City Council - Regular Meeting

Mr. Short, would you lead us in the pledge of allegiance?

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.

Thank you, Mr. Short. Item two is the adoption of the meeting agenda. There's a motion to adopt the agenda. I'll make that motion. Thank you, Mr. Wood. Is there a second? I second. Thank you, Vice President Comby. Any discussion?

All in favor say aye.

Aye. And opposed? Ayes have it. Five-zero. Item three is matters from the mayor. I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for the dedication and hard work shown by the Waynesville Police Department in locating the missing child. While there have been numerous reports circulating on social media suggesting that the department's efforts were less than satisfactory, I feel it's important to make my perspective clear. I unequivocally disagree with those opinions. The men and women involved in this search worked tirelessly and with unwavering commitment, and I am truly grateful for everything that they did to bring this child safely home. It's easy for the efforts of law enforcement to be misunderstood or overlooked, especially in challenging situations like this one. However, I want to publicly acknowledge and thank each member of the team for their professionalism and determination. We are relieved and thankful that the child is now home and safe. Please know your work does not go unnoticed, and your dedication to our community is deeply appreciated. Thank you again for all that you do. Item four is matters from counsel.

I did want to address one thing that I said I would after the proposal of the ballot initiative on the 1% sales tax, just to explain the thought process on that a little bit. Everybody here knows, obviously, the second high school renovation, the $55 to $60 million project's already begun the past two years. We've initiated I think two cents and three cents or three cents and three cents to get to the 15 cents on our tax rate that the debt payment on the 55 or 60 million dollar renovation is gonna be. That put us in a unique position for this proposed tax for sales tax because we haven't borrowed on this debt yet. it would be on the table to apply this 1% sales tax to. What that would allow us as a governing body to do if it were to pass successfully on the ballot would be to not have to raise another 11 cents, 10 or 11 cents in tax revenue in order to pay for that annually. And instead, that would allow 1% of the sales tax and we don't know the full Lay out of that, but we do know that it would not it wouldn't Apply to groceries I think is one of the basically essential items it doesn't apply to but what it would allow is for the west end of town, anybody that comes and shops there would be helping to support and build our schools. And it would also allow us to take a little bit of the burden off of the taxpayers of the city, and that would be up to us to figure out whether that would be adjusting tax rate on your property tax, whether it be personal property tax, We wouldn't have to raise another $3.5 million worth of tax revenue if this were to pass. So I just want everyone to know this isn't an option of frivolousness that we're just trying to tax this not out of everybody. We're actually trying to utilize this to be able to reduce the tax burden on the homeowners and residents of the city and try to, you know, make that happen. And since it only affects new construction, we're actually postponing pulling the debt payment, if I'm not mistaken, Mr. McCormick. until after we see whether the ballot initiative passes. All right, so we have put a lot of thought into it. It's an opportunity that just kind of fell in front of us through the state. So keep that in mind. And if anybody has any questions, you can stick around afterwards. Feel free to talk about it.

Well, just thank you for sharing that. And when I echo those remarks, I think it's important to recognize that all of the meals lodging sales tax revenue that's generated in the city also supports all other aspects of our government right so it's not like that this this these funds are partitioned for use of one thing they're they're they're used for the mutual benefit of all citizens who come live uh and visit our community um and for that benefit of that and i'll also I've heard some folks that don't live in the city concerned about it, but I would also say that our labor force supports industry outside of the county that generates enormous machine tool tax revenue for the county, which we don't realize any benefit from. So there's this mutual symbiotic relationship as it relates to revenue that I think can't be understated, right? That our region thrives and succeeds because of what we all put into it together. And like we've seen for communities since, I think we might have been one of the first ones in the valley that did the yay vote, but y'all, I'm seeing it all up and down the valley that people are recognizing that this is an important tool in the toolbox. If citizens agree, If you don't, we've still got to come back. If it doesn't pass, to be direct and blunt, just like my colleague stated, we'll have to come raise real estate revenue. That's the only other place we can get it from. So it's either that or the 1%. So thank you for sharing.

Okay. Thank you both. Item five is consideration of the consent agenda. Is there a motion to adopt the consent agenda? So moved. Thank you, Mr. Wood. Is there a second? I second. Thank you, Mr. Sloan. Any discussion?

All in favor say aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it, 5-0. Item six is to hold a public hearing and consider adopting the ordinance conveying real property to the Waynesboro Redevelopment and Housing Authority for construction of workforce or affordable housing. Mr. Hampton.

Yes, sir, good evening. By way of just a refresher, this is the item that we presented last meeting. It pursues the desired partnership born out of conversation between the City Council and the Waynesboro Redevelopment Housing Authority recognizing the need for affordable and workforce housing in our community. We've talked about this when we, in our partnership conversation with the Redevelopment Housing Authority, we asked them, what could we do to support your efforts in the area? And the top of the list response from them was land. If you have developable land available for a housing project, they could use that for a project. Subsequently, staff identified the 6.4-acre parcel at 1200 Shenandoah Avenue. A portion of that parcel is used for our regional social services offices, but about two-thirds of the parcel is available for a housing project. I think there is a concept, a plan that's been developed to transferring the property and eventually subdividing and rezoning the property are necessary steps in order for the RHA to pursue their project in earnest. This evening, council's asked to conduct a public hearing on the matter.

