City Council Meeting

Melanie ZippstaffGood evening

Catherine ReadI would like to call the regular meeting of November 12th 2024 to order I would like to welcome everybody to the chamber we have a lot of proclamations this evening and it's great to see people here engaged in that part of our process if you are able and so choose please rise for a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance

Anita Lightpublic commentI

Catherine Readpledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under

Carol Paquettepublic commentGod, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Catherine ReadI'm going to now invite the Fairfax Village in the City Advisory Board and Senior Center to come down to accept the National Family Caregivers Month Proclamation. And now to proclaim. same. Whereas during National Family Caregivers Month, we recognize more than 53 million people in the United States who serve as caregivers for family, friends, and neighbors with generous hearts and faithful devotion. And whereas it is estimated that the number of caregivers will continue to increase as a result of an increase in the number of older adults who wish to remain in their own home and need assistance. And whereas millions of older adults and people with disabilities could not maintain their independence without the help of unpaid caregivers, estimated to cost nearly $470 billion a year nationwide if purchased.

Catherine ReadAnd whereas many caregivers are women, with one-third of caregivers providing at least 20 hours a week of care by providing physical and emotional support, managing medications, ensuring personal care, shopping and providing transportation for activities of daily living. And whereas family caregivers are the backbone of our nation's long-term care system, doing essential work often at great physical, emotional, and financial cost to themselves. And whereas the Villages, a nationwide initiative that connects members to a full range of support services to help with non-medical household tasks, services, programs, and transportation, they can serve as an additional support to caregivers. And whereas Fairfax Village in the city is committed to supporting caregivers throughout our community who improve the quality of life for those who need additional support through the generous gift of their time.

now therefore I Catherine S. Reed mayor of the City of Fairfax do hereby recognize the month of November 2024 is National Family Caregivers Month in the City of Fairfax and I urge the community to take time to recognize those among us who provide so much care to those in need and to say thank you offer our help to lighten their own burdens and to raise up the often invisible labor upon which so many residents in our city depend on a daily basis and with this I would like to turn it over to Anita Light Thank

Anita Lightpublic commentYou Mayor Reed and members of City Council on behalf of the Fairfax Village in the city our members our volunteers and our staff we really appreciate the opportunity to recognize family caregivers this month. We, you know, I just like many of you have experienced family caregiving and the stress that it creates on the person's physical and mental health and what we really hope all of you do is to pay attention as the mayor said to those in our community who either are doing caregiving or are providing it for their family or you're aware of that in the community. One of the First Lady, First Lady Rosalyn Carter, said that there are four types of people in the world. Those that have been caregivers, those who are

caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver. So it seems like to me all of us will fall into that somehow some way somewhere So we encourage you to listen and look for caregivers in the community and offer some respite, either a listening ear or a break of some type so that these people who are giving their time totally to the caregiving of those people that they love. And also we encourage you to look for resources in the community that might be available to them. One resource that you might want to look at is the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging. They have a family caregiver support program on the website. There are webinars and information that you can access, and you can share that with the caregiver that you're aware of or use it in your own family.

So with that, I'll turn it back over to you and say thanks again.

Catherine ReadAll right. I think it's time for a photo. All right.

Speaker 6I'll go one, two, three, three, three. Thank you.

Catherine ReadAll right. I'm going to ask Amini Bonani, who was the chair of the Homelessness Task Force, to join me down here along with Mark Light, who is the interim and inaugural chair of the Housing and Healthy Communities Advisory Board, and Susan LaCroix, who is the interim vice chair of the new Housing and Healthy Communities Advisory Board, and all of our advocates, please, all of our advocates who work in our community providing help and assistance, please come forward.

Speaker 6Good to see you. Good to see you, Heather. Good to see you, Leslie.

Catherine ReadWe have a lot of people in our community who provide services to the people who live in our city and who need help in our city, and I'm very appreciative of everyone coming out tonight.

Carol Paquettepublic commentCome on in.

Catherine ReadCome on in.

Carol Paquettepublic commentCome on in.

Catherine ReadOkay. So, whereas for over 25 years, the National Coalition for the Homeless and National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness has sponsored National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. And whereas the purpose of the proclamation is to educate the public about the many reasons people are hungry and homeless, including the shortage of affordable housing here in the city of Fairfax for very low-income residents, for homeless assistance service providers as well as community service opportunities for students and school service organizations and whereas we continue to educate the public about the many contributing factors around pervasive hunger and homelessness in our own city and across the country

acknowledging that programs are needed to address workforce training and living wage jobs transportation affordable child care access to health care including mental health care disorder, surmounting language barriers, and creating and preserving housing that residents can afford. And whereas there are many organizations committed to sheltering and providing supportive services as well as meals and essential supplies to people experiencing food insecurity and homelessness including the Lamb Center, FACETS, Shelter House, A Place to Stand, Bright Paths, Food for others food justice dmv wesley housing and pathway homes and whereas we are fortunate to have a network of non-profits government agencies faith communities and volunteer networks that work

within our city to provide necessary services addressing hunger and homelessness for people of all ages and in many different circumstances and whereas the city of fairfax created a homelessness Task Force in 2023 to study the root causes of homelessness and to make recommendations to the City Council on how to address them, including the establishment in July 2024 of the Housing and Healthy Communities Advisory Board, HCAB. This permanent advisory board brings together both residents and professionals who are currently working within the city, providing services, programs, and housing to our community. They will be focused on helping the Council and staff developing strategies, policies, practices, programs, services, and projects to support

a healthy and thriving community for all who live and work here. Now therefore I, Catherine S. Reed, Mayor of the City of Fairfax, do hereby proclaim November 17th to 23rd, 2024, as National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in the City of Fairfax, and encourage all of us to think about the ways in which we can contribute to the health of our community through volunteerism, outreach, and direct services. Too many around us are without adequate food, safe shelter, or the services they need to live their best lives. Let us commit to being the change we want to see. And with that, I'm going to turn it over first to Amini Bonani and then to Mark Light. Amini.

