City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the formal meeting of the Richmond City Council. Good evening. Madam Clerk, if you would invite our Spanish interpreter to provide an announcement, please.

Spanish interpretation is available in the council chamber. Please see a representative at the rear of the room to receive the appropriate equipment. Spanish interpretation is also available through Microsoft Teams for virtual attendees in need of this service.

Gracias. This evening, the invocation will be provided by Pastor Peter DeMont of Eternity Church,

after which I'll invite you to join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pastor Dumont, Pastor Peter Dumont.

Thank you for the invitation to offer the invocation this evening. Will you join me in prayer? Dear Lord, thank you that you promise to give wisdom to everyone who asks you for it. I ask that you would give wisdom to each council member present tonight, each staff member, each citizen. Thank you, Father, that you teach us what it means to love our neighbor. Teach us how to love our neighbor tonight. Give us wisdom to use wise stewardship of the resources that you've given to our city, its places, its beauty, its people. I ask that you would give us this gift, the joy of leading with justice, the comfort of loving mercy, the peace that comes from walking humbly before your gaze. Give each one here that gift for your name's sake. Amen.

Thank you, Pastor DeMond. I pledge 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. Madam Clerk, if you would proceed with the emergency evacuation plan and public speaker guidelines at this time.

On activation of the emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building. Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the north or south stairwells outside the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. After exiting the building, security will direct everyone down Ninth Street to the fenced area located between Clay and Lee Streets. Able persons should assist visually and hearing impaired visitors with exiting the building. Individuals speaking during public hearings and the public comment period are generally allowed three minutes to speak. Persons appearing before counsel are not allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language of a personal nature which insults or demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are not related to their official duties, or address or question staff members directly. All questions are to be directed to the President of Council. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in speakers forfeiting any remaining time and further disciplinary action as necessary, which could include barring from attendance at future meetings of City Council for a period of six months.

Madam President, for the record, all members of council are in attendance this evening. Also, if there are individuals standing in the rear that are not authorized personnel or law enforcement, are asked to be seated where seats are available at this time. Also, applause is only permitted during the awards and presentations portion of tonight's meeting only. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. At this time, we'll proceed with the award and proclamation for this evening.

Tonight's recognition, being presented by the Honorable President Cynthia Newville, Councilor Nicole Jones, and Mayor Danny Avula, is to recognize the month of August as Richmond Black Business Month to celebrate the black-owned businesses that have long been a cornerstone of our city. Originally established in 2004 by historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr., Black Business Month serves to recognize the unique challenges faced by minority business owners and also highlights the city's commitment to fostering an inclusive economy by expanding opportunities while honoring the resilience of the black community.

Hello, everyone. I want to thank you for joining us this evening for this recognition. And I'm going to punt to my colleague, Ms. Jones, to kick us off.

Thank you, Dr. Newbill, President Newbill. Tonight, we are here to honor Richmond Black Business Month, which is normally celebrated in the month of August. Am I going to be able to get some points out of here?

You'll get some points out of here. OK, good.

All right. But tonight, we just really want to honor the businesses that really make our city a place to live, a place to be, boost our economy. We want to talk and celebrate the vision and the resilience that our black businesses hold in this city. And we just wanted to honor and take a moment to be able to share and show you that while black business is just a recognition tonight, it is all year for us. It is black is our 365. And so we want to really just... Name just a few things. I'll go here. Working diligently and on behalf of that commitment, the Richmond Office of Minority Business Development serves as our city's flagship agency for supporting the capacity for the growth, sustainability, and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses through capacity building, procurement readiness, business development and services, and collaborative partnerships. And whereas in 2004, historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr. created and established the month of August annually as Black Business Month to recognize black-owned businesses and the unique challenges faced by minority business owners and to celebrate the resilience of the black community.

Thank you. And I pointed to my colleague because oftentimes we forget the history unless we forget, and in this case she was pretty adamant that we did not overlook this month and the importance of it and the importance of you to our city and the difference that you make in terms of the businesses that you bring I reminded of Black Wall Street of the South, our Jackson Ward neighborhood. Those are the kinds of things, unless we continue to remember, to acknowledge, we will forget, and we want to make sure that history is never forgotten. and that, again, the extraordinary businesses that I look out in this audience, and if I started calling names on the great artists and food places and other kinds of businesses throughout the city, I would be here all evening. You're extraordinary. We greatly appreciate your choosing the city of Richmond. You could have chosen any place, but you chose this city, which makes us the best city. And so we thank you for your choice. And we ask that Ms. Scottisha Hurt, if she's here, she's going to come up and accept the proclamation. Welcome, Ms. Hurt. And we're going to ask all of the incredible businesses behind you to stand up so everyone can see them once you provide comment. Well, they're going to do that now. If you would stand. Thank you.

Before I begin, I really would like to recognize and invite to the podium with me representatives of several organizations that work every day to strengthen, support, and champion black-owned businesses throughout our region. Ernisha Hall with the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce. Would she please come down? Floyd Miller with the Metropolitan Business League.

Please come down, Floyd.

Tamika Jackson with the Richmond Region Tourism and Black RVA. Rashida Creighton with the Black Street, formerly Jackson Ward Collectives. Shamika Bowen with the Richmond Urban League. Adrian Whitaker with the Office of Minority Business Advisory Board. And also Irvin Clark with the Central Virginia African American Chamber of Commerce. August carries weight. 158 years ago, it was during this time of the year that the 14th Amendment promise of equal protection would meet its practical test in the marketplace. It's also the month we mark the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, signed August 6, 1965, which protected more than the right to vote. It protected the right to be heard and to have a say in the community's future, including its economic future with black businesses. My name is Scottessa Hurt, and I am one of the charter members of the African American CEO Roundtable, and I'm also the proud CEO and president of Medical Staffing 360. Tonight's proclamation is about much more than recognizing Black Business Month. It is about recognizing the entrepreneurs, innovators, employers, and community leaders who continue to invest in Richmond and help shape its future. Black-owned businesses are powerful economic engines. They create jobs, generate tax revenue, strengthen neighborhoods, and bring investment to communities that have too often been overlooked. They don't simply build successful companies. They build stronger communities. When Black-owned businesses thrive, our entire city benefits. More local jobs are created. More dollars are reinvested right here in our neighborhoods. Our local supplier network grows stronger, and opportunities expand for future entrepreneurs. Supporting black-owned businesses is not just good for business, it is good for Richmond. Equally important, business ownership creates pathways to generational wealth. It allows families to build lasting assets, invest in education, create financial stability, and leave opportunities for the next generation. That impact extends far beyond a single business. It transforms families and communities for years to come. This proclamation also honors the resilience of black entrepreneurs who, despite historical barriers, continue to innovate, create opportunities, and strengthen our economy. Their success is a testament to perseverance, vision, and unwavering commitment to this community. On behalf of the African-American CEO Roundtable, I want to sincerely thank Mayor Avila and the Richmond City Council for recognizing the importance of Black Business Month and for affirming the vital role Black-owned businesses play in the continued growth and prosperity of the City of Richmond.

Ms. Hart, I want to say thank you and... Okay. I was, because I knew...

I see some people in the audience that I know. And we've been together for 25, 30 years. And he's a business owner. And I appreciate him never giving up. He fought hard to battle along with all of you. And from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you for what you do in the city of Richmond. With the high taxes and all that, you still stay here and you still fight. And again, I am so grateful for all of you. Thank you.

Amen to that. Because it's not easy. It's actually one of the most challenging things to operate a business. It's like starting a family and having a family. And you've done that. And you've nurtured that family. And you've grown people under your leadership. And you've given back. And you've paid for it in your communities. And again, it's not always been easy to operate in the city of Richmond. But you persevered and stuck with us. And for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Because every seed that you plant, you're growing 10 more trees ahead of you. And that's the most beautiful thing. So thank you for what you've done for our community.

Thank you. I want to say, again, thank you for making us the great city that we are through your presence and your investment. It does not go unnoticed. And I want to invite, even though it's going to be an interesting picture, all of those businesses who are in this audience to come up. And we're going to try to get pictures with you all together. Steve, you want to direct us? Ms. Hurt. Just want to say thank you and want to have a memento. And while you're coming up, our CAO, Mr. Odie Donald, is coming forward. He wants to also make comment. Wow, we're almost there. OK. Mr. Donnell, are you coming this way?

OK. Can you pass this to Mr. Donnell once?

All right. Well, then I'll just be really quick. I think for me on behalf of Mayor Vula, I'm excited to stand with you today. A bunch of amazing, beautiful faces. Oh, no, I see Ken Ampey. Maybe not that big. I'm messing with you, champ. But no, amazing group of leaders who really make Richmond go. It's been an honor for me to stand with you and this council. I want to read off all of the things that they've done. But whether it comes to facade grants that they made sure were in the budget, always making sure that the lowest we can make our tax rates. They're fighting for reductions in the meal tax. I mean, there are just a ton of different things that they've been focused on to make sure that the business environment remains something that's viable and great for Richmond. So it's an honor to stand with them, support them, as well as the mayor, but most importantly, their commitment to you. So today is another momentous day, especially for black business in Richmond, and so I'm just proud to stand and be a part of it.

Again, thank you. And I look forward to, we haven't had the picture yet, but I want to just say I'm looking forward to visiting the restaurant, you know, the various eateries.

I see some right on Mount Road.

Yeah, okay, just want you to know, looking forward. Listen, thank you all so very much for making Richmond, again, the phenomenal city that we are because of who you are and the fact that you've chosen to be here. So with that, Mr. Skinner, are you going to try to get us a memorial picture?

We all collect.

And Madam President, that concludes the awards and recognition ceremony docket for this evening.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Let's proceed. Again, I want to thank all of the businesses and really appreciate all of your commitment to our city. And Madam Clerk, let's proceed with the public comment speakers.

The first speaker for public comment is Aurora Britt.

Welcome, Ms. Britt.

Hello. I'm sure that you know what I'm here to talk about. It's flock cameras. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had a press conference denouncing far-left terrorism in the United States. Here are some of the groups that they claimed were terrorists. DSA, Black Lives Matter, Students for Peace, First Univarian Churches, and of course the ever-present and undefined Antifa. They also discussed locking up political opponents, election workers, people like the governor of Illinois, the mayor of Chicago, both were mentioned by name. obviously the feds have many ways of tracking down these people, right? Like we're well aware of that, but why make it easy for them? Why use the city's taxpayer dollars to give access to put cameras that track every single person on every single street corner and just Let them have access. And I know that people say the feds don't have access to the flock cameras. Last month, there were 15 cases of Antifa charged in Minneapolis. In those indictments, they cited flock cameras for part of the evidence. But the city and the state of Minnesota don't allow federal agents to have access to the flock cameras. So obviously, the feds have access to the cameras when they're not supposed to. Right now, we are getting lucky in that the authoritarian who's trying to end democracy in America is a moron. We are getting lucky. Thank you. We're not going to get lucky for much longer. So why make it easy for them? I'm well aware that cameras are good for solving crimes. Katherine Jordan and I had a great conversation about it. Why, just before the midterms, why don't we, the city of Richmond, disable the cameras, look at how they're being used, how they're being accessed, and if we make it through the midterms without a loss of democracy, then we can look at reinstating them. Simple. Thank you.

The next speaker is Jaume Plumplanas.

Hi, my name is Jaume Plumplanas. I'm going to try to make this as quick as possible. City Council has not been transparent, honest, or accountable about its usage of mass surveillance, particularly on the issue of flock LPR cameras. Rather than focusing on any other community need, over a million dollars have been spent on mass surveillance in the form of AI-powered cameras such as flock. Our local policy on ALPR data sharing only theoretically restricts access to ICE and other federal agencies for the purposes of immigration enforcement. As I've already pointed out to the mayor, ICE can access our data at any time using the federal subpoena process. Our coalition has pointed to the documented precedents showing that the few safeguards put in place to prevent the rampant misuse of ALPR technology have not been enforced in practice. Before state ALPR law took effect in 2025, Richmond provided direct access to the ATF, which used our ALPR data for immigration enforcement. During such time, RPD also used flock ALPRs to track down protesters. In April, the city reported that an RPD officer had sent our city's ALPR data to the FBI in violation of state law. Based on what the city has said, all we know is the FBI wanted someone's ALPR data. The city says it was for a murder investigation, but all the officer needed to make a search is a case number. The RPD sergeant broke policy and state law by sending the data and did so without permission. The search was caught after the fact in a routine audit. The AG declined to press any charges in this case, and detailed information has not been given to the public to establish the veracity of the Avula admin's press release. Several weeks prior to this press release, Sam Parker from Richmond Times Dispatch, publisher of the Avula admin, had been planning since September 2025 to flood the narrative on Flock. It is clear that Flock will do nothing to prevent this use of their own technology. Flock has lied about ICE accessing its LPR data. Flock initially said it was accessed by proxy. Three months later, the company confessed they had given DHS access as part of a pilot program. Their surveillance products have been accessed by foreign hackers and anyone who can use a search engine. Their surveillance tech has been involved in numerous, around 30, publicly reported stalking cases since 2023. There have been reports of police targeting people seeking abortions in other states using their tech. There have also been multiple reports of police around the country brutalizing and falsely arresting people over plateness reads while using the Flock LPR system. In spite of the concerns and violations, the only reason our coalition had been given for the contract renewal are the businesses have lobbied to keep them, that the police can make arrests more quickly, and that the problem hasn't gotten bad enough yet for the city to warrant canceling the contract. It has repeatedly been said that the costs and benefits were weighed in the decision to keep Flock. What sort of audit or analysis was done to determine the future risks and benefits of renewing the flock contract?

30 seconds.

In spite of the persistent and ever increasing scandals enabled by privatized mass surveillance. Under the Stoney administration, was any public or private audit of the system done to assess the potential risks of this particular system or partnering with this particular company? Was anything done to audit or investigate the system under Avula or city council's transfer in 2025? And finally, how long and what specifically is the City Council going to wait for before it decides to end the mass surveillance of its constituents?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Plumplantis.

Okay. We are asking that you withhold applause. Thank you.

The next speaker is Morgan Hafer.

Welcome, Mr. Hafer.

Welcome. Tonight I want to talk about bike infrastructure and the time since 2009 when Mayor Dwight Jones took the decision to bring the bike race here to our city and claimed that we were going to have a transformative city with all this bike infrastructure that we don't have yet, while members of your council sit on here for how long? 20 years. Haven't noticed any improvements in our city in 20 years, but I noticed the bike deaths. I noticed a lack of accountability. I notice a lack of proper punishment of people who run down our pedestrians and our cyclists. You know, giving tickets to people who run down Bill Martin and cyclists or anybody really is not a punishment. It's not going to bring the infrastructure, the money, the quality of life that we deserve and that we were promised starting in 2009 when that bike race was, you know... pronounced and many members of our council also went for two years in a row with our bike planners, where are our bike planners today, to Europe two years in a row to see what they were supposed to bring back to our city. Do you see anything that looks like Europe or Washington, D.C. bike lanes here in our city after how many years? Sixteen. What are you guys doing up here besides stealing our money and taking our lives for it? You know, I mean, I'd like to reflect on how great our city is and how business friendly it is with the taxes upon taxes year over year over year over year. You buy something for your business and five years later, you're paying a percentage of taxes to the city on it because the city can't, you know, figure out how to do smart business. You know, we have a bilingual translator. How come we don't have Spanish in our public school system in 2026? I mean, what is going on here? Besides corruption and death, you guys really need to wake up before the national media decides to do something like wake up and put your asses on the news and in jail for being corrupt.