Any questions?

Yeah, could you elaborate a little bit on the email we all received today about the rating?

Sure. So last week I was notified by the HUD office that in a communication that was also transmitted to the housing authority that in a recent performance audit they had not scored well. Called Ms. Bird, the executive director, and learned she was eager to explain that the performance poor scoring was attributable to an error on the part of their auditor, actually attributable to two errors on the part of their auditor. was that the report was not submitted by the required deadline, and they lost significant points for that. And then secondly, a key performance factor is the RHA's occupancy rate. For last year, or the audit year, they had an occupancy rate of 99, and I think the reported occupancy was between 90 and 94. so ms bird and her staff have already transmitted a response letter to hud and our hope is that they will receive a corrective or approval or an improved score shortly I qualify that statement by the fact that they are just receiving this information now, and we're in July, for an audit that was submitted in September of 2025. So the review and score of the original audit didn't happen very quickly. Our hope is that review of the letter of appeal will happen very quickly.

Is that period of time normal for an audit report?

I don't know. Normally, I mean, this was an exceptional experience because in the past we've never had or they've never had a scoring of this nature. I would note that Ms. Bird is present and she probably could answer these questions better than I can, but that's the extent of the information that I have.

Is this information that we would have that we would be able to make a decision tonight or should we entertain the thought of tabling it until we get more clarification?

I think that's up to the body. I'm reasonably confident that this matter will resolve itself, and so I think you can make a legitimate case to act tonight. I do realize and acknowledge, however, that knowing for sure that the agency was in good standing before we move forward would provide some comfort.

Yeah, no, that's understood. Ms. Burns always ran a good organization. I'm not saying that at all, but I just don't want to be put on the spot where this council has to make a decision before we have the full story and that could come back on us. Who knows? I don't have a crystal ball for them.

That's true. I shared it only because the timing is awkward and inconvenient. I wouldn't want you to vote and then find out after the vote that there was this circumstance. It's a full disclosure moment, but not a great amount of concern on my part that we'll have a good and bona fide partner moving forward.

I'm just asking just based on the timing. I don't want to put Ms. Bird in a compromising position, but asking her questions she don't have the answer to, or us having, you know, being able to make a complete decision.

I spoke to Ms. Byrd, and I'm sorry.

can you tell me what exactly does a bad performance rating mean what is what does it mean in in the finality of it i cannot tell you that it just seems like a bad thing a less than desirable i'm not trying to be smart i mean yeah yeah miss miss bird probably could give you um well can we have miss bird do we have time for miss bird to come up and and and maybe answer that question because i mean i would feel more comfortable with Some answers before I make, go ahead.

Can I ask for clarification on one thing just before she speaks because it would still be nice to hear her take on it. We did word the resolution that the conveyance of the property would be contingent upon the actual approval of the loan, well, in the loan type or something. We put a contingency on the transmission of the property Yes, we did. Yes. Right. So, I mean, if it were to fall through and they weren't able to get the funding for the project, we just wouldn't convey the property, correct?

Correct. And for whatever reason, right, for whatever reason, I mean, including a bad rating.

So then. Well, I don't know that the bad rating would have anything to do with it unless that's what I said. One clarity on that prior to her coming up, because she would probably be able to explain it, because I think that just might make it a little more difficult if there were contingencies.

Good evening, counsel.