Amini BonaneThank you so much, Mary. Y'all can hear me, right? Okay, awesome. Thank you so much to Mayor Reed and City Council for approving the second annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. As you know, solving this problem, it's a multifaceted issue, so it takes a village. So I'm really grateful for this village, and I'm also grateful for the work of the task force. It was not easy getting a group of 15 individuals to agree, but we agreed, but not only once, but 38 times on these recommendations. really looking forward to the work of the permanent board that we were able to create to continue on this work because as you know it doesn't happen overnight so I'm really grateful to live somewhere where people care about the most

vulnerable members of our community and I really want to celebrate the nonprofits and the people who work for them and the volunteers who work for them for just being boots on the ground for those who can't speak for themselves so without further ado I'd love to invite Mark to say a few words.

Jon Stehle JrThank you. To

Mark Lightbegin with I'd like to thank this City Council for having the foresight to put together the Homelessness Task Force particularly Councilmember Lim who was the spark that took that and made it into what it is today. As Amini said we came up with 38 recommendations and 10 of those were considered priority and one of those was to form the permanent group, which is called the Housing and Healthy Communities Advisory Board. I was honored to be selected to be the interim chair for that group, along with the vice chair, Susan LaCroix. And I think that as we've looked at it, what was done with the task force kind of set a lot of lofty goals and a lot of things to be considered. But I think when you look at making that into policy and making it a reality,

that's where a real heavy lift comes in and it will continue to take the support of city council our businesses our residents to make that happen we have almost the entire board has been appointed and in conversations with those people that have been appointed i can say i am in awe it is truly a first string group of people each bringing a tremendous amount of expertise in different fields all of it which together will go to I think give us some really good direction and be able to bring some really great things to City Council we're working with the city manager to plan our first meeting which is scheduled for December the second that will be a public meeting and that will be begin our process of

meeting about once a month so we thank the City Council for this continued support and we look forward to some great things that will allow us to address this issue improve service we have enhanced services that we may have and maybe start some new ones along with making it better for our residents our businesses and the visitors that come to Fairfax City

Jon Stehle Jrthank you

Catherine Readthank you I think we're gonna have a photo Jordan's open,

Speaker 6Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open, Sean. Jordan's open,

Catherine ReadSean. Jordan's open, Sean, Sean, for Planning Commissioner and George Mason University Professor Dr. Matthew Rice, Patrick Remsen, Public Works, Amy Lynn, Denny, Community Development and Planning, and Maurice Rue, IT? Come on, all the people, come on, come on. We're going to nerd out here. I mean, we really are.

Carol Paquettepublic commentI mean, I can tell these people are up to it

Catherine Readtoo, right? Just look at them.

Carol Paquettepublic commentI think

Catherine Readthis is our first ever proclamation on this subject, and I would be remiss not to give a nod to Jim Feather, who helped to put this together. So, whereas geographic information systems, GIS, technology is a vital tool for collecting, analyzing, and visualizing geographic and spatial data, which enhances decision-making processes in urban planning, public safety and other fields and whereas gis technology supports the efficient delivery of public services improves community engagement and fosters economic development by providing valuable insights into the geographic and demographic characteristics of our city and whereas the city of fairfax recognizes the importance of and leverages gis through its

professional staff in promoting sustainable development enhancing disaster preparedness response and improving the overall quality of life for its residents and whereas professionals on city staff actively promote and have utilized GIS technology to the advantage of the city in the areas of community community development and planning public works the fire department elections and environmental sustainability which contributes significantly to the advancement of this technology and its applications thereby benefiting our community and beyond. And whereas the City of Fairfax is in close proximity to and in partnership with George Mason University which has a robust and recognized GIS program supported by City resident and Planning Commission

member Professor Matt Rice. And whereas the third Wednesday of November is celebrated globally as GIS Day providing an opportunity to educate the public about the benefits of GIS and to inspire future generations to pursue careers in this field. The theme for 2024 is Mapping Minds, Shaping the World, 25 Years of GIS Excellence, reflects the profound impact of GIS on how we perceive, navigate, and shape our planet. And whereas George Mason University is hosting an event on November 20, 2024, to highlight the importance of GIS technology in our daily lives, therefore I, Catherine S. Reed, Mayor of the City of Fairfax, do hereby proclaim November 20, 2024 is GIS Awareness Day in the City of Fairfax and encourage

residents to explore the myriad of GIS tools available and to acknowledge and appreciate all the great work the staff puts into creating and utilizing them. And with that I will turn it over to the much celebrated Dr. Matt Rice.

Matthew RiceI'm not sure I've ever been called the most celebrated or anything like that, but thank you very much. I want to introduce you to a few people I brought with me who are really important in helping GIS impact the city's work. So on the academic side, Dr. Dieter Fosser, who's our department chair, and he runs the show. He's in charge. Lori Mandible is another faculty member in our department who teaches field mapping and GIS, essential in educating the next generation of students. We have two students here tonight, very lucky to have them. John in the back. And John, why don't you just come up. John's been very busy digitizing features for Maurice. And John will remember in class, I encourage the students,

be very careful about digitizing, because it can really cause repetitive stress injuries, and it can burn you out. So I'm going to ask Maurice afterwards whether he's helped John, you know, become a good GIS technician through his digitizing activity. Ty is in the back as well, and Ty is another Mason student, a part of student government, and tonight is going to hurry back to campus for a night walk, a field mapping exercise to identify hazards and problems on campus. And the department, including students that work closely with Lori, have built some applications to allow them to crowd source information on the GMU campus. So just very quickly, the story started about 22 years ago with Maurice.

