Good evening, everyone.

The formal meeting of the Richmond City Council will now come to order.

Madam Clerk or Mr.

Clerk, if you would please have I think it is Ms.

Roxanne Telavera, Denson come forward to provide the Spanish interpretation announcement.

Thank you.

Spanish interpretation is available in the council chamber.

Please see a representative at the rear of the room to receive the appropriate equipment.

Spanish interpretation is also available through Microsoft Teams for virtual attendees in need of this service.

The interpretation in Espaniol também está disponible através de Microsoft Teams para los assistantes virtuales que necessiting estos servicios.

The uh invocation speaker this evening is Reverend Kennan Kevin L.

Jones of the Ebeneza Baptist Church.

Welcome, Pastor Jones.

Good evening.

Let us pray.

God of creation, once again we come before you with thanksgiving in our hearts.

Grateful and thankful for this day that you have provided.

And thank you for another opportunity to gather in City Hall to do the bidding of your people.

God, we're grateful for this city where we eat, work, and play.

God, I thank you for all the residents, and I pray that you will continue to bless each and every one of them.

And God, particularly on tonight, we thank you for this council.

We thank you for our mayor, uh, the administration, all the staff that makes this city run.

But we just ask tonight that you will grant them wisdom and clarity of thought as they deliberate the issues and the business of the city.

Well, once again, we thank you for this time and let all of God's people say amen.

Thank you, Pastor Jones.

I would now invite you to join me 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.

Madam President, all members of council are in attendance this evening except for councillors lynch and Abu Bakr.

If there are individuals standing in the rear of the chamber, they are asked to be seated where seats are available at this time.

Also, no applause is permitted during tonight's meeting.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Let's proceed with the appointments and reappointments to the boards and commissions.

Members, at the February 9th meeting, council continue consideration of appointment recommendations to the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing and the Economic Development Authorities.

Those recommendations from your land use, housing and transportation and finance and economic development standing committees are before you this evening.

Is there a motion regarding these recommendations?

Yes, ma'am.

Madam Clerk, I move that we refer the follow-in appointments back to committees.

Um to reconsider them alongside newcoming incumbent applications.

Second.

Is this for the committee meetings in April?

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Council is now voting on the motion to refer the RRHA and EDA appointment recommendations back to their respective standing committees for reconsideration at their April meetings alongside additional applications.

Mr.

Breton.

Aye.

Ms.

Gibson.

Yes.

Ms.

Jones.

Hi.

Ms.

Robertson.

Hi.

Ms.

Trammel.

Hi.

Vice President Jordan.

Aye.

And President New Bill.

Aye.

That motion has been approved.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Let's proceed with the public comment period speakers.

The first speaker is Jesus Carpio.

Jesus Carpio.

The next speaker is Tayshawn Cleckley.

The next speaker is Brantley Tyndall.

Welcome, Mr.

Tendle.

Good evening, Madam President, City Council.

I'm Brantley Tyndall, the director of Bike Walk RVA at Sportsbackers.

And I'm here to talk about pedestrian safety.

And usually I have this printed off, but technology is what it is today.

I'm here to shed some light about pedestrian safety and overall traffic safety in Richmond and a little bit in the region as well.

I'm gonna start with a quote from the philosopher Epictetus over 2,000 years ago said it's impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.

And I hope that this will encourage us all, everyone in the room and in the city and our region to have an openness to new context, new information, uh new perspectives about what how we can save people's lives in the transportation environment.

Um everyone knows this winter was a rough patch for pedestrian fatalities, and I I want to caution us from thinking that this was just a snapshot.

It was kind of a fluke season.

The reality is the long-term trends are much worse.

Uh, when looking at three years, Richmond has the worst pedestrian fatality rate in the state.

Uh, we also have the worst overall fatality rate in the state per capita when you control for population.

That's uh worse than the localities in Virginia Beach, worse and much worse than localities in Northern Virginia.

There are localities in Virginia that have solved this problem uh or are solving this problem much more rapidly than we are here.

Um so when a pedestrian is killed, we often hear the questions what was the pedestrian doing?

Were they distracted?

What color other were their clothes?

Did they look both ways?

We don't ask what was the infrastructure like, how close was the nearest crosswalk, what was the pedestrian signal?

Um and I want to ask some different questions.