So basically, just to clarify the question that you asked earlier, it is the time frame that we're notified. So housing authorities, so as an example, for the 2025 year, or let's say 2024, this is the year in question is 2024. So for 2024, we are audited. um during june or july whenever our auditors come and then they have to submit the uh it's called the fds um the financial uh data submission they have to do that by september 30th of 2025 and then we aren't notified until june or july as to the scoring hud moves very very slowly So we were recently notified that we did not receive the full points for our financial status. There's basically four levels of grading that is done for a housing authority. One is your financials. So the score is the maximum score is 25 and we actually got 19 point something That should have been our score, but it is due by September 30th at midnight and they submitted it and it was a few seconds late so Late is late literally a few seconds late. So at that point you score zero and that is more of a clerical era and and then the second item that we did not score the maximum of points on was occupancy. The maximum point of management is 20 points and we were docked 15 points even though our occupancy was 99.16%. There was an error and it was 91.67 and that's why we did not score the maximum points. Again, we were just notified. We had 30 days to respond. Our auditors have submitted to me. I have responded to HUD. We should be at the standard performance as we were once our appeal is approved and we received the points for the 99% occupancy that we actually were. That was an objectively verifiable error that we can show that we can correct. The information has already been submitted to HUD to verify that we were at 99.16% for 2024. and then the financials, we just have to verify that basically late is late, but I did submit the letter, the appeal letter that we submitted to HUD, I did submit that to Mr. Hamp, and basically it's saying that due to it just being a time error, the burden of responsibility for us to have to do would not be It would be basically very burden-ridden for us, and it was not a performance and compliance issue. It was a clerical issue. So that's the surrounding of it. And again, I did include Mr. Hamp on the letter that we submitted for the approval for HUD for the appeal. And that's probably going to take about 30 days for us to receive that. Same thing will happen this year. Our auditors will come the end of this week, I mean tomorrow, the end of the month, and they will submit it and then we will, they'll have to submit by September 30th and we won't know until this time next year what our 2025 score is. Basically, what happens is that I have to respond to HUD and tell them how we're going to fix where we fell short, and there's really nothing to fix as far as compliance or procedure. We just have to not submit late and make sure that our correct occupancy is recorded. We have a Dooley and Vickers out of Richmond. We put the audit out for bid. It's our procurement. So we put that out for bid and we do housing authorities. We actually have two auditors that we work with, and due to some corrections that were made at the last minute when they submitted, they literally submitted. They started submitting prior to midnight, but there's like a three-step process when they submit to REACT, which is the real estate assessment for HUD. And when they finished submitting, I believe it was shortly after midnight. late as late one according to HUD and then you have to file your appeal to substantiate why they've been doing our audit for over 20 years no they have not how much do we pay them it is around on between 18 and 19 thousand per year that's what i was thinking you mean how was the housing authority going to be compensated yeah yeah well um that's exactly right yeah they will be here tomorrow at my office so we'll be having that conversation along with uh um hs f consulting and we utilize them for um it's really a two-step process We do an unaudited financial that's submitted in February, and then in September they do the final financials, which are audited that they do after they show up on site and they look through our books. Housing authorities are required to be audited every year, so they come every year and they audit us. We've never had a finding. um in the at least the the uh 10 years that i've been here um and i've been at the housing authority longer than that but i'm not aware of any findings that we've ever had again this isn't a time error have they already been who is the one's going to do the next thought is that bidding process already done We will be putting it out for bid again. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of auditors that have experience in housing authorities, but it will be going out for bid again this year.

So given her explanation, I don't think there's any big deal. She's talking about something we've never had a finding before, and she's talking about timing. a clerical error. I mean, unless there's something that's not being said underlying, I mean, I personally am good, we go. But she did say it's 30 days.

So I would just pose the question to you so that you get 100% clarity. Do you think that this is going to inhibit your ability to do anything that you plan on doing or the housing authorities?

Absolutely not. So basically what happens is that we have to provide within... We have to make sure that going on the next year that we're back into our standard scoring, and that will be done September 30th when we have our next audit. So we've already required our auditors to submit it 30 days in advance. Believe me, I've been very, very upset over this over the past few weeks that this has happened again. This has never happened, and I've been at the Housing Authority since 1995. Not in this position, but at the authority. And again, I have no concerns that this will be an issue going forward. And again, I did share the appeal letter with Mr. Hamp specifying, again, to HUD why our score was low in those two areas and the justification for that.

Thank you.

Yes, sir. Anything else?

Any other questions for Ms. Boyd?

concerned with the company that did the audit.

And believe me, I am as well, and we will have a board meeting, and my board of commissioners have the same concerns as well.

So I do appreciate that, sir. I'd be happy to share that information you get tomorrow with us.

I'll be glad to. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. I don't know. I just still think I would feel comfortable with the table until we found out something. We've got a couple options coming up as far as moving forward and revisit this, correct?

Yeah, you have August, I believe, the 10th. We're off on the 24th of August, or we're scheduled to be off. You can certainly call the meeting if you desire. I would politely remind everybody that we have to do a public hearing before we do anything. Let's go ahead and get that taken care of.

I hear about opening the public hearing.

No one has signed up to speak, sir.

I hear about closing the public hearing.

Just a point of order. So it's a motion and a second, and then final vote at the next meeting.

So actually, if you'll recall, they introduced second and discussed at the previous. So this is final action. So you can just call the question at that point. That's correct.

With that being the case, I would make a motion to table it at least until the next meeting. Yeah, I'll second that. Until we get some more information. I hope that doesn't screw anything Kim's doing, but she does do a fine job.

Okay, so we have a motion to table this item and properly second by Mr. Short. All in favor to table until the office of 10th meeting say aye.

Aye. Any opposed? I'm opposed.

Ayes have it, 4-1. Item 7, as a whole, public hearing to consider adopting an order submitting the fiscal year 2027 budget in the amount of $4,052,513. Mr. McCormick.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of council. This item was appropriately introduced, seconded, and discussed at the last meeting. It just needs... public hearing and final consideration this evening just what has happened between the introduction and potential adoption is this this item and item 7 and item 8 were both advertised in the news leader 719 and 720 in concurrence with Virginia State Code requirements miss Akam be asked last meeting and I didn't have the numbers in front of me at that point what triggers a public hearing and it's 1% of the adopted budget and so the way we read that is one percent of the originally adopted budget it's not clear in state code either way but one percent of the originally is the more conservative of the two numbers after we do amendments so for 2026 which would affect item eight that was one million five hundred sixty eight thousand and for twenty twenty seven that was one million six hundred and seventy five thousand so both of these items met public hearing requirements council has any procedural or content questions i'd be happy to answer them now if not we can hold the public hearing and call a question council desires

Thank you for remembering that camera.