And Maurice is the city's enterprise GIS manager. He was hired at a time when most cities were not even thinking about this kind of technology. But there was a very insightful IT director who had the insight to get Maurice on board. Maurice was early career, and GIS was just growing at that time. Her name, Gail Bohan, is that correct? Bohan. Bohan. And she had the insight to start this. 22 years later, Maurice runs one of the very best open data portals in the region. I routinely have my students reach out and get data from it. All city contractors and people who do business with the city can access geospatial data through that portal. Running the city's GIS infrastructure is a difficult job, but he's done it very ably.

I want to just recognize very quickly two other staff members that are essential in keeping the city going. First Amy Lindeni, and she's been on the staff for a year and a half to two years, and it's hard to get the correct date in my head because she's had such a big impact over that time period. benefit from her briefings to the Planning Commission. She's also an essential part of the city's fact book, which most of us consider to be kind of the crown jewel document. We refer to it constantly as a way of setting context for the city. 122 different figures, maps, and graphics produced by Amy and some of her predecessors, Lindsay Clouart, Kelly O'Brien, and then with her colleague Eric Foreman, who is just

a wizard with demographic and economic analysis. So that document is extremely valuable and she does a great job in community development and planning helping us on the planning commission and her supervisor Paul Nabte is in the back, a big supporter and someone that's very helpful in this regard. I want to also recognize Patrick. Patrick Remsen is the city's utilities project manager and he works with Satoshi Ito and summers both in the audience tonight and can vouch for the innovative nature of his work so simply put Patrick uses GIS field data collection in an innovative way to keep track of the city's assets related to stormwater and figure out which ones need repair immediately if you can't do that you end up repairing things at the last minute at four five six times the cost

He's able to do it in a very efficient way that not only identifies infrastructure that needs work but also allows the city to collect huge amounts of data to support reporting and regulations by the state of Virginia. So Patrick's innovative use of GIS will be a part of our GIS Day celebrations on November 20th. And I'd like to invite anybody who would like to attend the activities to please join Dr. Fosser and myself and Lori our two students and the GIS staff will all be there presenting so that's it thank you

Catherine ReadI said we would geek out did I not all right I think a photo now much simpler

Melanie ZippstaffAll

Carol Paquettepublic commentrighty then

Catherine Readthis is always a favorite proclamation I'm going to ask the Fairfax City Economic Development staff Central Fairfax Chamber of Fairfax Business Association to come on down as we proclaim one of the most important

Carol Paquettepublic commentdays of the year.

Catherine ReadAll right. Everybody in? Everybody in? Okay. So what is one of the most important days of the year in Fairfax City? I will tell you. It is Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday, which follows Thanksgiving and that thing called Black Friday. Save it for Small Business Saturday. All right. Whereas the government of the city of Fairfax, Virginia celebrates our local small businesses and the contributions they make to our local economy and community. And whereas, according to the United States Small Business Administration, there are 34.7 million small businesses in the United States. Small businesses represent 99.7% of firms with paid employees. Small businesses are responsible for 61.1% of net new jobs created since 1995.

And small businesses employ 45.9% of the employees in the private sector in the United States. And whereas 68 cents of every dollar spent at a small business in the U.S. stays in the local community, And every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional 48 cents in local business activity as a result of employees and local businesses purchasing local goods and services. And whereas 59% of U.S. consumers aware of Small Business Saturday shopped or ate at a small independently owned retailer or restaurant on Small Business Saturday 2023, 23, and whereas the City of Fairfax supports our local businesses that create jobs, boost our local economy, and preserve our neighborhoods. And whereas advocacy groups as well as public and private organizations across the country

have endorsed the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday, and whereas Fairfax City Economic Development, the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, and the Old Town Fairfax Business Association remain committed to cultivating the strongest business community possible here in the city and have developed programming to support the community of small businesses this year. Now therefore I, Catherine S. Reed, Mayor of the City of Fairfax, do hereby proclaim November 30, 2024, a Small Business Saturday and urge the residents of our community and communities across the country to support small businesses and merchants on Small Business saturday celebrating its 15th year in 2024 and shop small throughout the year and i will now

turn it over to tara borway

Tara Borwaystaffhello thank you i am so honored to be programs manager for economic development here in fairfax city because i get to work very closely with our small businesses This event has gone on for 15 years, and we have for several years been neighborhood champions along with our partners, the Fairfax City, no, the Old Town Fairfax Business Association and the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. Thank you so much for being our wonderful partners in this. For Small Business Saturday this year, we will once again be hosting a buy one get one 40% bonus card with the Fairfax City Flex card. Those will go live on Small Business Saturday. Those cards are redeemable at 51 participating businesses citywide.

You can see where to spend those and purchase them at fairfaxcityconnected.com slash flex. We will also be hosting three welcome stations around the city, asking for our residents to come visit us and shop small on Small Business Saturday. You can keep up with us and what the businesses are offering specials and deals and discounts throughout the holiday season by following our social media at GoFairFaxCity. We have lots in store. Businesses are really embracing this holiday shopping season and I know they would love to see you. I would thank everyone for considering our small business community. after Thanksgiving and when you go to do your retail therapy do it right here in Fairfax City

Catherine ReadIt's hard to believe we're talking about the holidays already. All right. All right. We can do the adoption of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? Council Member Staley.

Jon Stehle JrThank you, Mayor Reed. I move to approve the agenda as presented with the following change to add a line that states appointments to boards and commissions following item 11, which is items not requiring a public hearing.

Catherine ReadSecond. The motion has been made and seconded. A roll call vote.

ShinneberryclerkCouncil Member Greenfield?

Jon Stehle JrAye.

ShinneberryclerkCouncil Member Ross? Aye. Lim. Aye. Councilmember Staley.

Jon Stehle JrAye.