Mr. Paper, I will ask.

I know. Thank you.

Thank you very much, sir.

The next speaker is...

Thank you.

The next speaker is Macio Jones. Macio Jones. The next speaker is S. Amtula Jones.

Welcome, Ms. Jones.

Good afternoon. Thank you for having me here. I'm here to address the weather.

Ms. Jones, can you pull the mic down just a little bit? Thank you.

Good afternoon. Thank you for having me here. I'm here to address my neighborhood where I live in with the crime and stuff we have going on in there. Just a couple of weeks ago, a guy came driving down the back of the alley. He was shot two times, one in the back and one in his head, and he hit my wall and tore it up, and he went across the street and hit the neighbor's shed and tore that down. Before that, about a couple years ago, a guy had got robbed out there. He was shot several times in the alley where I live at. The city came in before I moved into my in-laws house. They tore the private wall down. The wall stood about this tall. And they kept off the crime and stuff of sending people what I have in my yard. I have a girl that I don't even use because I feel uncomfortable out there because I feel I may get hurt, get shot or whatever. It is unfair that they tore the wall down and my house is shifting. The sink is about that far apart from the wall. When I walk outside, the only security I have out there is my bushes. But the bushes that I walk by against the house, I'm this far from falling off the edge of my yard onto the street. I fell a couple months ago, and I bust my head very badly. I still have a little small crack between my eyebrow here from me falling. Because the wall, when they tore the wall down, it took part of the foundation for the house, for the dirt and stuff, for the sidewalk and stuff. We have, down the street, we have a drug rehabilitation center down there. What was happening with that, they come in, they trash the streets, they trash the yard, they throw beer cans in your yard, wine bottles in your yard. It's unsafe. It's unsafe. I'm looking for somebody to have some type of sympathy for me who sits up there to help me out. My neighbor have trees very tall, taller than the house. When the wind blows, it's dry, rotten, the limbs fall on top of my house. My insurance had gone up because they said my roof need to be fixed. The gutter get clogged up with pine needles and stuff. It is unfair that I have to live somewhere that I have to climb up the roof and move. 30 seconds. My time is up.

You have 30 seconds.

It is unfair that I had to climb up on the roof. I'm 77 years old. I got no business on a ladder. My grandkids and stuff, they come down to sit with me sometimes. I have one grandchild here now coming from Ohio. She comes down there because I live alone. My other granddaughter, she goes to VVCU. She's living with her grandmother right now to help her out, to make some money. But I'm here in the house by myself. The police come banging on the door every now and then looking for some drug dealer who used to hang out in the back of my shed. Before I move there.

Thank you, Ms. Jones. Thank you, Ms. Jones. And Councilwoman Trammell, and then I'm going to ask the administration.

Ms. Jones, I want to say thank you and your husband who reached out to me. We've had conversation in reference to this and some other things we have spoken about. And right now, our police chief is here. He's in the back. He's going to talk to you. And I also want to thank Mr. Al Wiggins, who came down before the meeting and spoke to you. Also, I'm going to ask them to please help you fill out the claim with risk management so that we can help you get the brick wall and all that fixed. And you know you can call me late at night. You and your husband both have, and I appreciate that. And we're going to get this corrected for you. And like I said, our police chief is right in the back. Thank you. And call me tonight. Call me tonight, OK? Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Jones. And the Chief is approaching you in the back there. And I believe Mr. Wiggins has had conversation already. Thank you. Madam Clerk, next speaker.

The next speaker is Selden Richardson.

Welcome, Mr. Richardson.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam President and ladies and gentlemen of City Council. My name is Selden Richardson. I'm a local historian and a Richmond taxpayer. The historic neighborhood of Westwood is again under attack, and it's remarkable how often this tiny African-American neighborhood community has faced destruction and persevered. Richmond has a terrible record destroying its black neighborhoods. Jackson Ward was gutted by I-95. Fulton was turned into an urban prairie, and Navy Hill was bulldozed into Chaco Valley.

Mr. Richardson, just point of clarification, are you speaking to just zoning in general or the resolution?

I am speaking about Westwood in general, if I may.

Okay.

In an attempt to heighten the awareness of this neighborhood and its plight.

Okay. Thank you.

As horrific as all that sounds, none of these disasters of civic planning was fueled by the same degree of racial prejudice that once drove an effort to erase the entire Westwood neighborhood and disperse the families who had been there for generations. And yet Westwood prevailed and survived. In recognition of its astonishing past and fragile present, the community has been recently named the list of Preservation Virginia's most endangered list. This once again underlies a truism of Richmond's past and present, and most historic neighborhoods are often the most dangerous and the most vulnerable. Mashing more density into Westwood's existing housing stock will forever alter the character of the neighborhood, and rising taxes will disperse the current residents. The triumph of the developer is the result of insensitive and poor planning on the part of the, quote, code refresh proponents. Places like Westwood desperately need to be exempted from the one-size-fits-all planning, and Richmonders look to your office to provide this kind of leadership and vision to understand this basic fact. Members of Council, there's a growing myth in our country that real estate developers are kings. Let's not allow Richmond's future to become yet another victim of this horrid idea. Revise code refresh to accommodate our past. It is ours to have or lose, and as they well know in Westwood, It's up to us to defend our history. We need your help and your support. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Richardson.

The next speaker is Jamie Maniscalco. The next speaker is Charles Poole.

Welcome, Mr. Poole. Thank you. Honorable Councilpersons, my name is Charles Poole, and today I respectfully address you on behalf of the Board of the Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council with grave concerns regarding the shockingly inappropriate upzoning proposed for the Oregon Hill Historic District with Code Refresh. OHIC is celebrating our 50th year in supporting historic and affordable housing in Oregon Hill, having renovated and built new 37 homes for first-time homebuyers, some with a mortgage as low as $350 a month. By contrast, Code Studio, the out-of-town consultant for Code Refresh, told us that they spent only two hours in Oregon Hill. And two hours may have been an exaggeration since their pattern book for Oregon Hill inaccurately described the neighborhood as having 100% detached homes built in the 20th century. They have now proposed outrageous MX-5 zoning in areas of Oregon Hill that would allow 75-foot-tall, five-story buildings. there is no other MX zoning proposed for the entire two-mile Cary Street corridor. Just as unreasonable is their proposed RMA spot zoning, which targets some of the most historically sensitive properties in Oregon Hill, such as the Grace Ahrens Housing, the first and finest subsidized housing built in Richmond, and the 1850s John Andrews House, on whose property in 1865 was the first school for black children in Richmond. Code Refresh continues a pattern of disrespect that Oregon Hill has received from redlining, from the downtown expressway that cut through the neighborhood, and from VCU encroachment. In 2002, we finally received a break when City Council approved our hard-fought R7 zoning, which up to now has provided stable zoning that reduced speculation and allowed families to move back. But code refresh would gravely undermine all of OHIC's efforts to reform and thrive our neighborhood. The upzoning proposed in Code Refresh would actually incentivize the demolition of the city's remaining pockets of affordable housing found in established neighborhoods like Oregon Hill and Westwood. The Board of OHIC implores City Council to protect Oregon Hill from the shockingly inappropriate MX-5 and RMA upzoning proposed in Code Refresh. Let our relatively affordable neighborhood continue to thrive with zoning that respects the Oregon Hill Historic District. Thank you. And Madam President, if I could possibly distribute a flyer of the map of proposed changes that are needed in Oregon.

Thank you, Mr. Poole.

And Madam President, I just want to thank Mr. Poole, for his continued advocacy. And we took a very long walk in the rain.

We appreciated that.

And Mr. Poole, with his neighbors, described the changes that they wanted to see. And I'm committed to making those changes. Thank you. You know I am. We appreciate it. We need to say that again. So I look forward to seeing the changes come out.

Thank you very much. Thank you. MADAM CLARK, NEXT SPEAKER.

THE LAST SPEAKER IS ANAS EL-KATAN.

HELLO, MADAM PRESIDENT. I HAVE SOME PACKETS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO DISTRIBUTE.

YES, OUR STAFF WILL TAKE THOSE FROM YOU. THANK YOU.

NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. NEW SPEAKERS. Those representations mattered because they were part of the basis on which this project received your approval. Tonight, I'm asking you to compare those representations with what has actually occurred. This is not just another property to my family. This is our home. This is our neighborhood. My parents have been part of this community more than 40 years. Me, 30 years. And our family has been on Hall Street for over 30 years. Before construction even began, plans were submitted to the city that contemplated work extending onto our property. We never granted permission, we never signed an access agreement, yet those plans moved forward. Then excavation began immediately adjacent to our building. According to the independent engineering opinion included in the packet I have provided, the excavation undermined portions of our foundation. and recommended that the backfill be removed and replaced with properly designed concrete underpinning. That engineering opinion is included for your review. When these concerns came to light, the city issued a stop work order. The excavation was then backfilled at the direction of the city inspector because of safety concerns. Later, the stop work order was lifted after the city received documentation from the project, the one who wrote the initial plans for the project, wrote a letter stating that the backfill, the remediation effort that was done by the developer without consulting us, they just received the letter saying that that was sufficient. So they let him move forward with the project. Construction moving forward did not resolve what happened to our property. We documented cracking and other damage. We retained our own engineers. We lost our commercial tenant. We lost our residential tenant. We experienced additional impacts after the neighboring buildings were demolished. While this project continued moving forward, my family was left dealing with the consequences. Members of council, I believe your responsibility does not end once a special use permit is approved. When developers come before you seeking special approval, they ask for your trust. They make commitments about how their projects will affect the surrounding community. COMMEMMENTS SHOULD NOT END THE MOMENT CONSTRUCTION BEGINS. IF THEY ARE NOT BEING CARRIED OUT IN PRACTICE, I BELIEVE THIS COUNCIL DESERVES TO KNOW. I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO DECIDE A LAWSUIT TONIGHT. MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, WHEN CONCERNS WERE RAISED, THERE WAS A STOPWORK ORDER, BUT AFTER THAT, CONSTRUCTION RESUMED. FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, THERE WAS NO INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE ENGINEERING DISPUTE, NO INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF WHETHER THE COMMITMENTS MADE DURING THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT PROCESS HAD BEEN FULFILLED. THANK YOU. AND NO MEANINGFUL FOLLOW-UP FROM THE CITY REGARDING THOSE COMMITMENTS.

THANK YOU, THAT'S YOUR TIME.

WE WERE REPEATEDLY TOLD THAT THESE ISSUES WERE A CIVIL MATTER. REPEATEDLY TOLD THAT THESE ISSUES WERE A CIVIL MATTER BY SOMEBODY SITTING ON MY BACK LEFT-HAND CORNER RIGHT HERE.

THANK YOU, MR. AL-KHATAN. MADAM PRESIDENT. MR. AL-KHATAN.

NO, NO, NO. and the timeline contained in this packet. This is our family home. Wait a minute.

Madam President. I'm coming back.

No, no, no. Come back.

Madam President.

Yes.

OK, thank you, Madam President. He came to our meeting on Thursday, July the 9th. He waited until like after 8 o'clock to speak with me. I did not know about all of this. I asked him to please come to the council meeting so he could let us know. I don't know who exactly would. I thought it was in mind. but it's not exactly in my district. But I would like to know more about this because, like I said, he's very upset. He has every right to be, especially if he thinks that we're doing something behind his back and his family's back. So please, if we can help him or give him the right person, if it's Kevin.

We will have the administration to direct. Thank you. Yes. Ms. Trammell, thank you, first of all. Mr. Alcatan. And I'll reach out to the administration, I guess, Mr. Donnell, if you will designate someone who can interface with Ms. Alcatan relative to this matter. Thank you. And Madam President, that concludes the list of public comment period speakers for this evening. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Let's go on to the amendments to tonight's agenda.

AMENDMENTS TO TONIGHT'S AGENDA ARE AS FOLLOWS. ITEM ONE, ORDINANCE 2026-093 WILL BE CONTINUED TO THE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH COUNCIL MEETING. ITEM TWO, ORDINANCE 2026-102, ITEM FOUR, ORDINANCE 2026-113 AND ITEM FIVE, ORDINANCE 2026-120 WILL ALL BE AMENDED LATER THIS EVENING AND THEN CONTINUE TO THE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH COUNCIL MEETING. ITEM 9, ORDINANCE 2026-155 WILL BE CONTINUED TO THE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH COUNCIL MEETING. ITEM 27, RESOLUTION 2026-R024 WILL BE AMENDED AND CONSIDERED LATER THIS EVENING. Item 30, Resolution 2026R029 will be continued to the Monday, September 14th Council Meeting. Item 31, Ordinance 2026081 will be amended later this evening and then continued to the Monday, September 28th Council Meeting. And Item 32, Resolution 2026R019 will be continued to the Monday, September 28th Council Meeting. Madam President, those are all the amendments to tonight's agenda.

Thank you, Mr. Clark. Are there additional amendments to the agenda for this evening?

Ms. Gibson. Thank you, Madam President. I would like to discuss item 2026-109. My We've continued that item. It was originally on the June agenda, so now we've continued it today. There remains some concerns from the community, not specific as much to the closure, but some apprehension on the site plans, which would come later. The ordinance notice identifies that there would be 34 parking spaces in the proposal. It's my understanding that the most current proposals have 24 spaces, and so I'd like to see that language amended to remove concerns about kind of something predetermined or pre-approved ahead of looking at any site plans. I also know that there are a number of folks in the community that are here and would like to speak and so I am wondering if we were to continue this item now for an amendment to amend the notice, if that would still allow folks who have come this evening to be able to speak, or if I should hold on amending the agenda and do that afterwards so that the folks who came this evening are still able to speak.

OK, so do we have, can I get a show of hands a person's present desires of speaking to this paper? OK. So I would say we'd go on and proceed with your talking about continuing for amendment 4, but allowing the individuals who are present to speak.

So what I would like to do is move this to the regular agenda. And then after we hear comment from the community, then we can determine, we can vote on a potential continuance.

OK. But you'll be asking for a continuance subsequent to the comment? Most likely, yes. OK. I was just trying to get clarification. That was it.

Thank you. Madam Clark and or Mr. Clark, we have that registered.

Is there a second to the motion? Council is now voting on a motion to move item three, ordinance 2026109 from the consent agenda to the regular agenda. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch? Aye.

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Abu Bakr?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

Aye.

And President Newbill? Aye. That motion has been approved. And I will need a motion to amend the agenda as read. Councilor Jones, will you make that motion?