Yes, ma'am. Any other questions? I hear about open the public hearing.

No one has signed up to speak.

I hereby close the public hearing. This ordinance was properly introduced and seconded at the previous meeting. Unless there are questions or additional discussion, I'll call the question. All in favor of the ordinance amending the 2027 budget in the amount of $4,052,513 to fund the small capital program, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it 5-0. Item eight is to hold a public hearing and consider adopting an ordinance amending the fiscal year 2026 budget in the amount of $6,670,000. Mr. McCormick.

Thank you, Mr. Lee. So the only thing to point out on this is this should be the final budget amendment for fiscal year 2026, and this is just the school side. This is the grant that the schools received for... engineering and some construction on the new high school project. The total grant, I believe, was like $8.5 million. This amount represents the portion of work that they estimated was done during 2026. And when we talked with our auditors, they said that we needed to show the revenue and the expenditure both on the school side and on the city bond fund. So this is the school portion. The city bond fund has already been done.

Any questions? I hereby open the public hearing.

No one has signed up to speak.

I hereby close the public hearing. This ordinance was properly introduced and seconded at the previous meeting. Unless there are questions or additional discussion, I'll call the question. All in favor of the ordinance amending the 2026 budget in the amount of $6,670,000, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it, 5-0. Item nine is consider adopting two resolutions supporting the city's applications for funding under the Virginia Department of Transportation's Smart Scale Program. Ms. Tate, Director of Community Development.

good evening mayor and members of City Council at the end of this week your staff will be submitting grant smart scale grant applications to fund transportation projects these are a hundred percent grant funded and do not require any city match The first one that I would like to go over this evening is named the Lou DeWitt pedestrian project and this project proposes construction of approximately 2700 linear feet of five-foot sidewalk along the west side of Lou DeWitt From West Main Street to Shepherd Court the project would also include some curb ramp upgrades and then a high visibility pedestrian crossing of Shepherd Court SO THIS SHOWS THE ORANGE LINE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT FIVE FOOT SIDEWALK BEGINNING THERE AT SHEPHERD COURT AND IT WOULD CONTINUE ALONG LOU DEWITT FILLING IN ANY MISSING SIDEWALK GAPS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED WITH ANY KIND OF RECENT COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND THEN THEY WOULD CONTINUE AND TIE INTO PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL BE COMING ALONG WEST MAIN STREET WITH A DIFFERENT PROJECT THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY FUNDED THROUGH SMART SCALE. So this is one of the applications that we are requesting a resolution of support for this evening. And then the second one is called the Rosser Avenue Improvements, and it's from Ludewitt to Northgate and represents several things. So this project proposes construction of the full preferred alternative from a recently completed project pipeline study of Rosser Avenue. So the project would construct a bundle of treatments at the 340 Ludewitt intersection, which you can see here. That would include Windy Grove Drive access management changes, conversion of the two northbound left turn lanes onto Rosser Avenue into a single left turn lane, and install a raised median. You can see the extension also of Chickarelle Lane to provide rear access to businesses that would be affected by the median along Windy Grove. LENGTHEN THE EASTBOUND LEFT TURN LANES ON ROSSER AVENUE, WIDEN THE LEFT TURN RECEIVING LANES ON NORTHBOUND LOU DEWITT AND THE RIGHT TURN RECEIVING LANES ON WESTBOUND ROSSER AVENUE. THIS PROJECT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE THE INSTALLATION OF SIDEWALK ALONG ROSSER AVENUE TO FILL GAPS BETWEEN LOU DEWITT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO NORTH GATE. So this sketch shows those various improvements there at the intersection. And this is an intersection with high safety improvement potential. And then this sketch shows the orange five foot sidewalk that would be filled in along Rosser. here picking up with existing sidewalk along Martins and then continuing all the way down. This is a proposed and approved townhouse development that's constructing sidewalk along their frontage and it would continue down to Northgate. So those are the two applications that are being applied for and we are required to submit resolutions of support from city council for those. And so we're asking for those to be approved this evening and I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have.

Any questions for Ms. Tate?

What's the estimated cost of the smart scale project? Because that's a big... That's a big A. Just imagine that's a high number.