ShinneberryclerkCouncilmember Dole Feingold. Aye. Councilmember Bates. Aye. Motion passed unanimously. The next item is an initial general public comment. I'd had nobody sign up by 5 o'clock p.m. today so we can move on to consent agenda.

Catherine ReadAll right. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Councilmember Staley.

Jon Stehle JrThank you, Mayor Reed. I move adoption of a consent agenda for agenda item number 8B, consideration of the November 12, 2024 regular meeting minutes. Agenda number 8, sorry, that was agenda number 8A, consideration of the number 12-2024 regular meeting minutes. Agenda number 8B, consideration of award of construction contract for an estimated amount of $587,752 to Galicia Construction Corporation for the City Hall Landscape Improvements Project. Agenda Item 8C, consideration of a ward of construction contract for an estimated amount of $3,299,588.90 to Meadville Land Service, Inc. for Stafford Drive stream restoration. Agenda Item 8D, consideration of a ward of construction contract for an estimated amount of $834,892 to J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc. for the Andes Drive pump station force main lining.

Agenda Item 8E, consideration of reaffirming the comprehensive set of financial policies and the suggested FY2026 budget guidelines. Agenda Item 8F, introduction of an ordinance amending Chapter 90, taxation, Article 2, real property taxes, Division 3 of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, pertaining to tax relief program exemptions for the elderly and disabled. agenda item number 8g introduction of a supplemental appropriation resolution in the amount of six hundred fifty thousand dollars for fy 2025 fall non-discretionary and council authorized expenditures i move to approve the consent agenda items number 8a through g and the motioning accompanying consent agenda item as printed

Catherine Readsecond a motion has been made by council member staley and seconded by council member limb are there any items council would like pulled for additional discussion councilmember Ross

Thomas Rossyes mayor thank you I would like to pull item number 8g which is the introduction of the supplemental appropriation for further discussion thank you

Catherine Readall right item 8g will be removed for discussion roll call vote on the consent agenda minus item 8g yeah I

Speaker 4think there's maybe a minor change to 8a I think you said November 12th but it should have been October 22nd for a meeting minute approval and and then just clarification on 8e is it consideration of updates to the fiscal year 2026 financial policies and council budget guidelines is that what we're approving because I think it was slightly different

ShinneberryclerkI can confirm 8a supposed to be October 22nd okay

Speaker 4so maybe pull 8e and we can clarify what it

Catherine Readso item 8g and item 8e will be removed for discussion any other items okay a roll call vote on the consent agenda minus agenda items 8g and 8e

Shinneberryclerkcouncil member Bates aye council member Doyle Feingold aye council member Staley aye council member Lim aye

So Limon everything except the ones that are pulled and 8a I abstain since I was not here thank you

Shinneberryclerkcouncilmember Ross aye councilmember Greenfield okay motion passed unanimously for 8 a through D and F okay councilmember

Catherine ReadRoss

Jon Stehle Jrfirst oh

Catherine Readokay so we will go back to 8e

Shinneberryclerk8e is consideration of reaffirming the comprehensive set of financial policies and the suggested FY 2026 budget guidelines I'll recognize JC Martinez chief financial officer for that staff report

JC Martinezstaffthank you mayor council the correct wording would be to consideration for reaffirming the comprehensive set of financial policies and the suggested FY 2026 budget guidelines staffers proposing no changes to the current financial policies we are asking council again to reaffirm these policies and the listed guidelines for staff to use in preparation of the proposed fyi 2026 budget of note and as briefed in an earlier presentation during october 22nd we will be funding the budget stabilization fund within the assigned portion of the general fund balance for the first time in fy 24 and hope to continue this practice in fy 25 until accumulations of the general fund revenues and then additionally as also stated on october 22nd we look forward

looking to fy 2027 we may recommend a change to the debt policy specifically increasing the current nine percent limit of annual debt service versus expenditures and then also potentially the current three percent limit of the debt versus assessed value again to account for planned debt issuance happy to take any questions do

Catherine Readwe have questions for mr. Martinez from the dais on 8e no hearing none councilmember Staley

Jon Stehle JrI think you may I read I'm gonna read the motion that's in the staff report I move to adopt the presented financial policies and suggested budget guidelines to be used in the preparation of the fiscal year 2026 budget

Catherine Readall right a motion has been made by and seconded by council member limb a roll call vote

Shinneberryclerkcouncil member greenfield council member ross all right council member limb council member staley council member doyle feingold aye council member bates aye motion passed unanimously next item 8g is the introduction of supplemental appropriation resolution in the amount of 650 000 for fy 2025 fall non-discretionary and council authorized expenditures i'll recognize jc martinez to financial officer

JC Martinezstaffthank you again mayor council summarize on the staff report staff is recommending fy 2025 fall supplemental appropriations totaling 650 000 for all funds the capital improvement program the cip fund will be receiving an additional 50 000 from nvta 30 and applied towards a transit development AND PLAN FOR Q. THE NET IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS RESULTS IN A REDUCTION OF $600,000 TO THE FY 2025 GENERAL FUND BALANCE. THE PROPOSED GENERAL FUND SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION IS ABOUT .3 PERCENT OF THE FY 2025 ADOPTED GENERAL FUND BUDGET OF ABOUT $180 MILLION, 763,548. WERE THERE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS? you

Thomas Rossyes um thank you um mr martinez for that um my particular question that i understand we're introducing this tonight and i'm supportive of that um and expect to vote in favor of that motion um and we will actually be approving this on december 10th as a as a specific item on our agenda that night my question was regarding two of the items that are included as the city manager's work plan,

Matthew Riceand I'd like

Thomas Rossto get some additional information on that before we actually take action on this on December 10th. So I'm not asking for this tonight, but I think before that vote. In particular, questions I had regarding the historical assets inventory update and also the Lean Six Sigma process improvement evaluation for city permitting. I am supportive of both of those specific actions that we're going to be taking in terms of work. I do recall that we had previous work started on some of those items, and I think we actually had a contract with Blue Heron to look at the permitting process. And I want to make sure, in my mind, and I think it would be helpful to understand what this is as an additive to that work and any additional things that will be done because

I think there was a fair amount of work done on that back prior to your arrival here last year and I want to make sure that we're not spending money on something that we've already done in the interest of fiscal concerns. And then secondly, on the historical assets inventory, I support that again. I do think there was some work done by staff, again, prior to your arrival, and I just want to make sure that we've looked into what's already been done, making sure that we're not going to be repeating something that we already have some data on. And so I look forward to that either being presented on December 10th as part of the staff report or offline having some further discussions on that so I can be comfortable

with voting on that on December 10th.