So moved. Second.

Council is voting on this evening's remaining agenda amendments as read. Mr. Breton?

Aye.

Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Albuquerque?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan? Aye. And President Newbill? Aye. The amended agenda is now before you, and this evening's consent agenda consists of the following items. Item 6, Ordinance 2026.152, ITEM 7, ORDINANCE 2026-153. ITEM 8, ORDINANCE 2026-154. ITEMS 10 THROUGH 17, ORDINANCES 2026-156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, AND 163. ITEMS 18 THROUGH 26, ORDINANCES 2026, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, AND 172. Item 28, resolution 2026R026. And item 29, resolution 2026R027. Those are all the items on tonight's consent agenda.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. At this time, we will proceed with an opportunity for public comment on the consent agenda items. Those persons present desires of speaking in opposition to any of the items that were just noted on consent agenda, if you would proceed to come forward.

Good evening, President Newbell, members of City Council. My name is Cindy Anderson, and I'm a resident of the 1st District. And I'm here tonight to speak on the possibility of the 1% tax increase for RPS.

Ms. Anderson, we're not at that point in the agenda yet. Oh, we have to wait until I call that?

That's the regular agenda.

Yes. I'm sorry, but it's good to see you all. No worries. Thank you.

Madam Chair, do I have a question about the consent agenda? Yes. I'd just like to verify that Resolution R-024 related to the Westwood Node Plan will be voted on and considered immediately after the consent agenda. Is that correct?

That's correct.

Thank you.

Again, I am inviting those present who would like to speak in opposition to any of the consent agenda items that were read, if you would come forward. Seeing none, I would invite those who are desirous of speaking in favor of any of the consent agenda items if you will come forward. Welcome.

We're together. Good evening, and thank you for having us. My name is Murray Withrow. I work full time for Serving Partners. And in partnership with Urban Hope, I oversee the residential mentorship program that is seeking the special use permit for 1110 Oakwood Avenue. This SUP would allow up to six young men to live in the home. I am encouraged to report that after presenting our plan to the Churchill Central Civic Association as well as the Planning Commission, both entities have endorsed our proposal. We are grateful for their support and we are now seeking your support from City Council as well. I've been invested in Churchill for the past 24 years and have called it home for the last 20. My wife and I have had the privilege of raising all three of our children here and sending them to local schools. After mentoring a group of boys from sixth grade through high school, I felt called to deepen my investment in these young men by starting a residential mentorship program. This program is a one-year residential commitment designed to serve as a stepping stone toward thriving adulthood, with the opportunity to renew for a second year. In fact, two of our three current residents have already committed to returning next year. This work is made possible through our partnership with Urban Hope. For the past 25 years, Urban Hope has provided safe, quality, affordable housing in Churchill for individuals and families. They also offer housing advocacy, financial health education, and one-on-one financial coaching for the broader community. Together we provide a structured pathway toward thriving adulthood through affordable housing, intentional mentorship, genuine friendships, and meaningful accountability. More specifically, our residents work, pay rent, sign a formal 12-month lease, participate in weekly house dinners with a house leader and staff member, and attend biweekly community meals and spiritual formation gatherings with individual mentors who help them pursue personal SMART goals. We also conduct monthly check-ins and room inspections, and everyone agrees to a household covenant that includes chores, quiet hours, and a prohibition on smoking and alcohol on the premises. In many respects, our residents are held to an even higher standard than a typical lease requires. It is my firm conviction that both these young men and this program are tremendous assets to the neighborhood. And we are grateful for the strong support we have received from many members of the community. Our home has been operating successfully since September 1st with three residents.

30 seconds.

And we welcome anyone who would like to learn more about what we are doing. For these reasons, I respectfully ask your approval of this special use permit. And now I would like to introduce one of our residents, George, to say a few words. Thank you.

Thank you. Hello, my name is George Watt and I'm one of the residents of the Discipleship House on Oakwood. I recently turned 20 years old as of late April and I'm part of last year's 2025 graduating class via Armstrong High School. I've lived in Richmond all of my life, primarily for my mother's residence in the Mosby Court housing projects. Leaving my mother's home was one of the inevitable outcomes of many financial and physical challenges I faced living in Mosby Court. The Discipleship Home has sold me well and will only continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It is for those reasons I am here today and for those reasons that I believe other young men like me deserve the chance to have access to such a golden opportunity. The approval of the special use permit will not only grant young men like me access to affordable living, but will also grant others who are at a disadvantage to the ability to join the housing market from a stable foundation. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you both. With that, the public hearing on the consent agenda is now closed. Bring it back to council for any discussion. Seeing none, please call the question.

Council is now voting on the consent agenda as presented. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Albuquerque?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

Aye.

And President Newbill. Aye. Those papers have all been adopted.

Thank you. Let's proceed now as we amended to the number 27, our Resolution 2026-RO24.

First is a motion to amend and consider resolution 2026 R024, which requests that the CAO cause the Department of Planning and Development review to one, collaborate with the residents and stakeholders of the Westwood neighborhood to recommend appropriate land use zoning and policy tools, Two, develop design guidelines to preserve the character of the Westwood neighborhood. And three, provide a written report of such findings and recommendations. The proposed amendment would modify the substance of the collaboration and the neighborhood borders by changing the streets and roads that serve as boundaries. Councillor Breton, would you make a motion to amend resolution 2026 R024 as stated? So moved. Councillor Robertson, would you second?

Second.

Council is now voting on a motion to amend Resolution 2026R024 as stated. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Abu-Bakr?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

Aye.

And President Newbill? Aye. That motion has been approved, and that paper is now before you as amended.

Thank you, Mr. Clark. At this time, I'm not sure if there is any comment. Mr. Britton.

Thank you, yes. So this is a resolution that I am honored to bring here tonight. It requests that the Department of Planning and Development Review to work alongside the residents of historic Westwood to develop a community-driven neighborhood plan that identifies the best tools to preserve the neighborhood's historic and cultural character, support long-term neighborhood stability, and guide future investment. I'm glad to bring this. I've been working on this since February of 2025 to introduce this resolution because I believe Westwood is one of Richmond's most historically significant neighborhoods and it is overdue for this kind of focused planning effort. So this paper will represent an investment of the city's time, expertise, and attention in a community whose history and resilience deserve to be recognized and preserved and celebrated. So this paper also enters into the public record a history of the outstanding story and contributions of this neighborhood. This paper did come out of land use committee with unanimous recommendation to support, but we are hearing it separately today because of the text amendment that we are hearing today. And I'm also happy to welcome the many neighbors from my district here, Westwood, who are here to speak in support of this paper as well. And I'm glad that they're here and they all came on a beautiful church bus tonight. And I was really glad we were able to get parking for them.

Thank you, Mr. Brett. At this time, we'll proceed with a public hearing on the paper. All of those persons present, desirous of speaking in opposition to the paper, if you would come forward. Seeing none, all of those persons, desirous of speaking in favor of the paper, if you would come forward. WELCOME.

GOOD EVENING, MADAM PRESIDENT AND TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND SPEAK ON BEHALF OF OUR BELOVED WESTWOOD COMMUNITY. MY NAME IS JANETTE BROWN, JANETTE LITTLETON BROWN, AND I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE WESTWOOD CIVIC LEAGUE AND ALSO ASSOCIATE MINISTER AT WESTWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH. OUR HISTORY IS RICH. What I saw today with the recognition of the black businesses, let us not forget, we're asking also that the city not forget Westwood. We go back a ways. Since the 1940s, we have been in a fight with the city for our existence. Sadly to say, we're still fighting. while the issues are a little different, they still are the same. And so we're here to say save historic Westwood, not just for now, but forever. You've received at least 90 pages of COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF THIS RESOLUTION FROM PEOPLE ALL OVER THE CITY AND THE COUNTRY. PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED IN WESTWOOD, BEEN RAISED IN WESTWOOD, HAVE MOVED OUT BUT STILL CALL THIS PLACE HOME. OUR HISTORY IS SIGNIFICANT. IN MY SUBMISSION, I'VE PROVIDED PICTURES OF PATTERSON AVENUE. THERE'S ONLY THREE HOMES STILL LEFT. AND IF THOSE ARE TAKEN, Westwood, from that standpoint, will be erased. Nobody will ever know that this was a part of our community. And we are here to say we were here 154 years ago. We still stand now. We are asking that you pass this resolution to help us come up with and work with the city for real this time. and meaningful changes that will sustain and keep us where we are. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Welcome. Thank you.

I write today on behalf of family members who helped shape historic Westwood, but are no longer here to raise their voices. I write for my cousin, Frances Warden Lambert, Virginia's 1974 Mother of the Year, her son, Virginia State Senator Benjamin Lambert III, and my aunt, Elizabeth B. Cooper, and proud mother of Daisy Jane Cooper, the courageous African-American student who integrated Richmond Public Schools after a lengthy court battle. and my great-grandfather's family, whose enduring legacy is reflected in Parr Street, named for our families, where two of our families' historic homes still stand today. My name is S. Norwood Thornton. Although my career has taken me across the country as a marketing professional and corporate magician representing several Fortune 500 companies, my roots remain firmly in Westwood. I was born and raised in this remarkable community and was the first person baptized in the new sanctuary of Westwood Baptist Church by Reverend Dr. Dwight C. Jones, who later became mayor of Richmond. Westwood has overcome tremendous challenges throughout its history. Our community fought for basic necessities, such as public water, resisted efforts to transform our neighborhood into a city park. and endured the painful divisions that surrounded Daisy Jane Cooper's integration of Westwood, excuse me, West Hampton Junior High. Through every challenge, Westwood persevered because its residents believed that our neighborhood was worth protecting. Today, I respectfully ask the city to support the resolution introduced by Councilman Andrew Gumby Breton, and members of our community to launch a six-month study of historic Westwood. If approved, this study will lead to recommendations for neighborhood overlay that will help preserve the unique character, rich history, and identity that have made Westwood one of Richmond's hidden jewels for generations. This resolution is not simply about protecting buildings. It is about preserving the storage, sacrifices, and legacy of the families who built this community and ensuring that future generations inherit a neighborhood whose history is honored rather than forgotten. My name is Vicki Rozelle Hinton. I'm reading on behalf of my cousin Stephen, excuse me, S. Norwood Thornton. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, President Newbill and all council members. My name is Brianna Prentice, and I am a member of Westwood Baptist Church. I've been a member of that church since the day I was born, and it only made sense that way considering my mom has been a member since the day she was born, and that only made sense because my grandmother has always lived inside of the Westwood community. Now, church is a major part of my life, but Westwood is much more than that. There is community within Westwood, and that community is something very special, something that can't be fully understood until you step within it. For me, Westwood was the babysitter when my parents couldn't get off of work. Westwood was the ice cream store on a hot summer day. Westwood was basketball tournaments way beyond the season. Westwood was knowing every kid in the neighborhood that could come outside and play and which one of their parents to ask. Westwood is, was, and still is community. And community is something that must be protected and preserved. In Westwood lies a rich and thriving one that should be cherished. And it is imperative that designs within Westwood be done with all residents in mind first. And this is why I came here today to say the Resolution 2026-R024 should be passed as amended. Thank you. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Ron Skinner, live in Honorable Gumby's district. Westwood, I'm speaking towards this resolution, which we discussed at several meetings. I wish they had more teeth in it, but you guys will give it teeth because you'll stand behind it. I got to Westwood by accident. There was a house on auction. I picked it up and restored it. And I really love it. It's a unique neighborhood. The streets are 20 feet wide. You don't go there unless you're lost or going home, which is kind of nice. You walk down the street, people, Walk the dogs, you can say, hey, how's it going? Chat them up, because you know them. I lived on lots of other streets, and I did not have that same community. It was really sweet. And I think that's the piece you really want to keep in Richmond, because Richmond has a lot of histories, and some of it you don't want to repeat. Some of it you want to maintain. This is the kind of thing that really makes people say, I'll buy a house in that area. It's a cool place to live. And it's kind of like a walking mall. I can walk within 10 minutes and be an optometrist, a chiropractor, several banks. I mean, everything is just down the street. It's the old version of a community. You can just walk somewhere. It is totally, totally cool. And please preserve it, because this is what you want people to come to Richmond for. And I don't want to cancel this version on a cold refresh, but I think there's kind of blundered into how to get a lot of housing built fast. And I think you have to take care and preserve the pieces that are there. It's like when you build a neighborhood, and all of a sudden, people literally can't afford it anymore. That's a mistake. And I hope you all have the vision. I know Mr. Brenton does, to have the vision to keep that kind of stuff going, because that's why people want to come to Richmond and want to stay. And that's what I plan to. Thank you for listening. I'm not going to run out of my time. Just kidding. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Cyan Crump, and I'm the Executive Director of Historic Richmond, and I'm here to speak today in support of the Westwood neighborhood and Resolution 2026-RO24 as amended. We support the Westwood neighborhood and their request for a design overlay to help protect the neighborhood from planning decisions that are leading to displacement. And we want to thank Councilman Breton for introducing and championing this paper and want to thank each of its co-patrons as well. Westwood was founded more than 150 years ago by the recently emancipated workers from the Patterson family plantation. They bought a parcel of land. They built their community around a church. They built their own school and their own stores and their own homes. Their self-sufficient, small community thrived. In 1944, it was annexed by the city of Richmond as suburban Richmond development encircled them. You have heard how the city took their taxes but refused to connect them to the city water and sewer infrastructure. Claiming that the community was unsanitary, the city tried to demolish the entire neighborhood to make a park. The city bussed their kids across town rather than allow them to attend the West Hampton School across the street. We worked with this neighborhood and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to see this neighborhood officially recognized as historic. But this does not mean that there are any protections to help save them from encroaching development. This community's land has been taken for commercial development over and over again. The federal government took their land to build a post office. The city took their land to build the West End Library. Market dynamics, driven by the densification of the Patterson-Libby corridor and this small neighborhood's proximity to higher-value real estate, today are leading to displacement. Because of these developments, the city tax assessments on Westwood's land values have increased 50% between 2024 and 2025. So the city tax assessor is essentially saying, we don't want you to stay here in your generational homes. Speculative developers see these small cottages not as affordable homes to be preserved, but as ripe for demolition and replacement by a McMansion. The neighborhood is suffering death by 1,000 cuts. We are pleased to see the city recognizing that its planning decisions have impacts on the historic Westwood neighborhood and its people. This place is special, and its people deserve a say in its future. Thank you for supporting this resolution.

Thank you, Ms. Kropp.

I want to thank all who've come out, but I think I can see some with green signs. But all of those, if you would raise your hand so that we can see all of those. Thank you for coming out to make sure your voices are heard. With that, the public hearing is closed. Bring it back to City Council. Councilwoman Trammell, then Councilwoman Albuquerque.

Madam President, I'd like to add my name to the paper, please. And also, I want to thank all of you for coming down here tonight. And thank you, for working with them. Because I know that our meetings that we've had in reference to code refresh, you all have brought this up over and over and over. And I'm so glad that you all made sure that your council person understood your feelings and what you want. And I'm quite sure all my colleagues are going to support.

