OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Harrisonburg City Council Meeting - June 23, 2026

City Council & Planning Commission — Tuesday, June 23, 2026
BodyHarrisonburg, Virginia
SessionCity Council & Planning Commission
DateTuesday, June 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:13:11

Transcript — Verbatim
0:21

I'll call our two Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026 City Council meeting to order.

0:26

Roll call, please, Pam.

0:28

Mayor Reid, President, City Manager Banks.

0:31

Here.

0:32

City Attorney Brown is absent.

0:34

In his place is Deputy City Attorney Ress.

0:38

Here.

0:40

Vice Mayor Fleming?

0:42

Here.

0:42

Councilmember Al Siddun.

0:43

Here.

0:44

Councilmember Dent is absent.

0:46

Councilmember Robinson is absent.

0:48

Chief Tucker?

0:49

And Chief Toby.

0:51

If you would please stand for a moment of sales or private prayer, whatever you wish.

0:55

And then remains standard for the Pledge of Legends.

1:17

Thank you.

1:24

And to the Republic.

1:27

One nation.

1:29

Invisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:38

Okay, we have no special recognitions this evening.

1:41

We'll go straight to our consent agenda.

1:44

Any items placed on the consent agenda shall be removed and taken up as a separate matter.

1:48

If so requested by any member of council otherwise, all items will be voted on with one motion.

1:55

I'll move to uh approve the consent agenda as presented.

1:59

Second.

1:59

Any discussion?

2:01

Roll call, please pan.

2:03

Nice Mayor Fleming.

2:05

Aye.

2:05

Councilmember Al Sadir.

2:07

Aye.

2:07

Mayor Reid?

2:08

Aye.

2:09

We have no public hearings tonight, so we can go straight into our regular agendas items.

2:15

And up first we have President John Downing from Blue Ridge Community College to give us our annual update.

2:23

Hi, John.

2:24

Mary, thank you.

2:25

Members of the City Council.

2:27

Thank you for the opportunity to be here tonight and provide this brief update on Blue Ridge Community College.

2:32

As each of you know, Blue Ridge Community College transforms the lives of the students we serve and in turn supports the economic development of both the city and the region by developing the workforce of the valley.

2:44

We are grateful for your ongoing support.

2:47

I'll start with an interesting statistic.

2:49

According to the higher education national clearinghouse data, of all the Harrisonburg City residents who attended college this past year, 37% of them chose Blue Ridge Community College for their post-secondary education.

3:02

That's more than all of our other educational institutions combined.

3:06

So we have uh great relationships with those other educational institutions and really support appreciate their support.

3:13

They are agreements with them allow our students to graduate and transfer and earn baccalaureate's degrees and continue to advance the educational attainment of the city.

3:39

You've also appointed to our board both Sandra Hernandez and John Butler, who do a wonderful job advising me and the State Board for Community Colleges on Academic and Administrative Matters with the College.

3:57

We continue to offer exceptional dual enrollment opportunities for city students.

4:02

Our career coaching program is well thought of in both high schools, and we continue to enjoy the large percentage of high school graduates attending Blue Ridge as their first post-secondary option.

4:13

We also work together to bring some unique workforce partnerships to the high school, allowing seniors to earn a marketable credential prior to graduation that helps prepare them for the workforce.

4:24

This coming year we're very excited that we'll be piloting the inaugural class of our Blue Ridge Community College Career Academy, where city school juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to earn advanced standing college courses and certifications while still enrolled in high school.

4:41

This is an exciting partnership for us, and I'm convinced it will really have a positive impact on city residents and on the regional workforce development for years to come.

4:51

In addition to career exploration courses, we'll offer courses in early childhood education, agriculture, human services, social work, computer and electronics, and health care during the first year, and we'll expand those offerings as we go forward.

5:07

I provided each of you with packets of information for you to review at your leisure.

5:12

The packets include our annual report, a fast fact sheet, our community link newsletter, and other handouts that highlight the college's success in helping students achieve a better life for themselves and a better community for all of us.

5:26

If there's additional ways that Blue Ridge Community College can help support city residents, please reach out to me and do not hesitate ever to do that.

5:37

And thank you again for your support, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

5:41

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Workforce Development████████████12%
Public Safety██████████10%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Zoning And Land Use████████8%
Procedural█████5%
Technology and Innovation█████5%
Environmental Protection███3%
Mental Health Awareness███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Harrisonburg City Council Meeting - June 23, 2026