Catherine ReadThank you, Mayor. Okay, any other questions or discussions around 8G? Okay, hearing none. Council Member Staley.

Jon Stehle JrThank you, Mayor Reed. I move to introduce an appropriation resolution in the amount of $650,000 to fund the FY 2025 fall recommended supplemental expenditures. I further move to waive the first reading and set the public hearing for December 10, 2024.

Catherine ReadSecond. A motion has been made by Council Member Staley and seconded by Council Member Lim. Are there any others? Is there any other discussion? Hearing none. roll call vote

Shinneberryclerkcouncilmember Bates

Catherine Readaye

Shinneberryclerkcouncilmember Doyle Feingold aye councilmember Staley aye councilmember Lim aye councilmember Ross aye councilmember Greenfield motion passed unanimously we'll go to public hearings there's only one tonight and that is a public hearing on the city of Fairfax 2025 legislative program I'll recognize Melanie Zipp assistant city manager to provide a staff presentation

Melanie Zippstaffour legislative program there is no council action tonight that will be on december 10th just to go over really quickly our city of fairfax delegation is senator saline and delegate full of up they will both be with us on december 3rd to go over our final proposed program in a workstation. So very quickly, how we build our program. Tonight we are going to review some of the edits that have been made to the program, some additions that staff is requesting be added to our program. Then on December 3rd, we would like to bring forward the priority focus areas, which is the center page. Those would be any kind of policies. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought I sounded funny. I apologize. I'm not starting over, though.

Our priority focus areas would be policy statements or code sections that we would like to highlight for our delegation. And then on December 3rd, we would ask the council to designate their one-page priority action items, anywhere from three to four items that they would like the delegation to focus on. Again, this is how we build our program. We go through the council's goals for their term. We look at our values that we have selected as a city staff. strategic plan for suggestions of additions to our program partners that we work with they are regional they are across the state we work with our boards and commissions our regional partners include Fairfax County of course especially in the areas of human services jails our court system our

schools and anything else that we contract with Fairfax County to provide those services for us as well as Alexandria Arlington Falls Church Loudoun County and Prince William County and then all the associations that our staff belong to we also incorporate their legislative programs as well this year we have one addition which is the village collective and we have a new that we would hope the council would be favorable of, and we will get to that shortly. So of the requests that we had previously, these are the additions that we included in the program. I won't go through this list because I will go through it in later slides, but these are the items that staff has requested or council members have requested.

that did not get incorporated into the program either because there was already enabling legislation for like the Attorney General to provide consumer affairs complaint processes and then some other items as well that I had emailed the council about I can go over those if you would like me to otherwise I will

Speaker 4going.

Melanie ZippstaffIf you look at our program, what you have in your packet is a clean copy and then a redline copy. The redline copy is kind of hard to read through because a lot of things got moved around or deleted and replaced with large sections of new language. But what staff would request is rearranging the priority list it at the very least with k-12 funding being number one and local authority being number two whether or not you want to include transportation and WMATA obviously these are all up to you but WMATA we have received some movement from the General Assembly on that so we don't have a lot of changes as it relates to our requests for WMATA funding as we don't have a lot of changes from the previous year either k-12 funding is

still a high priority for the entire region we have refreshed that language with the language that we received from Fairfax County and Fairfax County School Board our local authority the additions that we added there was to address an equitable tax structure sorry excise taxes to be established for vape products cannabis products and skill games property tax exemptions that are to be at the local discretion not at the state's discretion no new restrictions on local taxing authority and revenues, letting the local jurisdictions decide how they're going to use their taxing authority and the revenues that they bring in. And then increased state funding for car tax relief. In our land use section for local authority, we've had no changes.

And under local flexibility, we have the request to allow localities to prohibit or regulate And then, as I said, we had no changes in our transportation or our WMATA funding sections. When we move to the policy statements, the policy statements don't change over the years except to be updated by language unless the council wants something removed out of the policy statements. I did however move the cannabis section out of the economic development section of our policy statements and just put it under local authority under the excise tax just to make sure that we we get the the taxes that are due to the city so for economic development and diversification we asked to fund statewide technology research and innovation commercialization assistance

A lot of the requests for economic development are related to early seed funding for tech startups, especially in areas where the founders are traditionally receiving less venture capital. So small businesses, women-owned businesses, veteran-owned businesses, and businesses owned by people of color. And then supporting initiatives to stimulate these startups through education for investors and entrepreneurs. under environmental sustainability we have no changes no significant changes in our control of invasive plants there were a few minor edits but nothing that changes the the flavor of the language under greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy we are requesting to expand the authority for local jurisdictions and support

energy efficiency incentive programs. We're asking to establish a penalty for electric distribution companies that delay a customer generator's ability to connect to the grid beyond the regulatory notice period. This has to do with the solar interconnectivity issue that we have seen Fairfax County has had with putting solar on their schools and then the the program is stopped by Dominion so this is this will help that situation we're also asking to advance legislation to provide local authority authority to regulate or ban the use of the gas-powered leaf blowers and possibly impose a civil penalty extended producer responsibility. This is basically what this says is it establishes

Carol Paquettepublic commentwhere am I?