Thank you, Councilwoman Trammell. Councilwoman Averbacher.

I want to thank everybody for coming down and speaking. I know it is no easy task to get down here, and you all have come down on multiple occasions for your community. So thank you for showing up, for continuing to show up. I would like to have my name added to this paper, and I would also like to ensure that we are committed to making sure, as you said, that this has teeth to it, that this is not just a resolution in spirit and in words, but that we are actually following through on this. So you have my commitment, and you can always reach out to me as well.

Thank you, Councilwoman Alba-Bacher. And Councilwoman Trammell has already taken my statement. Is there any member whose desires of not having their name added in support of this paper? Seeing none, all members will add their names in support of this paper. And thank all of you for coming down. And we certainly appreciate your So with that, I think Council Member Gibson and Councilwoman Lynch, we got you, I think.

Yep. And Council Member Gibson, I think, had her hand raised. One, and I don't want to let this meeting go by without making this extremely, well, three extremely important points. And one is that you all are the greatest reminder that community voices matter so, so much. And thank you for being a living, walking, example of that. It takes courage, strength, tenacity, and perseverance and a lot of patience to deal with getting changed through the government and what your community has been through is not unlike or dissimilar what other neighborhoods in our districts have been through. It's horrific. It carries pain and thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to walk the journey and see this fall across the finish line. The second point is This is probably the best example of why passing the cultural heritage stewardship plan before we pass code refresh is so critical. That plan, the underpinnings of which is to ensure that underrepresented histories, underrepresented communities are preserved. that we have tools like the design overlay and other zoning tools at our disposal to make sure that no neighborhood does die by a thousand cuts, that is sanctified and solid. And we need to pass that plan before we pass code refresh. And thank you for being, again, another living reminder as to why that is so critical. And lastly, I think... Lastly, Councilman, President Newbill, lastly, I just want to say, Councilmember Breton, I think you're going to see some copycatting from some of your colleagues, because I want to say hats off to you for putting forward such a thoughtful plan, and I look forward to maybe a wash, rinse, repeat in some of my districts that need it as well. So thank you for bringing it.

Thank you. Councilwoman Jones and then Councilwoman Gibson.

Thank you, Madam President, and like my colleagues, thank you everyone for coming. Sorry. Thank you so much for coming down tonight and sharing your story. I just wanted to add, as we did last week in land use, the very, very, very important meaning behind what this is actually about because while we recognize that this is, I mean, exposed because of cold, refreshing, the things that we are attempting to do, I think you said it in the beginning of this meeting, let us never forget. And we can name, you know, at a minimum 10 neighborhoods that have experienced the exact same thing and is still experiencing them. And so when we are bringing forth legislation that we say impacts the people that are most marginalized, we can look at an example to be able to say that this is why we need to be WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE MORE DILIGENT AND NOT WAITING FOR FOLKS TO COME TO US BECAUSE WE KNEW AND WE KNOW THAT THESE NEIGHBORHOODS EXIST. SO I JUST WANT US TO CONTINUE TO ALWAYS INSTEAD OF BEING REACTIVE HOW CAN WE BE PROACTIVE BECAUSE THERE ARE PLENTY OF NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE DON'T EVEN NEED TO COME HERE THAT WE CAN GO AND ADDRESS THIS TO MY COLLEAGUE MS. LYNCH IS SAYING TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND I WANT TO CONTINUE TO SAY YOU KNOW, AS YOU MOVE FORWARD, KEEP PUSHING US TO BE BETTER AND TO DO BETTER BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT JUST REST AT WESTWOOD.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN JONES. COUNCILWOMAN GIBSON. THANK YOU, MADAM PRESIDENT.

AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE COMMUNITY FOR for their engagement. Residents across the city, I think, have been really focused, a good number of them, on decisions that impact how our city looks as we look This resolution has some of the same ideas that there's a node in the third district, a node in the sixth district, and those nodes are the papers we adopted in 2025. were directed to inform the master plan, which I believe is due for review. And so I want to, this area too should be part of that, although it's less formal as a resolution, it should be part of that same larger engagement. And I want essentially to voice my belief that we should not adopt any, citywide change to the code ahead of these investigations because the learnings that we see in the Westwood neighborhood would also be relevant in many other historic neighborhoods across the city. In the third district, I'm thinking about Washington Park, I'm thinking about Providence Park, And I know that, you know, Jackson more, there are many of these communities citywide. And so again, I applaud the efforts of our residents. And I look to this body to ensure that we, you know, we make sure through the cultural heritage plan, our master plan process, that we ensure that we have crossed all our eyes, you know, That's the cliche I'm trying to do. Thank you. Councilwoman Robertson.

Thank you, Madam President. I want to take my hat off to Westwood community. It's quite embarrassing really and shameful that for all of these years, we are just at the place where we are today. So my apologies, first of all. This Yolk community came down in big numbers not too long ago to the Planning Commission. And at the time when we had this development that was taking place that raised a lot of concerns, we had expressed at the Planning Commission at that time that we need to do something to protect this neighborhood. Thankfully, I'm grateful that my colleague has allowed us not to drop the ball again. And I'm also encouraged by, my time up already?

I'm sorry, I thought you paused.

This is a very sensitive subject, so yeah, I do have to take a breath every now and then on this subject matter. I do. But, you know, I'm really grateful that this is happening. And I want to say to you, regrettably, where your neighborhood and what your neighborhood have experienced, I want to say to you that What you are doing sends a very, very big, loud voice to Richmond. Because right now, Richmond is facing huge displacement of African-Americans in neighborhoods that are being They're being displaced. They're being displaced, not just because of values of properties. There is an industry that intentionally discriminate against African-American homeowners. We've had studies done. We've asked for action to be taken to address that displacement. It's on the books to get a plan. It's four years behind the study being done. These things just seem to just not have a fast pace to them. So my comment that I would ask you guys to continue to do, don't let us rag our feet on this, okay? Don't let us come back with a plan that takes forever to happen, okay? Hold us to the fire because not only are we interested in protecting your neighborhood, we've got to prevent the loss of the many neighborhoods that are taking place right now And it's African Americans that are being displaced. So thank you. Thank you. Your sacrifice is going to grain great, great rewards. And I want to be a partner with you in any way I can to help make sure that we don't go to sleep on this and that we face the displacement that is currently taking place so that we don't continue to lose neighborhoods. And they get to the state that where you are, to just preserve and do a wonderful plaque. No, we want to keep people in their neighborhoods where they live with the spirit of community like none other that we experienced in the city of Richmond. Thank you so much. And thank you, Mr. Brinton from the first district. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Well, I want to once again thank all the residents who came to speak and tell the story of Westwood. I want to thank my colleagues for supporting this resolution. As I said, the timing of this is mostly a coincidence. I've been trying to get this done since February of 2025, one of my very first months here in the seat. I started trying to get a resolution for a node plan for Westwood. It's something that a lot of neighborhoods have had every every plan is specific to that neighborhood and the plan for westwood will be specific to the needs and goals of this neighborhood so um i thank everyone for their support i thank you all so much for making such a special night um i'm gonna remember this is you know something i'm very proud to have been a part of so i appreciate your help getting this done as well and i appreciate everyone's support um on this thank you

Thank you, Mr. Breton. Again, I would just like to, well, let me just say, Richmond is a historically rich city. We have neighborhoods throughout. You name them, some were named by some folks and many more. And so I want to thank Mr. Breton for his due diligence in making sure that this came forward. And I want to thank you. FOR YOUR COMMITMENT AND YOUR ADVOCACY TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO EXIST AND THIS HISTORY CONTINUES. AND WITH THAT, I AM GOING TO ASK OUR CLERK TO CALL THE QUESTION.

COUNCIL IS NOW VOTING ON RESOLUTION 2026R024 AS AMENDED. MR. BRENTON. AYE. MS. GIBSON. YES. MS. JONES. AYE. MS. ROBERTSON.

AYE.

Ms. Lynch? Aye. Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Ms. Abu Bakr?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

Aye.

And President Newbill? Aye. That paper has been adopted.

Thank you. We know you're excited, but we hold the clapping for the proclamations and recognitions. But thank you. Thank you all for making time to come and to have your voices heard and your concerns. And yeah, thank you. With that, Madam Clerk, I believe, or Mr. Clerk, we have the next item will be the Resolution 2026-109. Is that correct?

That's correct. And that is item number three, ordinance number 2026-109. And that's to close the public use and travel a portion of public right-of-way located south of Brooklyn Park Boulevard and east of Robin Hood Road consisting of approximately 11,105 square feet upon certain terms and conditions. That paper is before counsel.

Is there a desire for anyone from the administration to speak to this item? No? I'm sorry. I was asking if there was a representative from the administration desirous of speaking to the paper before we get underway with public hearing, et cetera. No? OK. With that, we will proceed with the public hearing. Do we have persons present, desirous of speaking in opposition to this paper, if you would come forward?

EXCUSE ME, ONE SECOND. OKAY. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL. I'M SPEAKING UP. MY NAME IS CHRIS BANKS. I'M IN THE THIRD DISTRICT. I LIVE IN SHERWOOD PARK. I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE SHERWOOD PARK CIVIC ASSOCIATION'S GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND SAFETY COMMITTEE, OF WHICH SEVERAL OF THE MEMBERS ARE BEHIND ME. AND THIS IS ABOUT AN ISSUE THAT ACTUALLY AFFECTS ALL DISTRICTS. I'D LIKE YOU ALL TO EVALUATE IT AS SUCH. The lighter, quicker, cheaper program administered by Dorona Clark, championed by transportation director, sorry, Dorona Clark, who's the deputy director and leader of the Office of Equitable Transit Mobility, and championed by Transportation Director Andy Bonow describes lighter, quicker, cheaper, and similar methods as a way for the public to capture space and hold it in the public right of way for immediate change and also for some long-term planning process and funding that can take years and years and years to figure out what the best and highest use might be of that public space. That redesign should share the best and highest use. So consider the dozens of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities that we've had over the past years, the recent bicycle hits that have occurred, recent crashes that have occurred. Would any of you want to give away one foot of public space if it could be better used to protect the people who live, work, and yes, even commute to any school IN OUR CITY. 180 PUBLIC PARKING SPACES CURRENTLY EXIST WITHIN ONE BLOCK RADIUS OF THIS PLACE. SOME OF THOSE PARKING SPACES WERE DESIGNED BY TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER EMILY DALPHY WHO IS NOT HERE TODAY TO facilitate a parking protected bike lane, which functions best when people park in that space to protect cyclists and also to narrow the street to slow down traffic. That's what it is for. When a pedestrian is hit walking to the Diamond District in the future, when someone is biking to the fall line and is hit, or is just trying to get to a neighborhood park, like my own daughter will be in a few years, Would you want to say, well, 34 parking spaces was more important, clearly. This will set a precedent that public space is up for limited private convenience, up for grabs. Consider for a second if the Maggie Walker statue would have been built if Max's On Broad had decided to buy that little triangle in front instead of let it... at some point in time be future developed. So in closing, and I have so much more to say, but I can save it for the next time we have public comment, is that school directors, schools themselves, planners, council members come and go, but neighborhoods, residents, and infrastructure last generations. These decisions have consequences. I can talk about some of them, but one of them is that we don't have sidewalks because in 1955, we took $100,000 out to put it into Pine Camp and then close it a year later. We don't have sidewalks on Robin Hood because of that decision 75 years ago. Thank you.

Thank you. You can proceed.

I'm going to refer to the packet if I can. Madam President, members of the council, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is David Mayer. I live at 1406 Brooklyn Parkway. I'll just say it. Brooklyn Parkway is a beautiful street. It was part of the Frederick Olmstead design. He's the man who designed Central Park, the Emerald Necklace in Boston, Jackson Park in Chicago, and the Capitol Grounds in Washington, DC. This is one of his designs. The first four pages of the packet I just passed out to you, I had originally prepared a two-minute video. Unfortunately, the council doesn't have a way to show a video in public comment, so this is the best I could do. These are snapshots from that video. The first four pages show driving down Brooklyn Parkway, a gentle meandering road with a huge tree canopy and blossoming crepe myrtles. THE FIFTH PAGE SHOWS AN OVERHEAD VIEW OF THE SITE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S THE SLIP LANE WHICH IS CLOSED AND NEXT TO THE SLIP LANE BEFORE YOU GET TO BROOKLYN PARKWAY IS THIS TRIANGULAR POCKET PARK. THAT IS OWNED BY THE CITY. THERE IS THIS I THINK MISCONCEPTION THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS ONLY ABOUT TRANSFERRING PROPERTY. IT'S REALLY NOT. because that pocket park is currently owned by the city. Once both that slip lane and the pocket park get transferred to the school, the school has industrial zoning, which means it can put a parking lot right there. And it doesn't matter whether there are 34 or 24 parking spaces, that's going to be a parking lot. And as you drive down from Hermitage in those first four pages, you come to page four, then you go to page six, You'll see where I've outlined where that parking lot is going to be. Page seven, you've come out of the canopy, and there you're going to be squarely faced with this parking lot. And then page eight is the end of it. If you look on page eight, off in the distance, there's parking for a VCU hospital facility. It's a good 30 to 40 yards off Brooklyn Parkway. This is the only place where there will be a parking lot right on Brooklyn Parkway. Even the Hermitage at the beginning of Brooklyn Parkway has this beautiful green space and parking well off of Brooklyn Parkway. I personally, I'm not speaking for the committee on this, I personally have no objection to the slip lane. 30 seconds. To the slip lane being transferred to the school. But that park is a city park. And it's part of the original Olmstead design. And to quote Joni Mitchell, you don't know what you've got until it's gone. You pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

My name is Robert Hood. I live in the third district across the street from the school. And across the street from the school and the pocket park. And I am against this proposal. While most people wouldn't want to look out their front window and see a huge parking lot where there was never one before, I have a larger concern. Our neighborhood and that property's significance as an Olmstead landscape. Our neighborhood, Sherwood Park, was designed in 1891 by Frederick Law Olmsted, who is considered to be the father of landscape architecture. Some of his more famous works include, as stated previously, Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City, U.S. Capital Grounds in Washington, D.C., and the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. He also personally designed two neighborhoods in the United States, one in Albany, New York, and our neighborhood, Sherwood Park. The only portion of that design that currently remains 100% intact from his original design in 1891 is Brooklyn Parkway, including the wedge-shaped green space that the school wants to turn into a parking lot, which I believe would also become the first and only street-facing parking lot in a Northside neighborhood. If passed, this would carve out a piece of our legacy, our history, and the identity and significance of our neighborhood and destroy an Olmstead-designed landscape. Brooklyn Parkway, including the piece of land in question, is currently recognized by the Cultural Landscape Foundation and National Park Service as a National Historic Site. We are recognized by the Olmstead Network as an official Olmstead landscape and feature on their website. We have also begun the process with Virginia DHR for additional historic recognitions and designations. The school wants to dismantle and pave over this green space and pocket park in 135 years of history at the objection of residents of our neighborhood and the Olmstead Network, not for the matter of necessity, but for the convenience of not having to park in the street, of which, as previously stated, there is already an abundance of designated spaces in front of and down the entire parkway, including in front of my house, which is fine. The following is from the school's own website. While other schools integrate nature into their mission to cultivate well-rounded self-aware individuals by emphasizing outdoor play, gardening, and hands-on environmental exploration, while our education aims to nurture children physically, emotionally, and spiritually while fostering a lifelong sense of wonder and environmental stewardship. This plan runs counter to those core ideals, which are part of their own mission. Finally, this letter of support from a year ago is completely irrelevant as stated in the communications that your council has received in the past few months. Our neighborhood initially agreed to the conceptual draft framework for development change a year ago, which was always contingent on their final plan. When we received that final plan in April, this is when we and I raised serious objections. Please do not let them acquire this green space and permanently mar the history and beauty of our neighborhood. There are no pretty parking lots, and the transfer of this piece of land will cause irreparable harm to the only Olmstead-designed landscape in Virginia.

