. That's the question that I have is council previously decided to do this. So why would it why why would it be brought back up to change it?

So the resolution that was passed um then was recorded um just had the funds being paid out of the reserve for contingency. You you added on that um you would like for that money to be reinstated from the fund balance. Don't make me go back and get the motion that I made. Miss W. Yeah. And it the motion was very clear. The motion that was made said that we would take it out of the reserve for contingencies and refill it with the unassigned fund balance. That's what was stated. I agree. That's what was stated.

I agree. So, um, but the resolution was never changed. So therefore, we felt like it was important for the intent of it got it to put it back out to council to say now you need to transfer it from the reserve for um from the fund balance to general fund unassigned fund balance to the reserve to re to fill the reserve for contingencies back up. So it would take another council action because it was the resolution was not changed when it was adopted. So and that's on me. I I did not change that resolution. Got it. So since it wasn't changed, this would need to be done to actually just transfer that money. We had a discussion in finance committee that it's $25,000. You could put it back now or, you know, just wait till the end of the year. Anything that's not spent falls to fund balance anyway.

Got it. Thank you. So, so yes. So, my recommendation is is to continue to keep that

keep that tank. I have the floor. Thank you. Um, yeah. My is to continue to to what we originally voted on. The resolution was wrong. Now, we understand that what we originally voted on adopted was to fill that reserve for contingencies back up. We should not be spending that under any circumstances if we can prevent it. We need to be good stewards of our tax dollars, right? Um, this was an oversight. You know, there's there's still got a lot of questions about the money that was spent in the city manager's office budget going into this year. Um, and that CVACL funding never should have went away. That was one of the other discussions that was had this when the city manager eliminated that from the budget. That never should have happened. Um so appreciate that this was brought forward, but I say we continue the course and we fill our reserve for contingencies back up.

So Miss Wet, how many years have you been a CFO? Since 2006. For the city. I like how you for the city. Yes, for the city. So, I'd say again, you're an expert and you've been doing this a long time. So, per our discussion today, we were going off of what your opinion was here in the fact that $25,000 in a $1.2 million scenario here, which is what we have in our reserve for contingency fund.

Correct. uh to move it and then to move it again in a with an amount that that's compared to a $1.2 million account uh does not really make sense. Can you explain more that conversation that we had as to why are we did not make a recommendation and why it doesn't uh it doesn't seem like we're going to have to it it it's most likely that we would move that back anyway at this point in the year.

Um so far we have that's the only money that has come out of the reserve for contingency. So um sometimes um there are third quarter adjustments that need to come out of that money um because those the reserve for contingencies for unplanned expenditures. So our discussion today was um we absolutely can make this transfer take the money out of the general fund unassigned fund balance. We we noted that that was what the resolution was. However, it didn't get recorded that way. Um $25,000 out of 1.2 2 million isn't it? It's not that big of a deal. So, um we you can make the transfer now and that's perfectly fine. Or if council chooses, they can leave it in the reserve for contingency. It's funded. The appropriations already been done. CDACL already has their funds. We've already sent that check. Um so, it's just whether you want to replace that money or not. And it takes council action to do that. What's Ferrari?

Man, I wish Ferrari was my name. [laughter] It's close. All right, I'm gonna I'm gonna try to break this down as simply as I can. So, um, however we've gotten here, here's my point. If we take $25,000 out of the unassigned fund balance to put into the reserve for contingencies. When the reserve for contingencies is not spent, it goes to the unassigned fund balance. That was the point of the committee is that by the end of the fiscal year, five months from now, it's going to be going to fund balance anyway. So, we're making a duplicous accounting maneuver for the sake of doing it. That was the point of the committee. Um, so I I just wanted to highlight that as to why this it's how do you say it's um half a doz I always

61 half a dozen. Yeah, it really is. Um because the $25,000 is there. Do you want to do the accounting maneuver or not? That's really the point of what uh the city was trying to say or the committee was trying to say. Yes, sir. more that I think about it, I'm going to withdraw my second. Yeah, that makes sense. And and the reason I'm going to withdraw my second is because if the 25,000 isn't in the reserve for contingencies, it can't be spent. So, I'll leave it at that. No, but mayor, may I? Yes, sir.