Melanie ZippstaffHere we go. The extended producer responsibility, the concept is that the producer influence over the design of products and packaging and if they're partially responsible for the cost of recycling or disposal they'll design their products to be more easily recovered and or disposed of so that is what the EPR framework is all about because as we know when it comes to recycling our prices for the city are going up and up waste reduction in recycling we're asking and more explicit local authority to manage solid waste. This has to do with granting local authority to regulate food waste. And then we have no significant changes in our water quality funding and no changes in our Virginia Litter Control and Recycling Fund.

In our community section, we have several changes. Community section deals with behavioral health, early childhood, older adults, medicaid and mental health parity for behavioral health we're just asking that the medicaid reimbursements cover the full cost of care the removal of the barriers that exist in alternate transportation and alternative custody options for individuals in need of psychiatric hospitalization This is a burden on our police department. When they have an order to take somebody to the hospital to be evaluated, they are required to stay with that patient, which means we can have a police officer that is out of rotation off of our streets for several hours dealing with one situation.

In early childhood services, we're asking that state funding for child care for economically disadvantaged families who are not participating in the TANF program. So these are people who are above the income limit for TANF. As we know, that income limit is very low, and even if you're above that, you still have challenges paying for child care because it is not cheap. for independence and self-sufficiency self-sufficient sufficient sufficiency for older adults and people with disabilities we're asking for support and funding for the Virginia Village Collective there is a new section in your program that talks about the village our village obviously is funded by you and the city of fairfax but not all villages

are are funded that way a lot of times they are volunteer programs and so the village collective is requesting support from the state and staff is asking the council to support that that request as well. When it comes to Medicare waivers, we did have some good movement on the priority one waitlist, and we're asking that they continue to work through that priority one waitlist. We're also asking that the reimbursement rates are increased to reflect the true cost of providing quality health care, and then sustain funding for new waiver slots every year to ensure access to essential support in the parity barriers for mental health we're asking that mental health benefits be included in the DSM the diagnostic statistics manual

or that the mental health benefits for all mental health conditions that are listed in the DSM be included in mental health benefits we're asking that nurse practitioners be approved as treatment providers and that the Bureau of Insurance be required to require all health carriers the Bureau of Insurance covers those smaller health care providers not like the city's health care providers these are much smaller systems but requiring them to submit comparative reports that include their denial rates, the utilization review rates, the complaints, the appeals, and the claim payment rates. Under community these are the other areas that we did not have any significant changes in. Same with transportation we had no significant changes in either of those. And then we

can move on to governance this is pretty much a catch-all of everything else that local government does we have a couple additions new sections advertising legal notices this is a new section we're asking for legislation to allow local governments to post legal notices on their dot-gov website in lieu of having to expend taxpayer funds to publicize it in a newspaper of general circulation to put it into a newspaper collective bargaining there's not a whole lot of change here except that we're asking the language to be to support the local authority to approve or deny a request that is made by a group of public employees for freedom of information act we are asking for support to allow our local city councils boards of supervisors school boards whether elected or

appointed to participate in all virtual meetings at the current frequency of our other boards and commissions we've seen through kovat that the public's business can be done in a virtual setting and so we're requesting that the council be allowed to do that at least at the rate that they're allowing other boards and commissions to participate which I believe is about 50% of their meetings for land use we are asking to preserve local authority to regulate and manage the use and construction of accessory dwelling units through our zoning process another new section is our mobile ID we're requesting support legislation to allow the use of mobile ID in lieu of a physical driver's license or ID in the Commonwealth of Virginia this is actually a pilot program right

now that Virginia is doing and you can voluntarily sign up to be part of this there are some TSA locations that allow it there are some states that allow it We were hoping that Virginia will move to this idea and possibility of not having to carry your driver's license in your pocket, but just have it on your phone. And then under taxation, we're asking for support of last year's SB 14 and HB 805, which was the 1% sales and use tax for city and county schools. that that just be put back into place that is all the changes that I have for the program for this year right now we are on November 12th so we are doing our public hearing getting feedback from the public November 25 if there's any legislation that we want specifically to go forward for certain statutory sections of the code

we need to get those in by november 25 at this time i don't have any that we want to push forward and so our next meeting will be on december 3rd with our delegation in the work session and we will go over the final proposed legislative program. And then on December 10th, I'll be asking for council's consideration of our 2025 legislative program. And then the program begins on January 8th. So next steps tonight, we're just asking for council consensus on the new policy statements and on the language revisions in the existing policy statements. And then on December 3rd, I'll be asking for your consensus and prioritization of the focus areas. And that is it. I will happily take any questions.

Catherine ReadAre there questions from the dais about the legislative agenda? No? Really? Okay, well, so this whole mobile ID thing, which I think is great, I didn't realize that was already available voluntarily in Virginia. Like, how are they promoting that?

Melanie ZippstaffSo I had to actually just go to their website, and I found it. Really? Yep. Let me see.

Catherine ReadThis is like a function of the DMV?