Thank you. That's your time. Thank you.

Thank you.

Welcome.

Hi, thank you. My name is Tara Fitzpatrick and I'm a resident of Sherwood Park in the third district. The following views that I'm expressing tonight are from my perspective as a resident mom and a person who bikes, walks, and uses transit while also occasionally using my car to get around as transportation. A week ago, the city renamed a section of East Clay Street in the late Bill Martin's honor. And while this is a lovely sentiment, Bill should still be with us. And if the city is truly going to honor him, this body needs to acknowledge that he died by traffic violence, and our lack of safe infrastructure enabled it to happen. Every time a paper is approved that undermines master plans like Richmond 300, Division Zero Action Plan, Richmond Connects, RBA Green 2050, The Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, created through extensive community engagement with content experts, it makes us all vulnerable. My neighbors and other community members have detailed safety, environmental, and historic preservation concerns in their communications, both tonight and through many emails and other conversations over the past couple of months. We just heard from most of you about your commitment to preservation. In my email to you in late May, I outline in detail how this paper is unsupportive of the sections of Richmond 300 it purports to support. I also shared details about a near-miss crash with a Richmond Waldorf school parent during the arrival process this past March. It involved my son and I. And as we were riding to an appointment at Children's next door, we were almost hit. I'm happy to share that video with anybody, but I can't share it here because the language is not really great. The addition of at least another ingress-egress bisecting bike lanes and sidewalks will increase the likelihood of more dangerous conflicts. My neighbors and I have had to serve as first responders in life-altering and life-ending crashes on Brooklyn Parkway, which is included on the high injury network. If I'm injured or killed on our city's streets, I've asked for the community to politicize my death. So let's go ahead and avoid that and start making the right decisions. Please oppose Ordinance 2026-109. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Good evening, Council. My name is John Gass. I'm a resident of Sherwood Parks. I'm here speaking on behalf of the Safety and Governmental Commission of the Sherwood Park Civic Association. You will probably soon hear that our association wrote a letter of support for the Waldorf Plan that you're considering tonight. I signed that letter, so listen to me when I tell you what it was and what it wasn't. It reflected a straw vote following the Waldorf 2025 presentation to our association, the members that were there in the room, and that was 16 months ago. So, so much is different now. Our association has no formal process for issuing approvals or disapprovals in our bylaws, nor do the bylaws even specify what a quorum is. We issued a report of a straw vote that happened one evening in our group. We're not even the applicable neighborhood association group to be factored into this proposal. The city's map shows Waldorf to be located in the Edge Hill Chamberlain Civic Association, and they have stated that they have not been contacted at all by any party about this proposal. Since Waldorf's 2025 presentation to us, we've heard from many neighbors who don't want a parking lot in a front yard on a city-designated great street. We've heard from local bike and pedestrian advocates who see an already dangerous intersection threatened by another busy curb cut. On Robin Hood Road, which will be a major route to and from the Diamond District, We heard from the city's sustainability stewards, who plead for depaving whenever possible, especially considering all the combined sewer troubles that our city is struggling with now. We heard from the Frederick Wall Olmstead Foundation, who was perplexed that Richmond, one of America's great historically astute cities, would consider allowing a parking lot on Olmstead's only design.

30 seconds.

So our committee representing the taxpayers who live here is in opposition to the no bid sale of city property for the tax exempt entity to construct a parking lot on our arguably most beautiful street or boulevard in the city. We've had multiple meetings between the school and our neighborhood hoping to understand the need for more on-site parking when there is ample on-street parking nearby. We hope to work to a safe and respectful compromise, but Waldorf has not backed away from the parking lot plan.

Thank you. That's your time. Thank you.

With that, the public hearing is now closed. Bring it back to the body.

Madam President, I do believe you need to call for the speakers in support of this ordinance.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Clerk. In fact, I thought we had had that conversation. So we did, if you would, those who are in favor, if you would come forward.

Good evening, Council President Newbill and Council Members. My name is Andrew Ross and I'm the Executive Director at Richland-Walter School who has worked in partnership with Lori Markham of Markham Planning in relation to the submission of this ordinance. I think so often times we have to consider what questions we are asked. And this chamber here, I'm sure has asked a lot about considering what is right and what is best. And those are hard questions to sometimes come down to one particular way to resolve that. I think you have to consider what it is to do good with what is presented to you. These are difficult decisions. And we recognize that as we have worked closely with Our neighbors, I know all of them by name that just spoke in opposition to this, as we've met together on multiple occasions over the last 16 to 18 months. And we'll continue to do that. We have shared with them that we are willing to write a memorandum of understanding in relation to that partnership. And we will do that if that's something that they are willing to do. We recognize that the ordinance in front of you has two main pieces relative to the right of way closure, as well as the acquisition with conditions. We continue to partner with planning and zoning, working with all directors and meeting the necessary requirements. We recognize that's going to require an update to an institutional master site plan. that is part of the condition that is part of what the next 18 months will provide for us so in what was presented that does show in this ordinance of 34 parking spots was relative to an initial design it is something that we have shared with the civic association as well as with others that we are open to other design considerations for buffering for obviously we will have the necessary sidewalks the consideration of honoring the Olmstead landscaping into the city as well as it relates to this particular location. But as a part of it, I hope that the city can recognize it is stretching 300 feet in front of our doorstep. There's not another single spot in this neighborhood that has this much proximity to this slip lane that's been closed for four years.

30 seconds.

It has been indicated by safety personnel that there is zero interest in reopening this road. It is directly on our doorstep and we will invest and make the necessary steps and continue to work with Shorewood Park as we are their neighbors. Thank you.

Thank you.

Welcome city council members. My name is Pete Markham. I'm a parent at the Richmond Waldorf School for 11 years. I presently serve as a PA chair representing the school's parents association. I was a parent of a child when the Waldorf School moved to its present location. I remember when the slip of Robin Hood Road in front of our school was closed. And I think that closing it has alleviated some of the traffic safety issues, but it's not perfect. The school purchasing this property would be increasing traffic safety on many levels, pedestrian, biking, vehicle travel, and parking. Along with increasing traffic safety, the closed road and triangle property will be turned into a more vibrant, welcome, and useful corner at no expense to the city. Community involvement is a practice that our school tries to teach our students at the Waldorf School and learn through practice. We the parents and the leaders at the school are willing to listen to thoughts, ideas, and designs from our neighbors to help create a more functional school and social space in our community. We the Richmond Waldorf School PA ask that you vote yes to this ordinance so that we may be a part of a positive lasting change in our wonderful city.

Thank you.

Good evening, President Newbill, Vice President Jordan, and members of council. My name is Laurie Markham, and I am an urban planner by training and a proud parent of three students at the Richmond Wardruff School. We started this process about a year and a half ago. Even though these slip lanes in front of the school have been closed to traffic for four years, As you've heard from some of the neighbors, it does cause confusion, the current situation, and it is currently not safe, and our pickup and drop-off lanes do not function the way that they should. So instead of asking the city to spend your limited resources on fixing this two lanes of pavement in front of our front door. We have gone through this extensive process to try to acquire the property so that we may fix it ourselves and create a safer, more welcoming environment for our school and for the neighborhood. We were disappointed in the pushback from the neighborhood after receiving their initial voice of support for it. If we had heard that at the beginning, we might not have spent so much time and resources getting this far. So we are committed to continuing to work with them on what is the best plan for safety and maneuverability around this intersection, and we would ask that you support this ordinance so that we can move forward with those plans. We are here to answer questions if you have any. Thank you for your time and consideration this evening.

Thank you, Ms. Markham. At this point, the public hearing is now closed, bringing me back to council for discussion. Council Member Gibson.

Thank you, Madam President. So as I mentioned earlier, my hope is to continue this item so that we can for two things. One, there is language in terms of the number of parking spots in the notice that is different than what I believe the current plans show. So I think that. correcting that would be beneficial to do. Two, there are documents that I have requested from the administration to provide more guidance and understanding in terms of traffic studies and such. So I think that material which we requested in June would be helpful to have. And actually the third thing, given that the school has indicated interest in some type of MOU, I do think that community members would be very appreciative to see, you know, if there is a way to formalize, you know, some type of collaboration. I think the piece that is, I think everyone is on board with is the understanding that this is an awkward intersection and there is an interest in ensuring that it's safe. I am encouraged by the fact that we have received input from city administration experts in regarding to transportation safety, including our new that the overall plan in terms of closing the street permanently is something that they believe is safe. But my hope is that with some additional time and a minimum the modification in terms of the parking spaces in the ordinance, that we can get more folks on board with this item. So my motion is to continue this to the September 28th formal meeting and hopefully with an amended version.

Is there a second?

I second that.

Council is now voting on the motion to continue ordinance number 2026-109 to the September 28th council meeting as stated. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones? Aye. Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch? Aye. Ms. Trammell? Aye. Ms. Eibelbacher? Aye. Vice President Jordan? Aye. And President Newbill? Aye. That motion has been approved.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Let's proceed with the regular agenda item 2026, R028.

That item is item number 33, resolution number 2026-R028, to order the submission to the qualified voters of the city of the question of whether the city should levy a local sales tax rate not to exceed 1%, the revenues from which shall be used solely for the construction or renovation of public school facilities for a referendum thereon. That paper is before council.

Thank you. And I would ask if the lead patron would like to provide comments at this time.

Thank you so much, President Neubill and colleagues. So just as a refresher, for the last several years, the city council, mayor's office, and our school board have been asking the General Assembly for a tool that's existed in other localities in Virginia. That tool is to levy a 1% sales tax to go towards new school construction and major renovations. Before us tonight is the paper that, if passed, would then facilitate a referendum for our constituents to vote on whether or not they want to accept this additional tool for our toolbox. As mentioned, nine other localities have this implemented. Chesterfield just voted on it. Other localities are pursuing it. If passed, and I believe we will hear a presentation from Davenport, it would bring in upwards of $45 million a year in new funding. Very importantly to me, it would diversify our tax base. I feel very committed to our small restaurant businesses to try and alleviate the meals tax burden that they have. And if we have another tool like this 1% sales tax, I think it allows us to diversify what we're putting on their backs. A couple other points. The revenue is collected by the state, not by City of Richmond, it's collected by the state, and it is effectively in a lockbox only for these purposes. So again, this is something that we are considering to put forward as a referendum for the voters of Richmond to decide. Look forward to hearing from Davenport, We were kind of in a rush with the way the General Assembly wrapped up and was extended to get the information that would help us make the most thoughtful decision. So I think we will have some analysis to further dive into how much money would be generated. And then also, the reality is if we do not add this extra tool, what we're looking at when it comes to continuing to fund the needs of our schools. So with that, I will turn it over. Thank you.

Thank you. I'll just add. Very brief remarks. Richmond's future, 22,000 students. We have a total of approximately 44 schools. Approximately 25% of those schools, 10 of them, are more than 100 years old. And I'm all for preservation and all of that. But when we're serious about readying our future to be successful in a highly very global technological AI society, a 100-year-old school is not it. We also have new schools. It's good we have about 10 of those. And what that's going to require, as you would with your home, is ongoing maintenance. But then we have 50% of our 44 schools that are in need of major renovation and or upgrades so that the environments that our children are learning in are healthy. This 1% sales tax gives us an opportunity to ensure that as swiftly as possible, we have and create environments that are safe, educational, high tech, all of those things that allow them to get on a path to success sooner. OK. And so the 1% sales tax referendum that Richmond voters would decision. This is not council. Richmond voters would get to decision. Ms. Jordan has already mentioned the amount that that would give us that would allow us to more swiftly deal with the challenges of our schools. And I would hope that we would have support for that Our children deserve the best. Where we are now, and we've made progress. I have a new school, hadn't had a new school in my district for decades, Henry L. Marsh Elementary School. But I have a school that's over 100 years old in my district as well, and there are nine others across the city. And I'm saying our children need to have the kind of environments that allow them to

learn, thrive, grow, all of that.

And so I'm gonna press pause there and we will proceed with a public hearing.

Madam President, I believe we have a presentation.

Yes, I want to, Mr. Donnell, I'm sorry, I got a little excited. Mr. Donald.