Yeah, so I don't want to misspeak. I think I remember the one for Lou DeWitt when we applied for the full length. It did not get funded. I think some of the issue is, you know, the high cost, but then also a kind of a movement away in smart scale from funding more of the pedestrian projects. But our hope and recommendation from VDOT was if we scaled that project back and just did West Main to Shepherd, the cost would be lower and maybe it could score higher. So I will get you that number, but I don't want to speak out a turn on that. They're very expensive, over a million dollar NORTH OF TWO, $3 MILLION PROJECTS, BUT I DON'T WANT TO MISSPEAK EXACT NUMBER. AND THEN THE IMPROVEMENTS HERE AT THIS INTERSECTION, PROJECT PIPELINE STUDY IS COMPLETING THOSE, AND THEY HAVE A CONSULTANT WORKING ON THOSE, AND SO THEY'RE STILL KIND OF WRAPPING UP THOSE FINAL NUMBERS, BUT I'LL BE SURE TO GET YOU THOSE. BUT IT WOULD ALL BE IF APPROVED AND WE GOT THE FUNDING, IT WOULD ALL BE GRANT FUNDING. And then it does go in the six-year improvement plan, so it is important to note that even if approved, we wouldn't see construction of these for six, seven years from now. Thank you.

Any other questions? So we'll be doing these separate, so we'll start first. Is there a motion to adopt a resolution supporting the Lou DeWitt Pedestrian Project? I'll make that motion. Thank you, Mr. Stoser. Second. Thank you, Mr. Wood. Any discussion? Mr. Mayor, this is an employee of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

I'll be abstaining.

Thank you, Mr. Short. All in favor of adopting a resolution supporting the Lou DeWitt Pedestrian Project application, say aye. Aye. Ayes have four, with Mr. Short abstaining due to VDOT employment. Is there a motion to adopt a resolution supporting the Valsa Avenue project?

Yes, I'll make that motion.

Thank you, Mr. Wood. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you, Mr. Sloan. Any discussion? Just, Mr. Mayor, same song, different verse. All in favor of adopting a resolution supporting the Valsa Avenue project application, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it with Mr. Short of standing due to beat-out employment. Item 10 is to consider appointing an individual to the Economic Development Authority Board. Is there a motion to appoint Ms. Katie Harris to the EDA Board? I'll make that motion. Thank you, Mr. Short. Is there a second? No second. Thank you, Mr. Wood. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it, 5-0. Item 11 is to consider reappointing two individuals to the Library Board of Trustees, each to a four-year term expiring August 31, 2030, and appointing an individual to an unexpired four-year term ending August 31, 2027. Is there a motion to reappoint? Ms. Megan Drummond and Ms. Pamela Sullivan to the Board of Library Trustee, issue a four-year term expiring August 31, 2030.

I'll make that motion.

Thank you, Mr. Wood. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you, Mr. Short. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it, 5-0. Is there a motion to appoint Ms. Wendy Castanel to an unexpired term ending August 31, 2027? Thank you, Mr. Wood. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you, Mr. Short. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it 5-0. Item 12 is to consider reappointing a representative to the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport Commission for a three-year term expiring August 31, 2029. Is there a motion to reappoint Mr. Jeff Ward to the Regional Airport Commission?

I'll make the motion.

Thank you, Mr. Sloan. Is there a second? I second. Thank you, Vice Mayor Comby. Is there any discussion?

I think we've got to give Mr. Ward a cake because he's been on the commission since 2001, so he's going to say.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it 5-0. Item 13 is to consider reappointing Mr. Terry Short as council's representative to the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission for a three-year term expiring June 30th, 2029. Is there a motion to reappoint Mr. Short?

I'll make that motion.

Thank you, Mr. Wood. Is there a second? I'll second. Thank you, Mr. Sloan. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it, 5-0. Item 14 is communication, correspondence, and calendar. Mr. Hamm.

I don't have anything this evening except for a brief announcement regarding, so we understand that the live stream has been interrupted or isn't functioning properly. Our technicians are working to fix that and we hope that that service will be restored in a moment or two. In any case, a full and complete recording of the meeting will be posted to our website immediately following the meeting. Other than that, I don't have anything.

Thank you. Item 15 is citizen comment.

Yes, sir. Charles Smith.

So as the first citizen comes to the podium, I would like to remind everyone of the rules. The green light comes on. You have four minutes. When you have 30 seconds left, the yellow light will come on for you to wrap up and be seated. Thank you. Thank you all in advance.

Mayor, city council member, my name is Charles Smith. My wife and I live at 240 booker dale road here in the city i spoke about a month ago about my concerns regarding speeding on bookerdale that's what i'll be talking about tonight but first i want to i want to express my appreciation for what the city has done they've come out and put up some some additional speed limit signs including an electronic one that displays the speed we hope they do some good I want to thank City Council, too, for moving forward with projects that seem to be necessary in spite of a local publisher that I'm sure you all know by name and the fact that we have a vowed enemy in the Capitol building and things need to move forward. Bookerdale Road is about eight-tenths of a mile. And I looked around the city and I thought, where is there another stretch of roadway that's similar to that? And it turns out there is one right behind us. It runs from Arch Avenue over to just past the high school. That's about eight-tenths of a mile. That stretch of road has... parallel parking pretty much the entire length of that stretch on both sides. There are three stoplights, all have controlled pedestrian crossings. There's, I think, four more individual crossings there. There are a number of side streets. All these things together make speeding on that stretch of road virtually impossible. Imagine for a moment as we meet that all those things were gone from that stretch of road, and there were people racing up and down that road at 40, 50, 60 miles an hour. That's Bookerdale Road. Every day, every hour, every minute. You want to put some extra money in your pocket? Just put an officer out there. They will catch people not just for speeding, for reckless driving day and night. I don't understand why people use that road except as a cut-through. People try to avoid Lou DeWitt to save three minutes delivering their number seven meal without pickles. And they cut through on Bookerdale to do it. All they're doing is avoiding three lights, one on Lou DeWitt, one at the corner of Lou DeWitt in Maine, and the other one on Maine in front of Amazon. So please, I appreciate what's been done so far. It's time to enforce that limit. That's all. Thank you.