It's cute, but it's already in [clears throat] it's already in the unassigned fund balance because that was the intention of council at the time. The intention was to take any leftovers to refill the unassigned fund balance which would have gone to unassigned fund balance just a few months later. That's the point. It it was already going to be used. It's already budgeted for. So that that that's all I'm saying is like it you're you're creating a wash. Um so

thank you M Um, thank you for that clarification. Mr. Faraldi, thank you for your clarification. Mr. Mish has withdrawn a second and I'll withdraw with withdraw my motion. This has been helpful. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. Before you move on to number 23, I just want to say this because I think we got to take ownership of the truth here. We, not the city manager, we all missed the money for the CBA. All of us missed it and they had to bring it to our attention that we missed it. We all got an email, it was brought to our attention, then we realized we missed it and we had to own up to it and then we all agreed to put it back in. So when we were looking through the budget, did anybody go, "Hey, this was missing." No, we did not. So, let's not try to put a blame on a city manager when we did not catch it because I'm tired of that. We didn't catch it. They did deserve it. We should have caught it and we put it back in and we did the right thing, but stop pointing fingers when the the finger should go here.

Most submissions, I'd like to respond to that. Um, and for the record, the city manager is the budget commissioner. He proposed those cuts to CB CVAC. had presented it to us. It was never articulated uh exactly what that those cuts to CVAC would do by the city manager or any member of staff when they were proposed. And it was never uh shared with us by the city manager or any member of staff the exponential effect that that $25,000 has and the impact that $25,000 has for CBACO. That is the fact of what happened and that's all I'm going to say. Thank you. Let's vote. There's no vote. No vote.

No vote. Um agenda item number 23. Consideration of adopting a resolution supporting section 6A of article 2 of the Constitution of Virginia and strongly opposing any attempt to remove or amend said section or otherwise change the Commonwealth of Virginia's current redistricting process. This item was discussed during the council's business item briefings on January 13th. Thank you, mayor. I would move adoption with the updated numbers uh amending the resolution to reflect the numbers in the agenda item summary. Second speak to your second. Thank you, mayor.

Oh, Mr. Farad. Um, it's very infrequent that I get to tell folks in my own party that they are wrong. And this is one of those instances. As we know, Richmond is considering um pushing forward a sham of a constitutional amendment to change how they draw the congressional lines in Virginia. And it's wrong. It's built around a premise that we should build legislative districts based off of party preference. It's called gerrymandering. And in no circumstance is gerrymandering okay. I don't care if you're a Republican in Texas, a Democrat in California. What people do in their home states, uh, does not mean Virginia should follow suit. My Bible says if my cheek has been slapped, I should offer the other one. I see this as a kindergarten approach to a very serious conversation about how districts are designed and reflect communities of interest. Lynchberg currently, to take the partisanship out of it, Lynchberg currently is the population center for the fifth congressional district of Virginia. You may like who we've got right now, you may not. doesn't change the fact that this metropolitan area is the influence on the fifth congressional district significantly. So