Melanie ZippstaffYep. Virginia's mobile ID is currently a voluntary secure and digital version of an existing Virginia-issued driver's license or ID card that can be carried in an app on a smartphone. Virginia mobile ID was developed to provide a convenient way to prove identity or age in a private secure manner no data leaves the device without user consent and the user controls what information is shared so the mobile ID is actually a it's an app so it's not just you know you take a picture of your ID and it's in your photos it actually has to be part of the app well that makes sense

Catherine Readthe reason I'm just I don't I don't know why this has not been really elevated since we have so many people who are unhoused who constantly have to replace their driver's license I mean it's just a constant constant thing and most many many people have phones so this is something worth looking out for that particular community of people just to the loss and the replacement over and over and over again of driver's license but if we if it gets adopted statewide I mean I think that's a benefit to many people for many reasons yes do so I hope my colleagues will support that on the dais because I think it's a it's an upgrade all right I know questions for the staff and I will open the public hearing miss Shinneberry is this public

hearing been advertised

Shinneberryclerkyes it has and I have two speakers who signed up prior to the meeting I will call the first speaker up Anita Light

Anita Lightpublic commentgood evening again I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to the of supporting legislation that will help current and future villages to be a viable source of support for older adults within our community. As you know, our village has been very successful since April of 2022, and we've grown to have over 110 members and almost 50 volunteers. We continue to grow every day and have helped our members to get to the doctor, the grocery store, to church, to the bank, to get your hair cut. We've been raking leaves and shoveling snow. Importantly, each one of these interactions for our members helps to reduce social isolation in some small way. Also, because our village structure and success in getting established and operational,

we've been asked to be a mentor to another community to help them get their village off the ground. It's a formal program with the Village to Village Network. Our ability to provide assistance in this way speaks to the wisdom and commitment of this council needed to keep our village successful other communities in Virginia need this same support to get organized or to be sustained but may be challenged to find the resources to do so this proposed legislation will help these startup villages to get organized as well as to help those already started to stay in operation our village is a member of the Virginia village collective and this collective has been working diligently to gain support for the proposed

legislation included in your program tonight Carol Paquette who is with the Arlington neighborhood village is a member of the steering committee of the collective and is here tonight to share with you a brief outline of what that legislative proposal would do for Virginia I've provided you with the full proposal that gives background information that you may need in order to help make a decision about including this in the legislative package. So I encourage you to be supportive of this, and we'll be happy to answer any questions that you might have at a later time. So I'll turn it over to Carol.

Carol Paquettepublic commentGood evening, Mayor Reed and the

Tara Borwaystaffcouncil

Carol Paquettepublic commentmembers. Thank you. I'm Carol Paquette. I'm one of the founders of the Arlington Neighborhood Village. I'm a former president of the Village to Village Network, currently the convener of the Virginia Villages Collective. The collective is an informal collaboration among 18 Virginia Villages. It was created about two years ago by representatives from five of the Villages. Our purpose is to enable more older Virginians to safely age in place by increasing awareness of the Village Model and its benefits, promoting the development of new Villages, and fostering the growth and sustainability of existing Villages. Why are we proposing this legislation? Many surveys show that the vast majority of older adults want to age in place.

Some older adults need professional services and skilled assistance, but most can safely remain in their homes with just a little unskilled help. And all older adults need opportunities to socialize, engage in meaningful activities, and pursue their personal interests. Villages are a cost-effective solution to meet these needs. But here's the catch. It typically takes a minimum of two years and about $10,000 to start an independent, stand-alone village. This is a really slow way to expand access to village support. However, Fairfax City, along with dozens of other entities around the country, has shown that working with a sponsor can dramatically reduce the time and effort to start a village.

And sponsored villages also tend to be more robust and sustainable in the long run. How will this legislation help? It will strengthen existing villages by providing expertise and funding to build capacity, to enable a response to evolving community needs, including such things as volunteer training, data management, programs for caregiver respite and frail member support. It will also promote the development of new villages by providing technical assistance to identify locations for villages, recruit sponsors, establish an incubator program to guide development, and provide funding for startup expenses when needed. in closing I'd like to note that the collective has obtained a grant to do research on sponsored villages and prepare guidance on how to set up

various types of sponsorships we'll soon be interviewing right here in Fairfax City to learn from your experience thanks very much for the opportunity

Anita Lightpublic commentthank you we appreciate your time thank you

Shinneberryclerkis there anybody else in the room item

Catherine Readall right then I will close the public hearing the City Council will take action on December 10th of 2024 we

Shinneberryclerkcan move to the second general public comment I had nobody sign up prior to the meeting starting this evening if there's anybody that would like to speak on general public comment you can come forward okay moving on to I was not requiring a public hearing first I'm the issuance of revenue bonds by the city of Fairfax Fairfax Economic Development Authority for the benefit of the city of Fairfax Virginia and a maximum aggregate principal amount of $54,500,000 to finance general government capital project costs. I'll recognize JC Martinez, Chief Financial Officer to provide the staff report.

JC MartinezstaffThank you. Mayor, Council, as presented during the October 22, 2024 Review of the city's capital funding plan confirmed the necessity to finance a portion of its capital improvement projects by issuing bonds. City staff in collaboration with Davenport and company LLC, in its capacity as the city's financial advisor, proposes that the city request the EDA issue the 2025 bonds via cell in the public market. issuance of these types of bonds requires the city's economic development authority to serve as a conduit issuer. This option was determined to be the most efficient, cost effective, and provides flexibility regarding the use of bond proceeds, allowing the city to utilize funds as necessary for various city capital improvement projects.

Anticipated capital expenditures include the following without limitations. Fire, police, and other public safety projects such as Fire Station 3, and Recreation and Cultural Willard Sherwood Community Center. The proposed financing was anticipated in the adopted FY 2025 budget and in the FY 2025 through FY 2029 capital improvement program. Given the city's very strong credit ratings, the 2025 bonds are not expected to require any collateral. And the revenues of the city's general operation subject to annual appropriation shall be pledged as backing for the proposed revenue bond issuance. We do have Austin Sachs from Davenport, Chris Culp, the city's bond attorney, and I are more than willing to answer any questions you may have.

Catherine ReadAre there any questions of staff? Questions on this issue? Okay. Is there a motion, Council Member Staley?

Jon Stehle JrThank you, Mayor Reed. I move the City Council to adopt a resolution requesting the City of Fairfax Economic Development Authority to issue Revenue bonds for the benefit of the City of Fairfax, Virginia and the maximum aggregate principal amount of $54,500,000 to finance general government capital project costs.