What was Bill Martin supposed to have done?

He died in a crosswalk crossing with a signal.

What about Hope Carpenter?

What about my friend Sean Soares who died standing on a sidewalk where two cars crashed, exited the roadway and killed him?

What about Aja Rosemond, who had the exact same story and Southside?

Were they supposed to jump out of the way of a driver who did not adhere to the crosswalk?

Um we need to consider whether crosswalks are enough.

We need to consider the system-wide elements of what makes pedestrian safety um possible.

But Richmond is not uniquely cursed.

Well, drivers here are the same, pedestrians are the same.

What are places that are solving this problem doing?

Hoboken, New Jersey, nine years of no pedestrian fatality or no overall fatalities.

This year, New York City announced that they had the lowest traffic fatality rate in their recorded history, down 31% from once they started their vision zero program in 2014.

In that same time frame, 2014, Richmond's fatality rate has increased over 200% from seven.

From seven to over 20.

Uh, since we committed to Vision Zero in 2017, those numbers have increased 35%, so a little bit less, but still significant.

Uh, we know that the tools, the save people's lives, lower speed limits.

We haven't lowered a single speed limit to 20 miles per hour since the General Assembly allowed us to do it.

We've not meaningfully day lit intersections, allowing people to not park too close to the intersections.

We haven't had a single pedestrian-only signal phase, which would have saved Bill's life, would have saved Hope's life.

And I would encourage you to look at innovative tools that could actually solve this problem.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Tindal.

The next speaker is Fatima or Fatima Kamara.

Welcome, Ms.

Kamara.

Thank you.

Uh good evening to the council.

My name's Fatima Kamara.

I'm a resident of the first district.

Um and I wanted to add public comment to the record, also about pedestrian deaths and the lack of safety on our roads.

Just this year, I've had no less than four drivers failed to yield to me as a pedestrian, either because they didn't see me at all or because they didn't see me until they were about to hit me.

I appreciate the work the city, the mayor, and the new Richmond Department of Transportation have put in so far, but not enough of that work as public facing.

As it seems drivers are not changing their behavior despite at least nine pedestrian deaths, deaths over just a couple months.

I've heard more people talk about free tier masseux and Francine the Cat in the city.

When Richmonders do pay attention to this issue, the response is often prosecute the pedestrians, despite at least three of the recent deaths being in the crosswalk and at least two deaths last year that I can remember being on the sidewalk.

Crossing mid-block or without the walk signal is not a moral failing.

It's a result of cities that are built for cars and not for people.

The answer is not to punish people for using the cheapest, uh, least polluting form of transportation, which obviously is also the slowest.

The answer is to protect them.

Traffic deaths have been known, sorry, traffic deaths have been a known public health crisis since at least 2017 when the city adopted Vision Zero, and it is not being treated with the urgency of a public health crisis.

Changing driver behavior should be an immediate priority.

Rather than placing blame on pedestrians, the city should immediately deploy Richmond Ready Alerts telling drivers to slow down and pay attention.

It could place the electronic message boards that tell drivers when con construction is gonna be, um, and those could be placed at the most dangerous intersections, letting drivers know that those are the most dangerous intersections.

Um in the meantime, uh, those could be deployed while proven ways to make streets safer, like narrowing and reducing lanes, increasing pedestrian visibility, and lowering speed limits could be should be implemented in the medium term.

While the city has responded quickly with speed and red light cameras, high crash corridors are disproportionately located in historically redlined areas that still see fewer opportunities today.

For that reason, I believe cameras should be a considered a stopgap solution on the way to safer infrastructure.

30 seconds.

Thanks.

I urge the city to make excuse me.

I urge the city to take more immediate actions to get the attention of drivers while they continue to make the city's infrastructure safe safer.

I thank the council for its time.

Thank you, Ms.

Kamara.

The next speaker is Kathy Burrell.

Welcome, Miss Burrell.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Kathy Burrell.

And I reside in the 9th district.

And this is my daughter, Lauren.

She was one of the pedestrians killed last year.

Thank you.

She was hit on November and killed on November 29th.

She crossed the street.

I got the call at 5:38 p.m.

It's not even dark yet.

There are four street lights there, but he didn't see her.

As I left the hospital on my way home, I stopped by the accident.