YEAH, GOOD EVENING. YEAH, GOOD EVENING. YEAH, GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL PRESIDENT- COUNCIL PRESIDENT- COUNCIL PRESIDENT- DIDN'T MEAN TO GO FAST. DIDN'T MEAN TO GO FAST. DIDN'T MEAN TO GO FAST. I WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE QUICK TOO. I'LL BE QUICK TOO. I'LL BE QUICK TOO. I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT THE MAYOR, AN ISSUE THAT THE MAYOR, AN ISSUE THAT THE MAYOR, THE COUNCIL, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THE COUNCIL, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THE COUNCIL, THE GENERAL AS with Davenport and I'll just share the mayor's ultra enthusiastic position in alignment with all of you and just kind of highlight why this is very important to us. And then I'll turn it over from Mr. David Rose, who y'all are more familiar with than me. This is our guy who crunches the numbers and brings you know, the authority that we need to have confidence in what our future looks like. And so, you know, just want to highlight that there are a ton of competing priorities. We've talked today about everything from water conservation in some of our meetings together, you know, the courthouse. Most recently, we looked at our infrastructure. We had a train going to the canal. I mean, there are tons of infrastructure activities for which we are focused on, committed to, and have to provide for with little to no resources many of the times. THIS IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY THAT DOES NOT COME ALONG OFTEN. I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE, ESPECIALLY FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN HEARING FROM COUNCIL ALMOST FROM DAY ONE, IS THAT YOU WANT TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO OUR TAXPAYERS AND NOT BUILD THE CITY ON THEIR BACKS AND DO IT WITH OUR RESIDENTS, NOT TO OUR RESIDENTS. AND SO THIS OPPORTUNITY IS JUST A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO THAT. ONE PERCENT SALES TAX, WHEN YOU CRUNCH THE NUMBERS AND the experts will bring those to you. But personally, I've been a part of 10 different special local option sales tax activities. And in the lowest one that was brought forward, 45% of all of those revenues were paid by folks from outside of the community. You don't get a better opportunity or an option to deliver for your community and not on their backs than when bringing an opportunity like this to the table. I think even more so what I would highlight here is that, you know, when we think about the shared cost is also in a dedicated funding source. So I've heard all of the things whether before I got here, even since I've been here about the sleight of hand when it comes to financial delivery and things of that nature. Well, here, the General Assembly has made sure we don't have to worry about that because there's a dedicated funding source that will be collected by the state and then returned to the city for the specific reason that these funds are to be utilized for, which is just another step in accountability, which, again, when speaking to this council, is something that you and the mayor are fully aligned on that we should provide that. And then I think the final thing is that there are some things that the subject matter experts, the things that we lead in and the things that others lead in, and I think Of all the questions that have come forward for me personally, I take great respect and provide a strong commitment to this effort based on the actions that have already taken place by the unanimous support of our school board, who when it comes to our young people and the things and the resources they need, are our subject matter experts. And so I think you have them, you know, in front of us today. And the final piece, which is important, I think those other pieces are just as important, You know, affordability safeguards, again, it's council, because I definitely want to always listen to and acknowledge the things that you are unified and committed to. And affordability is something that y'all have taken on head on. We talked earlier today when we had our group here and we highlighted some of the decisions that you made to support them. Even your commitment to our downtown and how we use funds and how we don't, making sure that they don't have a negative impact. Well, again, in partnership and mainly because of your advocacy, this effort on affordability doesn't include groceries, doesn't include medicine and hygiene products. Those are exempt from the one cent. That is important as well because when I look at this, I see a full alignment you know, with our mayor and with our council. And when you have that type of alignment and you add in our partners and champions at the school board, it is just something that makes this once in a lifetime opportunity for which we didn't know how we would come up with these resources. Something that is very tangible. And then I think the final thing that for me, I'm really excited about, which is not as much of a fiscal impact, but your approval is taking it to our residents. So ultimately they get to make the decision. And so, look, I often give kudos to the council, but I think this is one of those times where the political will matches the need of our community. And so I'm honored today to introduce Mr. David Rose, who I have come to not only consider a friend and colleague, but a strong subject matter expert. And he'll take you through what the numbers say.

Welcome, Mr. Rose. We look forward to hearing how this opportunity will be a great win for our city.

Thank you, Madam President, members of council. Again, David Rose with Davenport, and we have the good fortune of serving as your financial advisor. What I'd like to do this evening is just provide some context to some of the comments that both you and the vice president have made, as well as Mr. Donald. In front of you, you should see this supplemental information. By all means, just stop me if there's something that you'd like me to readdress, or if there's some questions, by all means. I'm not going to be too long this evening. But the hope is to just provide some context of what the opportunity is. As you've seen and heard, up to 1% of the total sales. Again, a significant portion, although I do not know that number, will be coming from folks that do not live in the city. So again, from a balanced perspective versus, you think about it, real estate that is totally paid for by city residents. As you can see here, I'm not going to read every line. But just to provide, again, a little bit more information If enacted, we think it would occur in FY 2028, and that would be roughly $47 million in year one. So again, a game-changing number in the roughly 30 years I've had the good fortune of working with the city. This is the single largest number increase of a source of revenue increase. that I've ever seen, and I think it holds true. The good news here, it'll last for upwards of almost 20 years, so 19 years given a little bit of the technique of getting it done post a resolution. In addition, what we've done here, and you'll see in a moment, is we have grown those revenues while the history has been with regard to growth trends, about 3%. We have grown that at 2%, and you'll see what that does. So that $47 million literally goes up about 50% by the time the end of the 20-year period is over. A couple of important things for those that may be skeptical. These dollars can only be used to pay for existing renovation or new improvements of a material scale for schools. That's important. As they said, I think one of you mentioned a lockbox. And indeed, that's what will happen. It will be remitted to the city by the Commonwealth. And that's how it's been for the other roughly nine entities, eight of whom we represent, by the way, in doing this already. So it's been quite successful. And of course, it can be used for debt service. And I'll talk about that in a moment. So as I indicated a moment ago, we started about $47 million. That's the estimate in fiscal year 2028. And have grown at just 2%. it'll go to almost $70 million by 2046. And that's the way the legislation would be set up to allow you to, in effect, collect these dollars for almost 20 years. It's important to realize, again, that this is at 2%. The history has been closer to 3%. So you can see that number may be even considerably better than that over the period of time. So let's talk a little bit, if we could, about the current school plan. That current school plan, which was created roughly about seven or eight years ago, envisioned about $800 million in four phases. We've already funded phases one and two, but the phases three and four there would not get completed for literally another eight to almost 10 years. That contemplates another $450 million. That's what we'll call the current plan. That current plan, as I could tell, based upon Superintendent Camras' and others' discussions, are seemingly inadequate in terms of just the number of dollars. and the timing again is going to take upwards of some eight plus years just to get that done. The other problem is phases three and four, you'll see in a moment, really don't have any funding sources yet that will rely on the growth of the general fund, and I'll show you how material and how important that's going to be. In contrast, if you look at the right-hand side, If we're successful in having this 1% sales tax, we're not only able to do $450 million, we can do $850 million in about the same amount of time. Said another way, some $450 million that would take eight years will all be done in half that time with the 1%. More importantly, or equally importantly, I should say, that will also not in any way impact the need of the growth for the general fund. And you'll see that in a moment. So again, it has multiple benefits. So as I said here, the $850 million is what we think this 1% conservatively can fund. It could be larger than that. But again, the current plan is at $400 million, and that current plan, again, will take some time to get done. So I'd like to just touch base a little bit on some graphics. And hopefully, the old saying, a picture's worth 1,000 words. So hopefully, I can cut down on all my verbose discussion here. This is only phases one and two. What you can see there is right now the dark green is bonds that had already been issued. They have already been spoken for. The light green is that phase one. That's what came from the approval several years ago of that increase of the 1.5%. That's also spoken for. That's taking care of projects that, again, have been funded. That first, if you would, some $350 million, that has been part of that. Then you see the brownish, the tannish, if you would, those dollars. Again, they're coming from existing general fund dollars that you put into the 2027 fiscal year budget. And then lastly, that light blue, that's the remaining part of that second phase. That's going to need, that's about $7.5 million annual debt service, and that's going to need some growth. from the general fund. So while this phases 1 and 2 are largely already baked into your overall budgets, there is still going to be a few dollars necessary that will come from some growth in the general fund. That said, if we don't get this 1%, that red series of bars, that is roughly an additional $34 million at its apex of general fund revenues that will be necessary to take care of phases three and four. That has not yet been accounted for. Those will be, again, necessary and come from future dollars and growth in the revenues of the general fund. However, lastly, If we're able to get that 1%, you'll notice there we have that slight bump in the light blue over a couple of years. But in the grand scheme of things, those are really very small dollars. And you'll notice that by the end of 2034, 2035, as we finish up this overall plan, the city's overall debt profile as it relates to schools is actually stronger in seven or eight years than it is today in 2027. What that means there is that we are building the basis for future debt capacity for the next wave of schools to come beyond that $850 million. So again, this from an overall perspective is both prudent Financially, it helps the schools. It helps us get schools done faster and not have to worry about even increased inflation per schools. And it also puts the overall general fund in a much better position to take on other capital needs as we go into the next decade. So lastly, I'm happy to answer any questions. I appreciate that. Council President Newbill and Again, hopefully I can be of some help.

OK. So you will remain with us. What I'd like to do is go on and have our public hearing. And then if there are questions, you'll be here. We'll come back. Yes. OK. At this time, I will ask and invite those present who are desirous of speaking in opposition to the paper, if you would come forward. Seeing none, I'd like to invite those present who are desirous of speaking in favor of the paper, if you would come forward. Welcome. Good evening. Good evening.

President Newbill, Vice President Jordan, and esteemed council members. My name is Shavonda Fernandez. I'm a chair of Virginia Public Schools and also the 9th District School Board representative. On behalf of the board, I want to thank you all for adding the 1% sales tax referendum for consideration this evening. THIS SHARED EFFORT REFLECTS COLLABORATION AMONG THE GOVERNOR, STATE, SCHOOL BOARD, CITY COUNCIL, AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. IT IS NO SECRET THAT THERE'S A GREAT FACILITIES AND MAINTENANCE NEED IN RPS. IN THE NINTH DISTRICT ALONE, WE'VE BEEN IN THE NEWS OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS BECAUSE OF CONCERNS OF ABESTAS. THIS COULD BE LIFE-CHANGING FOR OUR STUDENTS. THIS IS ABOUT LEAVING THE NEXT GENERATION WITH SCHOOLS THAT REFLECT THE VALUE WE PLACE ON THEIR EDUCATION. Students should be able to focus on learning, not on leaking roofs, outdated HVAC systems, or aging facilities. This is a transformational opportunity for the city of Richmond to make a substantial impact in the lives of our students. Most of our buildings average 60 years old. I'm 44 years old, and when I wake up, my knees ache. Can you imagine how the schools feel? And we have tens of millions in deferred maintenance. The funding would provide a steady, decorated stream towards school modernization, easing the burden on the rest of RPS and the city budget. This referendum is an investment into our children, our workforce, and the future of the city of Richmond. Every student deserves a safe, modern learning environment that prepares them to succeed. Why does this matter? You may ask. Many RPS school buildings are decades old and require significant repairs and modernization. The referendum provides a dedicated local funding source for school infrastructure without relying solely on the city's general fund, which we are so appreciative of. Strong public schools strengthens neighborhoods and help attract families and businesses. And I think we all want that goal. Investing in education supports workforce development and contributes to Richmond's long-term economic vitality. 30 seconds. When we invest in our students, we invest in our future for our entire city. Thank you for your consideration tonight.

Thank you. Welcome, Superintendent Kamers.

Good evening, Madam President, members of council. My name is Jason Kamers, superintendent of Richmond Public Schools. I wanted to read you a student quote. The student writes, in winter, the school was very cold. And a lot of times, we had to put on our jackets. The students who sat closest to the heater were warm, and the ones who sat farthest away were very cold. That's from Barbara Johns in 1951. Despite our very best efforts, we still sometimes have young people who experience similar conditions in their classrooms. And so today, I come before you, as did the chair, to thank you. for considering putting this referendum before the voters of Richmond so that we can once and for all ensure that no child in the city of Richmond attends a school or is in a classroom that is too cold, too warm, doesn't have the proper roofing, or any of the other incredibly important amenities that children deserve in the 21st century. My commitment to you as superintendent of the school system is that as we create a new facilities plan that would be the roadmap for how to use those funds, that it will be done transparently and we will aim to be as efficient as we possibly can with every single dollar to ensure that every child gets the very best chance to be in a modern facility. We look forward to engaging with you, with the public, our families, our students, about how to prioritize these dollars to make sure that we set all of our young people on a trajectory for success. Again, thank you so much for your support over the years because of the city's investments. We have a new Henry Marsh Elementary School. We have a new River City Middle School. We have a new Cardinal Elementary School. And we are about to open a new Richmond High School for the Arts in just a couple of weeks. I know, like you, we'd love to have similar facilities for all 22,000 children in the city of Richmond. Thank you.

Thank you.

Welcome. Good afternoon, evening, President Nealville and council members. My name is Dr. Jackie McDonough. I'm a 38-year resident of Richmond, a former RPS teacher, and a former VCU School of Education faculty member. I am in full support of the resolution that, if passed, would put a referendum on voters' ballots in November for a 1% sales tax for schools construction. This is democracy in action. My neighborhood high school, John Marshall, that my children went to, is 66 years old and sorely in need of replacement. I think that Richmonders would enthusiastically support the additional 1% sales tax for school construction if their questions about current school spending were put to rest. I, for one, have questions about some line items in the May 2026 financial report. According to RPS's own financial reporting, 0% of the $20 million allocated for school improvement projects was spent in the 2026 fiscal year. Our schools are filled with mold, leaky roofs, and crumbling infrastructure. So why are we not currently spending the funds allocated specifically for fixing those issues? In another entry, other professional compensation, spending was over budget by $9.6 million. Additionally, RPS is required to submit a five-year facilities plan under state law. The school board set a goal to produce the plan two years ago. No plan has been completed. This is an example of mismanagement. I believe that every Richmonder deserves the right to know what is happening with their public dollars, and knowing that it isn't being spent, that it's being spent wisely. I need to be able to look my neighbors in the eye when they ask, why do we need another 1% tax? and say, yes, the money is absolutely necessary and it will be managed properly. In short, this system isn't working for Richmond. We need a change from the status quo. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, Madam President and City Council.

Welcome.

I just want to say that I do agree with the motion of putting it on a referendum for construction and renovation for RPS, but I think it needs to be legally earmarked exclusively for RPS construction and existing renovation. I saw this happen in 2018 and 2019. The meal tax was voted on 2018 for the school infrastructure and the cigarette taxes was voted in 2019. And the city taxpayers believed it was going to RPS. TO BUILD SCHOOLS, BUT INSTEAD IT'S BEING USED AS A PART OF THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND RIGHT NOW. SO IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN AUDIENCE OR REFERENDUM TO CREATE CHANGE ON HOW THAT MILL TAXES WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ALLOCATED RIGHT NOW. So I would like to see more transparency on that as a taxpayer, as a mother with two children in Richmond Public Schools. We are concerned about our children education But my biggest thing about this referendum is that everybody can have transparency. Everyone can see what Richmond Public Schools needs. But what happens if this referendum fails? Thank you. Thank you.

Seeing no other persons who stood to speak in favor,

Well, hold on, Madam President. Let's just, I do think that our former school board member and colleague raised a really good point.

Excuse me, I'm not hearing you well. I'm sorry.

I think she raised a really good point. I just want to put this point of clarification that the legislation requires the city to hold that tax revenue in a special reserve fund. So there is, it's unlike the meals tax and any other tax for it. Actually, it's a requirement that's

As noted, there are no others. The public hearing is now closed. Bring it back to the body for discussion. Councilwoman Gibson.