So LimSecond.

Catherine ReadMotion has been made by Council Member Staley and seconded by Council Member Lim. Is there any discussion on this motion? Seeing none, a roll call vote.

ShinneberryclerkCouncil Member Bates?

Catherine ReadAye.

ShinneberryclerkCouncil Member Doyle Feingold? Aye. Council Member Staley? Aye. Council Member Lim? Aye. Council Member Ross? Aye. Council Member Greenfield?

Speaker 6Aye.

ShinneberryclerkMotion passed unanimously. Next item is a consideration of board and commission appointment. Is there a motion? Council Member Staley?

Jon Stehle JrThank you, Mayor Reed. I move to reappoint Myron Moloski for a three-year term extending through November 30th, 2027 to the Board of Equalization.

Catherine ReadSecond. councilmember Staley and seconded by councilmember Lim any discussion on this motion seeing none a roll call vote

Shinneberryclerkcouncilmember Greenfield councilmember Ross councilmember Lim councilmember Staley councilmember Doyle Feingold councilmember Bates

Speaker 4motion

Shinneberryclerkpassed unanimously next item is the manager's report out

Speaker 10evening mayor and council just want to highlight an an important win for our city and specifically a win for our economic development team. Many who are here tonight and our partners, the Economic Development Authority. They announced today the retention of Fairfax City's largest private employer and office user, Zeta Associates Incorporated. Zeta will maintain its 225,000 square feet of office space in Willowwood Plaza, supporting hundreds of high skilled jobs with planned building renovations facilitated by the EDA. This commitment strengthens both Zeta's future in our community and Fairfax City's standing as a prime destination for leading industry. So we want to thank Zeta and its parent company for continuing to invest in our city.

And more importantly, we want to thank our economic development team for doing such a great job in keeping our city economically strong. Thank you.

Catherine ReadAll right. I will ask our council members if they have anything they would like to share. I think I'm going to start with Councilmember Staley.

Jon Stehle JrThank you, Mayor Reed. Just a quick shout-out to many of our city staff today for their work at the career day at Catherine Johnson Middle School. It was awesome to see so many of our team there and supporting our middle school. And then I want to give a huge shout-out to the Fairfax field hockey team. Earlier this evening, they made it to the state semifinals, defeating Cosby 3-0. thing they will play on Friday evening against Yorktown on the other side of the bracket is Oakton and Glen Allen so a big shout out to Bode and her entire team for an excellent job well done Lions all

Catherine Readright congratulations council member Doyle Feingold no

Speaker 4comment sinks

Catherine Readcouncilmember Bates no comments council member Lim

So Limno comments thank you

Catherine Readcouncilmember Ross

Thomas Rossyes um thank you mayor Sure. Yesterday was Veterans Day throughout our country, and I had the opportunity along with the mayor to participate in this ceremony at the American Legion, which honored those veterans who are in our community and nationwide who have been on the forefront of protecting our country and serving in the military in so many distinguished ways. messages that came out of that was critically important. And that was not just saying thank you for your service, but on a regular basis checking in with veterans. One of the speakers yesterday was a gentleman who had lost his son. He was a, had been a Navy SEAL, the father, and is now very active on a nationwide basis building support for veterans who have experienced trauma coming out of their service.

His son, unfortunately, committed suicide a number of years ago. He was also a Navy SEAL as a result of trauma, and his experience of serving, I believe, four or five combat missions overseas. And just the dramatic impact that that can have on the human brain and on the human personality was pointed out by this gentleman. and I believe it's this weekend, but I think it's something we should

Matthew Riceall remember.

Thomas RossReach out to veterans and just check in with them. Let them know you're thinking of them and checking in and saying, how are you doing and everything okay? Because we're learning more and more about the trauma that can occur. And it's veterans, but it's also other people that serve in public safety and other emergency services who face trauma. or trauma, and we are just beginning to learn of the impact on that on the human psyche and what that occurs. So, and on a personal note, I am celebrating 50 years retirement from my three and a half years in the Air Force. December of 74, I was discharged from the Air Force in McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, and just, I did not go in with a desire to serve, but it was an

very fortunate to benefit from that and want to recognize all those who are veterans. Secondly, following up the presentation we heard on the importance of village and the city and the services they provide, there was a wonderful article in the paper today, the Washington Post, about our growing aging population and many people who are aging in place but are in need And it's a really heartwarming story about how neighbors and people have reached out, just going to do a few errands with someone or helping them out or reaching out to them and being a friend and a neighbor. And again, I think that's the premise of this village and the city. And I certainly will be very supportive of that as being a priority in our legislative program as we go forward in 2025.

Thank you, Mayor.

Catherine ReadThank you. Council Member Greenfield? So before we go into a closed meeting, I just want to say this is the last meeting before Thanksgiving. I want to wish everybody a very happy Thanksgiving holiday and remind all of us that this holiday was created for us to examine all the many ways in which we are thankful. Gratitude is a good place to start. I feel we in the city are very fortunate in so many ways. to be sitting on this dais and serving this community and for all of the challenges we may have in the city this city is a great place to live and so I hope people will have a very safe and happy Thanksgiving with their family and counting their blessings now I will make a motion to go into a closed

Catherine Readmeeting I move that the City Council convene a closed meeting under section 2.2 of the Code of Virginia to discuss personnel matters. Section 2.23711.83 of the Code of Virginia to discuss possible acquisition of property for public purposes. And Section 2.2-3711.8 of the Code of Virginia for consultation with legal counsel for legal advice. All council members in favor of the motion, please signify by voting aye.

Jon Stehle JrAye.

Catherine ReadThose opposed to the vote, please vote nay. The vote is unanimous in favor of the motion. the City Council retired into a closed meeting at 8 16 p.m.