if Lynchberg was drawn as scenarios have proposed by the Democrats in Richmond have drawn our city like a line of spaghetti up into Fairfax County or down into Blackburg. our influence is significantly lost. This resolution is quite simple, straightforward, to the point. Number one, we support what the voters codified into the Virginia Constitution just a few short years ago on a twothirds margin. Number two, it calls out what is wrong and that this city vehemently opposes jerryandering for partisan politics and it stands firmly on what the constitution currently says. This is something that I believe all seven of us can get behind. The heart behind this here is to speak the truth that gerrymandering is wrong. If the president of the United States says it, the local politician says it, anywhere in between that we're going to manipulate districts to achieve a specific desired outcome because I want my way to get through that defeats the very heart of what I believe our republic is all about. And I'll tell anybody that that is what I believe. I hope this passes. Thank you, my colleagues, for allowing us to consider it. And I I do hope that this is something that Richmond can take note that at least one city and one community in Virginia is saying no, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Um, appreciate council member Faldi bringing this uh forward and the numbers, you know, the numbers are really striking. Just when I was getting ready to read them, my my screen went blank. Here it comes. But it was uh over 26,000 26,436 Lynchberg voters in favor of our Constitution the way it reads right now with a nonpartisan redistricting commission and 7,842 in opposition. That's a pretty overwhelming mandate as far as our citizens go on what they wanted to see. And when Democrats in Richmond are just trying to erase our representation, no thanks. That's when we got to stand up and push back. And that's what this does. It's very clear. We are not a 90 plus% Democrat Commonwealth. We're leaning a little more blue than red lately as far as Virginia goes, but not 10-1 like the Democrats were trying to push on us. They're basically trying to shove it down their throats. It's not my concern what Texas does. I don't live in Texas. I'm a resident of Virginia. It's not my concern what Indiana does or Florida does. I don't live there either. Whatever their legal means are to do whatever they do. That's what it is. But this is in our constitution in Virginia. Our voters said this is what they wanted overwhelmingly.

We've got to honor that. We got to respect that. And I'm thankful for now that a judge in Tazwell County has seen this for what it is and has declared it illegal. And I hope that withstands the challenge in the Virginia Supreme Court because it's not right to turn around and just rewrite our Constitution like this for political games. So, I appreciate this resolution. That's why I gladly second it and and we'll support it. Mr. Dean,

thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, I uh I I kind of do care what the other states did. That might surprise some people, but they don't have it in their constitution like we do. My understanding is that's the big big difference. So you can say, "Oh, we're going to do it because they did it." Well, our Constitution says we can't do it. I heard a lot of great words about our Constitution this evening. And I found a lot in common with a lot of things that were said at that podium in support of our Constitution. Second Amendment, First Amendment, Fourth Amendment. I agree. All of it's good and it's the supreme law of the land. and Lynchberg couldn't have been more clear on it. And that vote wasn't a partisan vote. There was a ton of people that were supporting the Constitution. They weren't necessarily member of the party that's supporting this gerrymandering. So Lynchberg Democrats supported the constitutional amendment that says gerrymandering is wrong. Couldn't be more clear. Gerrymandering for partisan advantage is unconstitutional in Virginia. Period. And playing games with the process of getting it on in the constitution about when you have to put it in once and then it has to pass through one general assembly and do another general assembly with an intervening [clears throat] election. And they threw all that in the trash, all our rules in the trash so they could jam this down our throats. That's absolutely what's going on. So gender gerrymandering for partisan advantage and the game is playing with our rules on how to change the constitution is is absolutely despicable and shameful.

And I hope the uh people in Lynchburg who voted at the at the voting places to put that in our constitution [clears throat] will stand up against their own party who's trying to do it now because we're not Texas and we're not Indiana. We're not Florida. They don't have it in their constitution. We do. We do. And Virginia has spoke and ignoring that right now. Uh it's horrible. Anyone else? Let's vote to the amendments. Initiating the vote now.

[snorts]

The motion passes 61. All right. Agenda item number 24. Consideration of adopting a resolution confirming ending the declared emergency made in response to winter storm Fern. This item was discussed during council's business item briefings earlier today. Second.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, pretty clear this uh ends the declared emergency that was made in response to the winter storm. Want to say that I appreciate the work of our uh all of our first responders that were on the ground, the boots on the ground serving our citizens uh out in these conditions. Also, our public works staff. um everybody that had to brave the weather to get out and get to work to serve our citizens. I appreciate the the work that the boots on the ground did to uh to accomplish this and um unfortunately there there's no uh I guess we didn't hit the threshold for reimbursement, but that's good. That means we were efficient in how we spent our resources. M rate.