Thank you, Madam President. So this evening we've had several discussions that focus and are centered in racial justice. We celebrated black businesses in Richmond. We celebrated movement towards protecting a historic black neighborhood in Richmond. These are exciting things to do. But there are a couple places in which the reality of how much work we have to do is very tangible. And that has both to do with the state of our public schools and the state of our public housing. I don't know any other way to say it except that the state of our school buildings is deplorable. We had a meeting in John Marshall recently. Our superintendent was talking about cold spaces On this particular day, it was hot, and residents struggled to stay in the space. It is a sad reality. We've had to close schools because it was too hot to learn in them. We've had staff voice issues with health concerns because of concerns with mold and air quality. I support this resolution wholeheartedly. And sure, the revenue stream is not as progressive as I think our residents deserve. Unfortunately, we are limited, but I am thankful that we have an option. We need this funding desperately, so my focus is how can we make sure that we win? Anyone who's run a race knows time is of the essence, and to adopt this now in July You know, this is in the reality of early voting. This is not a slam dunk. I reached out to the mayor's office last month and made several requests from him. One was that he commit to ensure that any revenue generated through this funding source would be additive and not replace existing funding. So while the state law prohibits us from applying it towards existing debt, what can happen is we have other funding that goes towards capital improvements, There are ways that we could be able to bait and switch. I want to believe that that's not the intent to do, but I think that the public deserves a promise. A promise that the funding will be additive and so that we can do more because the need is extensive. To that same end, we need to show the public the numbers. And so this evening, we received some presentations. I would like to note that these presentations are not yet public. They were not uploaded. And so I request to the clerk that those materials be shared so that the public can see them. I've not had substantial time to review myself, but in the quick review I've done, there's a lot of charts and not a lot of numbers. What I've specifically asked the mayor was for an annual accounting from 2019 to present of both the revenue generated by the 1.5% of the meals tax that's been directed to go towards schools, and to see exactly what we spent it on. So the presentation that we did not go through that was prepared by, I'm not sure, by the administration, there does show charts with what we received. But what we want to show the public is that we spent it as we said we would. And so I humbly request that we receive that documentation. I also requested to get an understanding of the revenue. We've received that now. I appreciate Davenport for putting that document together. And then I also ask that the administration provide an outline in terms of how we can ensure we're not going to fumble this one. There have been headlines regarding issues with how the meals tax program was managed, and we owe the public some clear understanding to ensure that this will be handled appropriately. This is a large sum of money that we're talking about and it needs to be managed correctly. The other request was that the mayor and the school board work to adopt a comprehensive school facilities plan. I understand that that's something that's on their to-do list and appreciate that they are looking to do that, but it is unfortunate that we're not going to receive that plan until after voters are asked to vote. I would say that voters are far more likely to support something when they know, for instance, that that means when they vote yes, that we will rebuild John Marshall, for instance, in my district, Ginter Park Elementary School. There are many in my district and throughout the city. That helps to win support. And so to ask the public to get a check, essentially, for rebuilding something when they have not yet been told what that is, is not ideal, let's say that. I worry about the approach that the administration has taken by pinning future tax cuts on the success of this. I think that we can win when we show the public that we will do right by them, that we will rebuild the schools and we will put the money where we said we would. Pinning the support on a future cut for the property tax, for instance, In my opinion, this is contradictory of what the administration has already said. The administration has said that they were open to a 2% property tax cut. We told residents that once we aligned the timing of the calendar we would have a more accurate way of being able to budget, which would also help to ensure that potential rate increases or cuts are aligned with what our financial needs are. I'm just not sure that what we want to do is to suggest that if they don't support it, we're going to punish residents. Because at the end of the day, what I don't want us to do is to punish the students. We need this to win. And I think that through transparency and collaboration and doing the homework, we can ensure that the schoolwork is done in safe and healthy buildings. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilwoman Jones.

Thank you, Madam President. and thank you to my colleagues that put this paper forward. I have a couple of maybe statements, I think, that kind of BUILDS UPON WHAT MY COLLEAGUE MS. GIBSON IS SAYING. I DEFINITELY SUPPORT THE 1% TAX. TONIGHT IS NOT JUST ABOUT LET'S VOTE ON THIS. IT IS REALLY MORE ABOUT WHAT NOW. I CONSTANTLY SAY THAT AND NOT JUST ABOUT THE WHAT NOW BUT THE HOW. SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS? HOW ARE WE GOING TO ENSURE that if we have 22,000 students that we're gonna make sure that their families know about this. Because when I look at this presentation, it got a city logo on it. It don't have a school board logo on it. So I would like to know how we plan to actually implement this so that we can make sure that folks understand what it is that we're doing, why we're doing it and the benefit of us doing it and why we need their support and ensuring that that information is clear that the messaging does not speak to, you get this, we get that. We want to be clear about why we're doing this and the benefit that the families and the communities are going to receive by supporting this resolution. Then also making sure AND I RAISED THIS A LITTLE EARLIER, BUT I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT OUR RENTERS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING TO THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE NOT JUST HOMEOWNERS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING. BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS A GAME CHANGER AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT COULD REALLY elevate what we're attempting to do. I remember when we were on school board and advocating for Richmond High School of the Arts and how challenging that was. So I want us to really take this not in a way where it creates more anxiety for families or like, hey, we don't really know what's going on, but that collectively we are working with the school board to ensure because they are the ones that have access to the families and that we are working with them to ensure and that means if we have to have roundtables meetings every district however many times so that we can get folks out and make sure we cannot say they did not show up We cannot, it is unacceptable. So we have to be able to make sure that as we are moving forward, that there is an implementation plan and that implementation plan explains the why and the how and what we planning on doing. And I hope to have that before we even move to anything next other than tonight. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Jones. Councilwoman Robertson.

Thank you, Dr. Newbill. I don't have a lot to add to the comments that have already been made. I do want to make it known that I fully support this going as a referendum to the voters to make that final decision. I do think that it's important that in the interim between now and the vote being cast in November, that we do a really good job of informing the public what this referendum means. And the fact that once this referendum is passed, this obligates the city to live up to the law of this resolution, I mean, of this ordinance that we look forward to making sure that everybody's fully informed, as to how those funds are gonna be used. And the partnership with Richmond Public Schools is significantly important. very, very important that we work with Russian public schools is painful for teachers and for school board members and others to come before us. And you all have been doing this for the entire time I've been on city council. There has been complaints about the overall condition of schools. where we are in making those corrections and providing the facilities that are needed. And unfortunately, I really do think that at some point, Madam Chair, council cannot fund everything. The citizens of the city of Richmond cannot put enough money in the budget to cover the costs for everything that needs to be done. But some way or the other, when we do our priorities from one year to the next as far as budget is concerned, the time has come that we just have to make some really, really tough decision as to what is a priority. And everything cannot be a priority. And we've talked about a facility plan. I've been through the schools. I've been through the you know, the baller rooms. I've been through many of the conditions. I've actually been a part of the team that did a lot of the survey. And when you guys were still on the school board and others before you, and those conditions have not been corrected. They have only gotten worse. And the cost is a lot more. And as hard as it is to make the right kind of budget decision, I really want to encourage our colleagues. This is going to be challenging for our residents. Many of our residents are having an extremely hard time. We have fought hard to try to cut real estate tax. You know, every year that I've been on city council almost, I've put in a paper to cut their real estate taxes. So it's a real concerted effort in working with the administration and looking at our total budget as well as working with schools and looking at ways that how we can tighten that belt where we can tighten that belt. There have been some recommendations for some actions that I would dare to say anything about consolidating schools, because that's like an impossibility to have that discussion of. But I do think that we really do have to work very closely together to do everything we can to close this gap and get to a place. And it is important that As these revenues of this resolution is passed, the referendum is passed, and we begin to receive this $47-plus million that hopefully we have the capacity to look at the majority of this fund being used to pay debt service and not cash construction and rehab. Otherwise, we're going to be way, way, way behind the eight ball in getting this done. So it's really important that we look at that. And then the other thing, we've talked about how this could help the city to have less of a demand for capital improvement dollars in for school. I would want to see our financial advisors look at a way that we do not see this as an opportunity of less money that has to be continued to put in the budget to cover the debt service that we already have that this is added on money that which means that the appropriation that is needed to cover the current debt service remain an obligation of the city and not this become an alternative for taking care of the debt service because if it does We are really not adding any. We will still be adding some, but nowhere near the charts that we had before. So there's a lot of work that needs to be done. I am hopeful the school board members, superintendent, let's roll our sleeves up. Let's do what we got to do to make this happen. City Council members that we have to make some hard choices and say, at some point, with a dedicated source of revenue, we can definitely project where we can go from here. And so I'm looking forward to the opportunity of seeing the facility plan, the priorities that you all have determined for schools. and how we can work together to appropriate those funds and a schedule for work to be done. So looking forward to that. And again, I'm grateful for the General Assembly giving us this opportunity and let us work together to help the citizens be prepared to vote on the referendum in November.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Robertson. Councilwoman Lynch?

Oh, thank goodness. I am just elated to be at this point. And I think, Councilmember Robertson, you hit the nail on the head. We've got to make some tough choices and buckle down. I think all my colleagues made excellent points. I don't know if at almost 9 PM at night we'll be able to really solve all of the world's problems. However, I do think that we should use our various committees, finance, EHS, gov ops. We should really dig into this issue. And I look forward to the superintendent bringing the facilities master plan to us or some draft version of it by September. if possible. I know we've been talking about that. But I think this really is an issue for the voters to decide. And again, thanks to our General Assembly members, they get to do that. So with that, I move to approve this paper. Second.

Thank you, Councilwoman Trammell. I haven't called the vote yet, but I appreciate that, Ms. Lynch.

Thank you, Madam President. I'm not going to be long. I'm not going to take no five minutes. I trust the school superintendent, the school board members. We did the right thing. We're giving it to the citizens. Let them vote it up or down. And I appreciate that. I appreciate you all saying, let's do a referendum. Let the citizens decide. Thank you.

Thank you. This is a great opportunity for joint work, council and school board. And so we are in. Our children deserve it. It's going to take a lot of work. Many of the questions I know you asked, Ms. Gibson, as well as Councilwoman Roberts and I think Jones, we're recording to make sure we get those responses back and items requested from the administrative side and then, of course, the facility plan. And so look forward to our work together and all leaning in. And with that, Madam Clerk, let's call the questions.

Council is now voting on resolution number 2026-R028 as read. Mr. Breton?

Aye.

Ms. Gibson?

Yes.

Ms. Jones? Aye. Ms. Robertson? Aye. Ms. Lynch? Aye. Ms. Trammell? Aye. Vice President Jordan?

Aye.

And President Newbill? Aye. That paper has been adopted. Thank you.

Thank you, board members, superintendent, advocates, supporters for not just for this evening, because this is the beginning of the work, and also for the work to, and I think a member mentioned it, we have to have an education campaign around this for the community so they understand what it is and why this is and why it's so critically important. So we have a lot of work to do, but we're up to the task. Thank you all. Madam Clerk or Mr. Clerk, we have some motions to amend. Is that correct?

That's correct. Up first before you is a motion to amend Ordinance 2026-102, which authorizes the special use of 3415 Crenshaw-Mews Alley for the purpose of up to 13 attached garages upon certain terms and conditions and to repeal Ordinance 2021-325. Proposed amendment would modify certain terms and conditions. Councilor Breton, would you make a motion to amend Ordinance 2026-102 as stated? So moved. Councilor Gibson, would you second? Second.

Wait, wait, wait. This is which one? Is this the expediting?

No.

Okay.

Which one is this? Amending an SCP. Okay.

Yes, I can second this. Thank you.

Thank you. Council is now voting on a motion to amend and continue ordinance 2026102 to the Monday, September 14th council meeting as stated. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan? Aye. And President Newbill? Aye. That motion has been approved. That paper will be before you again as amended on September 14th. Next is a motion to amend Ordinance 2026113, which amends City Code Section 11-105 concerning weeds and other vegetation and to amend Chapter 11, Article 4 by adding a new section therein concerning definitions. for the purpose of establishing exemptions for Virginia-friendly landscapes. The proposed amendment would modify such exemptions and certain definitions. Councillor Robertson, would you make a motion to amend Ordinance 2026.113 as stated?

So moved, Mr. Clerk.

Councillor Trammell, would you second?

Second.

Council is now voting on a motion to amend and continue Ordinance 2026.113 to the Monday, September 14th Council Meeting as stated. Mr. Bretton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

And President Newbell. Aye. That motion has been approved, and that paper will be before you again as amended on September 14th. Next before you is a motion to amend Ordinance 2026-120, which authorizes the special use of the properties located at 901, 903, 905, 907, 911, 915, 921, and 923 South Meadows Street for the purpose of up to 31 single-family attached dwellings upon certain terms and conditions. The proposed amendment would modify the number of dwelling units, certain terms and conditions, and the plans. Councillor Jones, would you make a motion to amend Ordinance 2026-120 as stated? So move. Councillor Lynch, would you second?

So move.

Council is now voting on a motion to amend and continue Ordinance 2026-120 to the Monday, September 14th Council Meeting as stated. Mr. Bretton? Aye. Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones?

Aye.

Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan? Aye. and President Newbill. Aye. That motion has been approved and that paper will be before you again as amended on September 14th. And lastly, is a motion to amend ordinance 2026081, which amends city code section 12-16 concerning publication of the city's payment register for the purpose of providing public access to information regarding payments made by the city to vendors and employees while protecting confidential and personal information as required by law. The proposed amendment would modify certain definitions and the contents of the payment register. Councillor Breton, would you make a motion to amend ordinance 2026081 as stated? So moved. And Councillor Trammell, would you second?

Second.

Council is now voting on a motion to amend and continue ordinance 2026081 to the Monday, September 28th council meeting as stated. Mr. Breton?

Aye.

Ms. Gibson? Yes. Ms. Jones? Aye. Ms. Robertson?

Aye.

Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell? Aye. Vice President Jordan. Aye. And President Newbill. Aye. That motion has been approved and that paper will be before you again as amended on September 28th.

Thank you, Mr. Clark. I believe we have expedited items for consideration.

That is correct. And the paper for expedited consideration is as follows. Resolution number 2026-R030 to approve the issuance by RRHA of its multifamily housing revenue bonds and up to $20 million. for the acquisition, construction, and equipping of an approximately 126-unit multifamily residential rental housing project at 815 North 35th Street and 823 North 36th Street in the city. I will need a motion to expedite consideration of this paper. Vice President Jordan, will you make that motion, please? Counselor Robertson, will you second that? Council is now voting on the motion to expedite consideration of Resolution 2026-R030. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson?

Yes.

Ms. Jones? Aye. Ms. Robertson? Aye. Ms. Lynch?

Aye.

Ms. Trammell? Aye. Vice President Jordan? Aye. And President Newbill? Aye. That motion has been approved, and that paper is before you for consideration.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. I'd like to change my mind. I'm looking at Ms. Peters there.

Madam President, I do believe Ms. Gibson expressed a desire to change her vote on the motion to expedite this paper.

Correct. I'd like to vote against the expediting, yes.

Okay. So noted. Thank you.

Thank you.

And I'm sorry, didn't have my light on here. So I'd like Ms. Peters, if you would, and then Ms. Hampton.

Thank you. And members of council, I am Michelle Brown-Peters, Deputy Director for Housing and Community Development. RRHA made a request of Housing and Community Development that we would bring this paper before you for expedited review and consideration of the closing of an affordable housing development project. Ms. Hampton is here, and I would ask that she would address this on behalf of RRHA.

Thank you. Welcome, Ms. Hampton.