The Harrisonburg City Council met on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Fleming, and Council Member Alsaadun were present; Council Members Dent and Robinson were absent. The meeting included approval of a consent agenda, presentations on Blue Ridge Community College, the 2026 Central Shenandoah Hazard Mitigation Plan, the Zoning Ordinance Update communications plan, and a new City-JMU Working Group, as well as public comments and routine appointments.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from the June 9, 2026, City Council meeting.
  • Approved the rezoning of 850 Canterbury Court (Robin L. Lake request) on second reading.
  • Approved ordinance amendments increasing water, sewer/authority, and seasonal tiered rate structures (second reading).
  • Approved amendments to erosion control and stormwater management fees (second reading).
  • Approved a stormwater utility fee ordinance amendment (second reading).
  • Approved special event applications for Block Party in the Burg (Aug. 29, 2026), African American Festival (Sept. 12, 2026), Eastern Mennonite University‘s Royals Go Downtown (Sept. 24, 2026), and EMU Homecoming & Family Weekend (Oct. 10, 2026).
  • Approved supplemental appropriations for the General Fund and for the General Fund and General Capital Projects Fund.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Panayotis “Poti” Giannakouros (address stated) spoke as a representative of the Harrisonburg Martin Luther King Jr. Way Coalition. He expressed support for civic engagement and early voting, and criticized what he described as the city lagging behind the rest of Virginia and underfunding schools by $500,000 less than requested this year and over $1 million less the previous year.
  • Bucky Berry (address stated) expressed strong support for the new Harrisonburg Fire Department ladder truck, praising its quality and durability.

Discussion Items

  • Blue Ridge Community College Annual Update (7.a) – Dr. John Downey, BRCC president, reported that 37% of Harrisonburg residents attending college in Fall 2025 chose BRCC. He highlighted dual enrollment programs and the upcoming inaugural class of the BRCC Career Academy for city school juniors and seniors, offering courses in early childhood education, agriculture, health care, and more. Council members thanked Dr. Downey and discussed workforce changes, aviation maintenance expansion, and programs for immigrants and refugees.
  • 2026 Central Shenandoah Hazard Mitigation Plan (7.b) – Jamison Ryder, acting deputy emergency coordinator, presented the plan, which identifies 21 action items for Harrisonburg (9 high priority, 7 medium, 5 low). The plan addresses flooding, utility resilience, public safety, and is required for FEMA and VDEM hazard mitigation funding. Council adopted the resolution unanimously (3-0).
  • Zoning Ordinance Update Communications Plan (7.c) – Michael Parks, director of communications, outlined strategies including public meetings (two large open meetings, stakeholder meetings), a dedicated webpage, social media, mailers, and working with trusted messengers. Council members stressed meeting people where they are, translation services, and engagement with non-English-speaking communities. Parks noted the plan will evolve based on community input.
  • City of Harrisonburg-James Madison University Working Group (7.d) – Brian Vandenberg, assistant to the city manager, introduced the working group to strengthen town-gown relations. The group will receive student-resident concerns, coordinate on shared projects, and disseminate neighborly information. It will include city staff, JMU staff, students, and residents. Council discussed ensuring resident diversity (not from one neighborhood) and a rotating membership to avoid bias. The group will meet monthly beginning July 2026.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved 3-0 (roll call vote).
  • The 2026 Central Shenandoah Hazard Mitigation Plan resolution adopted 3-0 (roll call vote).
  • The Link Apartments rezoning (435-495 S. Main St., etc.) was referred back to the Planning Commission due to additional proffers offered by the developer; council voted unanimously to take it off the table and refer it.
  • Kelley Crouse was appointed to the Community Services Board for a first full term expiring July 28, 2030 (unanimous voice vote).
  • Presentations from Blue Ridge Community College, the Hazard Mitigation Plan, the Zoning Communications Plan, and the JMU Working Group were received and filed.
  • The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.

Meeting Transcript

I'll call our two Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026 City Council meeting to order. Roll call, please, Pam. Mayor Reid, President, City Manager Banks. Here. City Attorney Brown is absent. In his place is Deputy City Attorney Ress. Here. Vice Mayor Fleming? Here. Councilmember Al Siddun. Here. Councilmember Dent is absent. Councilmember Robinson is absent. Chief Tucker? And Chief Toby. If you would please stand for a moment of sales or private prayer, whatever you wish. And then remains standard for the Pledge of Legends. Thank you. And to the Republic. One nation. Invisible with liberty and justice for all. Okay, we have no special recognitions this evening. We'll go straight to our consent agenda. Any items placed on the consent agenda shall be removed and taken up as a separate matter. If so requested by any member of council otherwise, all items will be voted on with one motion. I'll move to uh approve the consent agenda as presented. Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please pan. Nice Mayor Fleming. Aye. Councilmember Al Sadir. Aye. Mayor Reid? Aye. We have no public hearings tonight, so we can go straight into our regular agendas items. And up first we have President John Downing from Blue Ridge Community College to give us our annual update. Hi, John. Mary, thank you. Members of the City Council. Thank you for the opportunity to be here tonight and provide this brief update on Blue Ridge Community College. As each of you know, Blue Ridge Community College transforms the lives of the students we serve and in turn supports the economic development of both the city and the region by developing the workforce of the valley. We are grateful for your ongoing support. I'll start with an interesting statistic. According to the higher education national clearinghouse data, of all the Harrisonburg City residents who attended college this past year, 37% of them chose Blue Ridge Community College for their post-secondary education. That's more than all of our other educational institutions combined. So we have uh great relationships with those other educational institutions and really support appreciate their support. They are agreements with them allow our students to graduate and transfer and earn baccalaureate's degrees and continue to advance the educational attainment of the city. You've also appointed to our board both Sandra Hernandez and John Butler, who do a wonderful job advising me and the State Board for Community Colleges on Academic and Administrative Matters with the College. We continue to offer exceptional dual enrollment opportunities for city students.

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