Thank you. Janet Rawlings.

The light. The light.

Yes, hi, good evening. My name is Janet Rawlings. I live at 615 Elk Mountain Road in Afton, just outside the city line. I'm not a Waynesboro resident, but I live close enough that the Northrop Grumman facilities and missions do not stop for me any more than they stop for anyone inside the city limits. That is the point. Pollution does not check and address before it settles into the air we all breathe. I attended the DEQ public hearing on the Northrop Grumman permit on July 23rd at the Waynesboro High School. 64 residents spoke that night before the meeting had to be cut off due to time constraints. The room was full and there were many more people in the audience who wanted to speak but never got the chance. I am here tonight because of what I saw and who I didn't see. Everyone in a position of authority in this process, the DEQ, this council, Northrop Grumman itself, likes to claim they are being transparent and impartial. The record says otherwise. Consider how we even got that hearing. The original public comment period on this permit relied on a single public notice placed in a newspaper that almost no one in this community reads. That is not an oversight. That is a comment period designed to end quietly without anyone showing up to object. It took over 200 residents individually demanding a real hearing before DEQ agreed to hold one at all. That is not transparency. That is the appearance of process without the substance of it. And when that hearing finally happened, when 64 of us stood up and spoke, and dozens more never even got the chance, about our water, our air, and our children's health, Northrop Grumman did not send a single representative. They were not there. And by my count, only one member of this council attended either. 64 residents rearranged their evenings to be in that room. Many more wanted to. I do not understand why this body could not do the same. So when I hear talk of transparency and impartiality, in this process I have to ask, transparent to whom? Impartial toward whom? it has not been transparent to the people who live here and it has not been impartial in whose absence gets excused and whose presence gets demanded i have three questions for this council tonight first why was attendance from this body so limited at a hearing of this significance to our community Second, what is this Council doing to ensure future public hearings on major industrial permits are actually publicized, not just technically noted, but genuinely reaching the people who will live here with the consequences? Third, will this Council commit to being present, visibly and in force, for the next DEQ forum on this permit? Residents showed up. The applicant did not. This council was largely absent too. I'm asking you tonight to tell us what that means and what you intend to do differently before the next opportunity for public input closes. Thank you.

Stephanie Holloway.

Good evening. I know my time here is limited, so I'm going to get straight to the point. I do not believe that the Mackenzie Wilson case was handled correctly at all by the police department. And I am going to give some information why as I speak on behalf of her and her family. If Pastor Elaine reported Mackenzie missing on Monday, July 13th, and gave a police interview that same day, why did the police department wait until Thursday, July 16th, to issue a missing child alert? Why was a Cody alert never issued despite concerns about Mackenzie's health? I'm not asking these questions to blame without evidence. I'm asking because I care about this community and because every missing child... deserves an immediate thorough response. This community rallied around my family when my son was sick and dying. People dropped everything what they were doing to help us and I've tried to pay it forward ever since. So when I learned that the young daughter of one of my high school friends was missing, I asked only one question of Chanda who was organizing the search, how can I help? For two days, I handed out flyers, knocked on doors, and spoke to anyone who might have information. During that time, I saw Waynesboro Police Department only once, and they were there for less than 10 minutes. Where was the urgency? Where was the visible law enforcement presence? Where was the coordinated effort this situation deserved? The department said it did everything it could, but if a Cody Alert was never issued when one may have been appropriate, how can the public have confidence that every available resource was used? This case appears to have been mishandled and our community deserves answers. More importantly, Mackenzie deserved every possible effort to bring her home safely. I am angry because I believe every child matters and I want to know why this response fell short and what will be done to ensure another family never has to ask these questions again. As far as I'm concerned, the Waynesboro Police Department owes this community a clear explanation.

Thank you. Elaine Rose.