Good evening, President Newbill, and to other esteemed members of council. Thank you, Ms. Peterson, to the administration. This is a bond project. As you know, it is 126 units. 55 of them are existing. 70 will be new units, and they go for one and two bedrooms. This is an affordable housing project. It is the renovation of that existing plus new units. But why? Why are we coming before you given this timing? We have learned that there is an additional $87 million in bond volume cap. And we wanted to make sure that this project got in at this time. instead of later because that bond volume cap is open to the entire state. We recognize the resolution that this body did some three years ago. And so in partnership with the city, we have been trying to move our affordable housing bond projects as quickly as we can to get them in that lineup so they can be afforded. funded and due to the need great need that we have in this city for affordable housing so unless there are questions i'll thank you for your consideration you're going to remain with us so as questions come up after the public hearing can call yes ma'am thank you

With that, we'll proceed with the public hearing. Do we have persons present desires of speaking in opposition to the paper? Seeing none, do we have persons present desires of speaking in favor of the paper? Seeing none, bring it back to council for discussion. Mr. Breton.

I am interested in hearing more about the timeline of the million dollar cap, what that means, and more clarity on the urgency of that opportunity.

Thank you, Mr. Bretton, for that question. And Madam President, and again, esteemed members of council, I have brought our bond counsel with us, representing McGuire Woods. I would ask that you speak to the bond volume cap and our urgency right now.

Happy to do so. Nice to be before council again. I'm Mike Graff from McGuire Woods, and I'm the bond lawyer for the Housing Authority. And these types of revenue bonds for affordable apartments are awarded what we call volume cap allocation from the state on a competitive basis. And so I don't think I'm speaking out of school for the housing authority that we're reluctant to seek expedited consideration of these sorts of papers based on some feedback that we've received from council in the past. But in this circumstance with council getting ready to take your well-earned summer vacation and to try to put this Richmond project on at least an equal footing with other projects from elsewhere in the state. We thought in this particular circumstance, it was worth at least seeking expedited consideration so we can be sure to put a Richmond project in a competitive situation as compared to applications that will be received from other jurisdictions in the Commonwealth.

I appreciate that. I mean, it's, yeah, I'm always, yeah, reticent to vote on things in an expedited fashion because it doesn't have as much time for public engagement and public analysis and scrutiny. I do really appreciate, though, the fact that there are really, there's dollars at stake. The possibility of missing out on these funds is very important, and it's also important I think another reason that we should consider, that I think that having recess over the summer creates a lot of headaches for this council, and I would actually prefer more opportunities for introducing papers and not creating these two-month clips that create urgency. So I might be alone in that one, but I'm going to go ahead and say that publicly. So thank you for explaining that, and I appreciate the urgency.

Thank you. Any other questions and or comments?

If I may, Madam President, to Mr. Burton's last comment there, the Housing Authority also holds, we are required by state statute to hold that public hearing. And so in your package that you receive is the affidavit of publication where we put out that we are having a public hearing. And so we had that public hearing. We also, the public has the ability to comment also at our Board of Commissioners meeting. So I wanted you to know that we very much honor getting public comment for this, these type projects. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilwoman Gibson. Thank you, Madam President. So this project is in my district. No, no, no.

It's not this one. Oh, good.

Okay. Oh, this is the 7th District one. Okay, good. When it's in my district, make sure we're not expediting it, please. It is important that we allow the public to weigh in, so I plan on abstaining for this. Thank you for the clarification. Thank you.

We will.

Yeah, and I am aware of this project and have had discussions, so this is not news to me. Thank you. Councilwoman Roberts, call for the vote. Thank you. Thank you both. Please, Madam Clerk or Mr. Clerk, call the question.

Council is voting on resolution number 2026-R030 as read. Mr. Breton? Aye. Ms. Gibson?

Abstain.

Ms. Jones. Aye. Ms. Robertson. Aye. Ms. Lynch. Abstain. Ms. Trammell. Aye. Vice President Jordan. Aye. And President Newbill. That paper has been adopted.

Thank you. Let's proceed then to motions to amend. Do we have? Yes. I'm sorry, I dropped down in my notes. Let's go on to approval of minutes.

MADAM PRESIDENT, THE MINUTES TO BE APPROVED ARE FROM THE FY2027 BUDGET WORK SESSIONS, THE JUNE 15, 2026 CODE REFRESH WORK SESSION AT 4 PM, THE JUNE 22, 2026 INFORMAL AND FORMAL CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AT 4 PM AND 6 PM, AND THE JULY 6, 2026 SPECIAL MEETING AT 4 PM. IF THERE ARE NO CORRECTIONS OR AMENDMENTS THEN THESE MINUTES WILL BE APPROVED AS PRESENTED.

Thank you.

Let's go on to introduction of new legislation. Members, new pieces of legislation items numbered 7 through 34 on the list before you are hereby introduced as presented. A copy of the list is available for public inspection at the rear of the room and an electronic copy and copies of the new legislation will be available on the city's website on Tuesday, July 28th.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. We can now proceed to reports and announcements from council members. Councilwoman Trammell.

Thank you, Madam President. I'll keep it short. Our next meeting is going to be for a district meeting. We're going to be at the satellite on August the 13th. And we have Scott Morse, the director of public utilities. will be at our meeting because so many citizens want him to come back because they were not able to attend the meeting that he attended. And they have a lot of questions in reference to a lot of the drainage and stormwater drains not being cleaned out. I guess that's what they're called. But anyway, our meeting is going to be on August 13th, 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. at the satellite. Just right here is your free smoke alarm. It's free, free, free. All you've got to do is go to the nearest fire station, ask them to come to your place, to your home, and they will come there, and they will make sure that you have a working smoke alarm. If not, they'll put the batteries in it. They will not leave it with you. Some of the citizens are asking me, can they have one? Nope. Firefighters have to install it for you and put the battery in it. So if you have any questions, you can call my home. My home phone is now working. You can call 804-233-7382, or you can call my personal cell, 804-240-5050. That's 804-240-5050.

Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilwoman Trammell, Councilwoman Lynch.

So we need to get you a new smoke detector. We're getting punchy. We've been here for 17 hours, guys. All right, so... I'm trying to get to announcements. I apologize. Here we go. Uptown Association will be meeting virtually tomorrow night, July 28th at 6 p.m. This list is shared via their listserv. Swansboro West is hosting their monthly litter cleanup on Saturday, August 1st at 10 a.m. They meet behind Swansboro Elementary and have all the supplies that you will need. Also in Swansboro West, West Ephesus. Church is hosting a back-to-school community fair. I love this event. You've got to join me, Reba, and anyone else that wants to join. It's a great event. Back-to-school community fair on Sunday, August 2nd, from 2 to 6 p.m. at their location at 3700 Midlothian Turnpike. Next Tuesday marks the August National Night Out. We have two NNO events happening on August 4th, Carolina Civic Association, 6 to 8 p.m., Blanton House Field, Maymont Civic League, 7 to 8 p.m., Riverside Park. So over other civic associations, you need to celebrate National Night Out on the first Tuesday in October to avoid the heat and all the heat advisories. RHHA's Lombardi Place, Swansboro West Civic Association, and some others. We'll roll those out as we get a little closer to September. Maymont Jazz Fest is taking place August 8th through 9th. It's going to be the best jazz fest ever. Look forward to seeing you all there. There's information on their website for parking and Ubering. The grand opening of Richmond High School for the Arts is taking place on Thursday, August 20th at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, August 25th at 7 p.m., the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association will be meeting virtually. The link is shared via their email listserv. Code refresh after draft three is released. We'll be scheduling another code refresh town hall to review any changes from draft two to draft three. Please stay tuned for the dates in our newsletter. And as always, you can reach my office by calling 804-646-5724 or emailing stephanie.lynch or amy.robbins at rba.gov. Thanks for hanging in there with us.

Thank you. Council Member Robertson.

Thank you, Dr. Newbill. A couple announcements. One, there are several national night out events that are happening on August 4th in the 6th District on Southside as well as in East End and Northside. I want to specifically mention one that is not showing up on the list as of yet with the police lineup that they are putting out to the community. That is the one that will be held at Meadow Bridge Road and Gills Avenue in Highland Park from 6 o'clock to 8 o'clock. Lead sponsor, Boaz and Roof. So I want to encourage the neighborhood to add that to your list of places where you can come and meet your neighbors and speak to initiatives to address public safety in our district. Secondly, I want to announce that the Holland Park Food Pantry, which operates the first and third Saturday of each month, prepackaged bags of distribution of food on a first-come, first-served basis. Please bring your photo ID and proof of residency, 9 o'clock to 11, 3028 Meadowbridge Road, hosted by Northside Outreach Center. And we will also be having a homebuyer symposium and prequalification workshop in October. More information specifically on that, but we've got a lot of new homes that are being built off of Highland Grove and that we are partnering with the multiple developers, and community nonprofits that are in the process of looking at ways to increase our affordable homeownership opportunities. You can reach me at my cell, 804-314-7658, or you can call the office, 804-646-7964. My email is ellen.robertson at rva.gov, or 6th District Liaison, Kimberly Kyle, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Councilwoman Jones. Thank you again, Madam President, and thank you to everyone who came out this evening. I want to first shout out everyone who attended the inaugural Summer on the South Side at Broad Rock Sports Park this weekend. It was amazing. Even though we had rain in the morning, it cleared up and it was an amazing time. Our next part of the series will be on August 8th at Broad Rock Park. The ban is, I think, I don't know what the ban is. Look on the website. But the next one is August 8th. August 1st, the summer reading finale is happening at Park 365 with the library. And you can bring the whole family and join us for a fun field celebration as we wrap up this year's summer reading program. All summer long readers of all ages have explored new stories, discovered new adventures, and reached their reading goals. Now it's time to celebrate them. TIME IS FROM 10 TO 1, PARK 365. IT WILL HAVE GAMES, CRAFTS, RAFFLE PRIZES, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, TREATS AND MORE. ALSO, ON 8-4, BROAD ROCK IS HOSTING, BROAD ROCK LIBRARY IS HOSTING A SHOW AND TELL BOOK CLUB. YOU CAN DISCOVER NEW BOOKS, MAKE NEW FRIENDS, AND BRING ANY BOOK YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING you want to share with the group. Also on that same day at Broad Rock Library, the STEAM team will be hosting Diet Coke and Mentos. See what happens when Mentos meet Diet Coke. Learn the science behind the explosive reaction and try the experiment for yourself. And then on August 20th, we have Comics Club. Love comics or manga? Come to the Comics Club for creative prompts and comic discussions. National Night Out, we will have, I think we have three in the DISTRICT BUT TWO THAT I KNOW OF ONE IS THE ARBORS AT HALL AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS URBANA AT HIGH OAKS AND YOU CAN REACH MY OFFICE AT NICOLE.JONES AT RBA.GOV THANK YOU THANK YOU COUNCILWOMAN GIBSON

Thank you. Wanted to thank Andy Banu and the Department of Transportation for coming to our last district meeting. We also had members of the delegation come. It was a great meeting. We will not have a district meeting in August. But we do have a third district senior resource fair on August 12th from 2 to 5 p.m. at Pine Camp. We will have various city departments and VCU Health and more will be coming to talk about resources that they offer our seniors and there will be light refreshments. The North Central Civic Association is having an ice cream social Sunday, August 30th from 2 to 4 p.m. at Ruby Scoops. GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR RESIDENTS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT THEIR CIVIC ASSOCIATION IS DOING AND MEET THEIR NEIGHBORS. AS ALWAYS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE AT, YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT KENYA.GIBSON AT RVA.GOV AND OUR LIAISON, SERANDON.ELIOTT AT RVA.GOV IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS.

THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN BRETTEN.

I want to remind everyone that National Night Out is coming up on August 4th, Tuesday night. So I know we have at least three going on in the neighborhood. We are going to have Historic Westwood is having an event. Monument Avenue Park is having one. Museum District will be having one as well. So make sure that you check out your neighborhood events there to get to know your neighbors and have a a party dedicated to public safety. And then we will be having our district meeting the last Wednesday in August. We will have the planning department there to discuss the latest changes in the code refresh. And if you aren't reading my newsletter, you should be. So every time you email me, you will get a link to subscribe and you should use it and stay up to date. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Britton. Vice President Jordan.

Thank you. I want to thank folks that came to our July 2nd district meeting. If you weren't able to make it, you can view a recording at our YouTube channel at Counselor Jordan. We had presentation on DPW's Signal Transition Project, Office of Sustainability, Code Refresh discussion, and more. Our next meeting will likely be on the third draft of Code Refresh once that is out. Look forward to seeing folks at National Night Out. You can find those locations at national-night-out on rva.gov SKIPPING OVER THE THINGS I'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED, SCOTT'S ADDITION IS WORKING TO RAISE MONEY FOR A NEW GREEN SPACE, A NEW PERMANENT PUBLIC PARK. IF YOU GO TO CAPITALREGIONLAND.ORG, AND THAT'S CAPITAL WITH AN AL, YOU CAN SEE THE LIST OF PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER AND INTO SEPTEMBER. LASTLY, C3 ENERGY EFFICIENCY GRANTS ARE OUT. Let the Community Climate Collaborative, C3, help you slash your bills with an energy efficiency mini-grant. These grants, up to $2,000, are available to businesses and nonprofits in the Richmond metro and can be used for anything that will cut energy use, including HVAC upgrades, window films, smart thermostats, new appliances, and more. It takes 10 minutes to apply, and you can find it at theclimatecollaborative.org forward slash EE dash grants. Deadline is August 31st. If you have any issues, please, please, please reach out to the second district office that we can assist you, 804-646-6532. Thanks. Thank you.

JUST A FEW SEVEN DISTRICT ANNOUNCEMENTS. CHIEF SIEGEL AND MEMBERS OF THE RICHMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT OF STATION NUMBER 8 WILL HOST A PUSHING IN CEREMONY FOR THEIR NEW ENGINE ON TOMORROW, JULY 28 AT 10 A.M. THE CEREMONY WILL OCCUR AT 1018 WILLIAMSBURG ROAD. The Shemborazo Park Playground Community Outreach Meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 29th at the Powhatan Community Center located at 5051 North Hampton Street at 6 p.m. The Richmond 804 Day will be held on Saturday, August 1st from 12 noon to 6 p.m. at the 17th Street Farmers Market. And it's Richmond's biggest block party in the heart of Sherco. Music performances across multiple stages, food, drink, arts, culture, please come out. And for more information, you can go to website at 804-DAY-2026. With all of the community events going on, our next, well, let me just say, as folks have mentioned already, National Night Out events will occur in the districts across the city on Tuesday, August 4th. Most events start at 4 p.m. The event for, one of the events for the 7th District will be at our new Lux Field. For more information about the locations, please go to RPD website at rva.gov under National Night Out, and you'll be able to access all of those. For more information, feel free to contact my liaison, Sam Patterson, at 804-241-7544, or you can contact me at 804-543-7000. 7837. With that, members, the agenda for the meeting has been accomplished. The formal meeting of the Richmond City Council now stands adjourned. Thank you everyone.