Uh yeah, just honored to have another opportunity to say thank you for everybody's excellent work. truly. Um I know again people all over the city have just been really impressed and thankful and I hope that people go back and watch the work session to hear all the departments uh get lauded for everything that was done that was above and beyond because truly and I didn't get a chance to thank the families because the families are the ones also who were left at home without their loved ones round the clock too and those loved ones were put in danger by being out on those roads. So, it was water the department of water and and uh public works and of course, you know, our our law enforcement and public safety uh our department and and EMTs and stuff that are already doing that on a daily basis. But in these conditions, um people that were dealing with trees, our power lines, I mean, across the board, you know, uh were out in these conditions when we were being told to stay home. They were out um on the roads and and and in this. And really, thank you. you know, these th those are, you know, our tax dollars at work to keep your family safe. Um, and that's where we thank you so so much. So again, well done and we appreciate you.

Again, just thank you again for all the work I did. The presentation earlier today was amazing. So it just shows how we work together and we are so much stronger. We will work better together. So thank you for your effort. Appreciate it, Mr. D.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, I know I speak for everybody up in those days. Thank you for the staff and the and the members who worked and slept in bunks and uh worked extra hours and came many miles to make sure Lynchberg's uh disaster uh wasn't as big a disaster. Uh it was a crazy event. Uh kind of unprecedented in some of the things and the way the ice fell and snow piled up and uh and it took a an extra effort to do that. I don't want to forget the people cuz I saw them citizens helping each other push cars help helping shove out uh shovel out other people's driveways for the elderly and people who couldn't do it for themselves. uh that the love that citizens and neighbors have for each other in Lynchburg is real and I saw it in action. I saw it at the Salvation Army. Uh I saw it everywhere I went. When I went up to Lencom, I saw it up there. People working very long hours. So, I'm very grateful to that and I look forward to uh this thing being really over. And if politicians can just vote and make it over, uh I think that's probably a little arrogant. I'm not sure we

I don't know if we can do that, but uh I guess I'm getting ready to vote to do it. So, if your driveway and your your uh neighborhood has not been cleaned, I don't know if I should say this either. Uh call me or email me and we'll get you on the list and I'll make sure I pass that on to the city staff that'll get to your area and hopefully we can uh can make this uh event over for everybody, even if you're on the end of a very long road. M.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, after Kirk, I better make this real short. Uh, thank you all for making this resolution possible that we are ending the state of emergency. That's a that's a big deal that we're all together. We're we're ending it tonight and and we're moving through and that's a big deal. Thank you. Um, I mentioned this in the work session, but I do want to say it because I know people are watching because I'm getting their emails. Um, thank you to the city manager for helping out at Waterton. Thank you for passing on Royal Oak in the neighborhood, Royal Oak Circle and um Spotswood Place and there are others, but um we've been in communication about that and I do really appreciate the response time on those. So, thank you.

One thing too, um what the vice mayor said kind of reminded me of this is this is I guess a public service announcement, right? When I was 11 years old in 1994, we got ice that thick, like you could skate on it up in Pennsylvania on my driveway. And I remembered what my dad did. And I did it this time around. A digging bar is your best friend. So, just remember that if we ever get anything like this again or if you still got ice on your driveway, get out the digging bar. That's what'll get it up. Pickaxe. Square edge construction shovel. Get it done. his gun.

Thank y'all. And M. Farad, you have anything? Yes. Okay. Just thank thank y'all for all the hard work you done. All city staff, fire and safety, and everybody. Thank y'all. And thank y'all that I can sit stand here and declare this disaster over. Thank you. You can. You can. We can. We Well, you can I I know I I know. Let me speak. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you everybody. Let us vote please. And the vote now.

The motion passes. 70. Our next uh meeting will be held on February 10th at 4 o'clock in second floor training room.