Good evening. I am Pastor Elaine Rose. I am Mackenzie Wilson's grandmother. I have a real problem, Mayor, when you sit here and give a speech. that this police did everything they could for Mackenzie to come home. Mackenzie was not found in Waynesboro. She was found in Virginia Beach on that Monday, eight days later. On Thursday, after Mackenzie left on the 13th, on that Thursday, a police sat on my front porch and said to me, what would you like us to do now? I don't get paid to be the chief of police. I don't get paid to do their job, but we were doing it. I have a problem if it wouldn't, and people in this room are making all kinds of comments about Chanda, but when I posted on Facebook, my baby was missing. She rallied and got at least 150 or 200 people together. They started passing out flyers looking. It took that for the awareness to be bought. McKenzie has some medical issues. And I said that from day one. They did not give an Amber Alert because she was not snatched by a member of our family. And when I asked to see you, Mayor, and I asked for a meeting with the police chief, it was pushed to the side like her life. was not important. I googled today how many missing children are in Virginia and they said in this area there's like 77 and 45 of them are African American. I have a problem, we don't get the same attention that Caucasian children get. And that's unfair. We pay the same taxes. We support the people. We vote. We do all the things for y'all to have the jobs y'all have. And when it comes to our children, not just African American, Hispanic children too, black and brown children all over this region, it seems to be as if There's a stop and go. Look for her while no crime is happening, then stop when crime is happening. You're spending all this money on unnecessary stuff. Why don't you just spend some money and put two policemen on the force to always look for our runaway children? solve the problem that needs to be solved. I'm not here to ban or hit anybody because some of those policemen that came to me were wonderful. They were wonderful. But some of the things that happened during the investigation, and how can you say they did a good job when you haven't spoken to me or her dad about the kind of job they did? These people sitting in this room walked Waynesboro morning, noon, and night, and half the time we did not see police. And you think we're here just fussing? No, we're just standing up for what is right for us. You said the pledge of the license. Did you listen to the words? We are all God's people. And we all have a right to the same treatment. I know we got somebody in D.C. talking crazy out the side of their mouth. But one thing is true. We all serve a God that payday will show up after a while. And you will have to answer for not only how you have treated McKenzie, but other children. They are important. They're the next people to vote for you and pay your salary. Why are you pushing her to the side or whoever else's children is missing?

Angie Davis.

hello everyone i just wanted to say i was a part of the boots on the ground helping out looking out for mckenzie um i have 14 grandchildren 14. so i put myself in mrs rose's place i have three granddaughters out of all of them So I feel as though I put myself in for her. And my only question is, and like she said, I didn't say the Waynesboro police didn't do because I was one that called when they said we seen that the dog sniffed at a house. And they called the police and they came. They came and they could do with so much and we understand that. We wanted to do more. But it couldn't happen that way. But what we're asking for and what I'm asking for is, what if it's one of my grandchildren? What are you going to do to help me and show me and prove to me that you're going to be there to help me to put yourself in the predicament and position that I am in, that Mrs. Rose was in? She was in a very hard situation that she did not know what to do. She was bonded. And all I'm asking is for you all to just realize that she is a woman of God. And when Chanda called, we came. And if anyone ever calls, and I'm telling you now, I will be there for you all no matter who you are, whether you're black, white, or whatever, because it's in my heart. And that's all I want to say. And may I say God bless you all. Thank you.

Letitia Hodge or Hoag?

I'm also here for the same reason. I also participated with the search for McKenzie and I firmly believe that had it not been for all of us pulling together as a group and a community, making the flyers, walking, posting everywhere we could, searching, getting leads that the police probably didn't even have. We were out there doing that. And it's just concerning because I do feel like Mackenzie was failed, her grandmother was failed, her father was failed. I mean, where was the protocol at? It was swept under the rug. Why wasn't there a Cody put out knowing that this child had diabetes and desperately needed her medicine? And I just feel like there was no sense of urgency had it not been for social media and people posting and things like that. That's the only reason why it got out there to the public. And that's what we did. That's not what the Waynesboro Police Department did. That's what we did. And also, why did the mayor of Harrisonburg respond? Did Stanton Police Department, did they know anything about her missing? So it's a lot of things that went hidden and not no sense of urgency at all. My concern is, of course, I'm a mother. Most of us in here are mothers, fathers, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers. My son is five years old. He might look up to one of y'all one day. He might look up to somebody that wears a badge. Am I confident knowing that my child's going to be safe? He's going to have some form of trust or compassion. I can't feel confident. So I feel like there needs to be more things done. And I don't want to see this happen to another child or family member. Thank you.

Chanda McGuffin.

Good evening. I apologize, I did not put my married name down there. My husband always corrects me, Chanda McGuffin Tucker. I am a resident of Waynesboro. It's really easy to sweep blame on Chanda. It's real easy to say that's just, y'all know how Chanda is. Chanda's making a bigger deal out of this than what needs to happen. So it's real easy. um mr mayor i know you had to read the letter from from the attorneys i get it i know it's protocol listen there was a lot of things that went wrong wasn't done wasn't followed through i like the chief of police He's always been there when I've needed him. I actually am very surprised at how this all came about. I did not know about Mackenzie missing until I saw a post at 1 a.m. Wednesday night, Thursday morning from her grandmother looking for her. when i got up thursday morning i have forgotten because i had a busy day but that afternoon i reached out to her and apologized for being so late i really thought she was home i you know i had missed something or whatever She said she wasn't home. At that time, I contacted the mayor. So for the police officer detective who asked Ms. Elaine, told Ms. Elaine, you got somebody calling the mayor. And so the mayor is talking to the chief. And so the chief is now calling me. It was me. I called the mayor. And the mayor had no idea this girl was missing. That, number one, is an issue for me. The next day I get contacted by the mayor of Harrisonburg. She asked me what could she do? Where was McKenzie? What was Waynesboro police doing? She didn't want to step on any toes. I told her at that point what was going on. She said she would reach out to Waynesboro. She posted on Facebook. when we thought we had spotted McKenzie on Saturday evening. We got two officers were out there, Officer Weaver and Officer Smith. They said they had no idea a teenage girl was missing in the city of Waynesboro who did not have their insulin, who she did not have her insulin. That's a problem. I know we want to paint a story and a picture that the Waynesville Police Department was perfect in this situation, but they were not. That's just a fact. And I know that we've made mistakes. And I thank God that Mackenzie is back. By the grace of God, she's back. By the grace of God, she's okay. But the next one, it may not be. See, I'm a diabetic. I was a diabetic at 14. So I know what Mackenzie was going through. By day eight, She could have been in a diabetic coma. She could have died from the diabetic coma. Children will be children. She may have walked out on her own accord, but with the sex trafficking that is happening in this country and in the state of Virginia, they should immediately, the child left without her cell phone. Teenage child does not leave without their cell phone. That should have been a red flag to the police department from the very beginning.

Betsy Solomon.

Hi, good evening. I'm Betsy Solomon. I live on Cherokee Road. And I went to the meeting on Thursday night, and I was shocked to find out all the information about Northrop Grumman that I did not know. I have done a lot of research since then, and I really can't understand why. And I'm a nurse. I've been a nurse for 45 years, and I worked in cardiac rehab and pulmonary rehab. And then I worked at the free clinic when it was there. And I've seen so many patients struggle to breathe. And it's very, very sad. And yet you have let this company come and pollute our air. That's what they plan to do. They say they're not going to pollute it that much. Any pollution in this area is bad. You've got two mountain ranges, and it's going to go right up the valley. And it's going to cause problems for these, especially older people and children. And then why, oh why, would you let them build that building where it is? It's near a shopping center, it's near a park, it's near schools, it's near... old people homes um i mean i like to go to the park and i run around there and do i feel comfortable knowing i'm breathing in more pollutants than i that i need to and so i am very horrified that the council not all you but some of the council agreed to let this company come in and they are notorious notorious for causing pollution across the country i lived in queens new york when beth page was the news because they lied and said they weren't polluting the water but they were horrible it's a super fund so why you would let a company like that Move to a populated area of Waynesboro. I mean, I don't think it should be in Waynesboro at all, but of all the places, it has to be the worst place. Koiner Springs, because of the water, and the park, and Ridgeview, the park, and YMCA, kids. I mean, what were you thinking? And I don't care how much money you think you're going to make from them. They're lying to you. You know the people who are going to get jobs with them? They're going to be people who have high college degrees. Maybe some of our people do, but they're also going to have to have high security clearance. And how many of the high school students that are graduating from Williamsboro are going to have those requirements to get a job there? So they're gonna be pulling in employees from other places. So here we are suffering from pollution and other people will be getting the jobs. So I am horrified and I hope city council in the future will think about the people they represent. Because you, those who voted for this, did a horrible job. You did not really study what this company is about. They have lied again and again. And they have more than one super fund beside Bethpage. So why would you believe that they're not going to pollute us and make it horrible in the air? And then, of course, it will go in the water supply. And why are they getting our water? Right now, we're in a drought. and they're gonna take our water from us. It's like, no, we shouldn't be giving them our water. And I, you know, I just, I've lived here 29 years and I love this town. But it makes me very sad that members of council and other people have allowed Northrop Grumman to come to this town and destroy it. And that's what they'll do. And unless you guys stand up and talk to DEQ about not letting them do this or regulating what they do because they want to self-regulate, why do you think that is? Because they're going to lie. Thank you, ma'am. You're welcome. Thank you.

That's all.

This is a closed session requested by the city manager on the code of Virginia sections 2.2-3711A3. This position of real property is located at 101 Mount Troy Road. Is there a motion?

Mayor, I move to recess into a closed meeting in order to discuss the disposition of real property located at 1001 Mount Torrey Road, Lynnhurst, Virginia, where discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the city's negotiation strategy as authorized by section 2.2-3711A and 3 of the Virginia Code. Is there a second?

A second.

Is there any discussion?

This requires a roll call vote. Ms. Porter?

Aye. Mr. O'Connor? Aye. Mr. Mishor? Aye. Bye.

I move to adopt the following resolution, whereas the City Council of Waynesboro has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmatively recorded vote in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and whereas Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by this Council that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City Council of Waynesboro hereby certifies that, to the best of each member's knowledge, one, only public business matters were lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification resolution applies, and two, only such business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the City Council of Waynesboro.

Thank you.

Is there a second? Second.

Thank you.

Any discussion? We're in open session. Item 17. Is there a motion to adjourn? I make a motion.

A point of order. Roll call vote. Yeah. Oh, yeah, we do. My apologies. Roll call vote. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.