As my daughter laid on a cold table, waiting for the medical examiner to pick her up and to poke and prod her.

The tables were turned.

Action with no consequences.

After several inquiries, I found that the driver isn't being charged.

It was an accident.

And I'm not sure whether it should be possibly going to take classes for educational, some type of community service, a license being suspended, restricted.

If I back into your car in this parking lot, I get a ticket.

I go to court, could possibly be fined.

Possibly my license.

When you hit my 126 pound daughter, with a car that weighed over 3,000 pounds, it's not an axe.

It's a crime.

And our legislative needs to look at something to change the law.

There is no law to protect her.

And that's what my fight will be, along with her family who's here with us.

My daughter's death will not be in vain.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Barrow.

And please accept our heartfelt condolences on the loss of your daughter.

The next speaker is Carol Adams.

Welcome, Ms.

Adams, and she good evening, Madam President, and members of the Richmond City Council and citizens of this great city.

We are honored to stand before you this evening as members of Engine Company 9 and Associates, the Richmond Police Department, Richmond retired Black Police Officers, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Many and many dedicated members of Richmond's law enforcement community, past and present.

Together, we are committed to ensuring that this legacy is never forgotten.

Tonight we are here to extend a formal and heartfelt invitation to the city of Richmond and this council to join us for a historic occasion, which is the 80th anniversary celebrating celebration honoring the first African American police officers hired by the city of Richmond.

On May the 1st, 1946, the Richmond Police Department took a groundbreaking step forward when four African American men were sworn in as the first black police officers in the city's history.

Officer Dr.

P.

Day, Officer John W.

Bahn, Officer Frank S.

Randolph, and Officer Howard T.

Braxton.

Their hiring was a moment of progress, yet it marked the beginning of a challenging journey.

These officers served during a time of deep segregation, restricted in where they could patrol what assignments they could receive and the authority that they were allowed to exercise.

Many were limited to patrolling the Jackson Ward community and denied opportunities available to their white counterparts.

Yet, despite these obstacles, they served with dignity, professionalism, and a steadfast commitment to the citizens of Richmond.

And three years later in 1949, another historic moment milestone was reached when Officer Ruth B.

Blair became the first African American woman hired by the Richmond Police Department.

A significant advancement for African Americans and policing and for women in law enforcement.

From the late 1940s through the 1970s into the 1980s, African American officers continued to face systemic discrimination, limited promotions, restricted access to specialized units, and fewer leadership opportunities.

In response, those of us standing here today, black police officers organized to advocate for fairness and equity.

Their efforts led to the formation of the Richmond Black Police Officers Association, aligned with the national movement of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

These organizations became vital voices for officers who believe that internal justice with law enforcement must reflect the justice we are sworn to uphold in the community.

As we approach the 80th anniversary versus of this historic moment in 1946, we believe it is both fitting and essential that the city of Richmond formally honor the courage, perseverance, perseverance and contributions of these trailblazing officers.

So honoring these pioneers is not only an act of remembrance, it's an act of acknowledgement and gratitude, and it ensures that their legacy continues to inspire future generations of public servants.

And we would like to invite you to join us on May the 8th, 2026 at 6 o'clock p.m.

at 1500 East Main Street, the Main Street Station, as we celebrate the and honor the legacy of these individuals who you all, the council in 1946 was gracious enough to allow us to enter into the public safety realm.

And along with Chief Edwards and his staff and all of us, we stand here, and we would like to you all should have received letters already.

And we are it is our hope that you join us, and we just wanted to share this with you all and all the citizens and residents of the city of Richmond.

Thank you, Chief, and all present for ensuring that these gentlemen and women will never be hidden figures in this city, that this history will be recognized, and we appreciate the invitation.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak tonight.

So I'm going to mention what occurred in another city just as a reference point for the kind of progress that I think is exemplary.

So the mayor of New York City during the two months that he was mayor, two and a half potentially, opened uh 106 bed shelter.

He expedited the opening of that shelter.

He opened single-room occupancy-style shelter units in Upper Manhattan for people who could not share space in a shelter.

He deployed more than 150 additional outreach workers on top of 400 plus Department of Homeless Services staff already working, piloting a peer outreach program pairing formerly homeless New Yorkers with outreach workers.

And he bypassed traditional shelter intake rules so anyone could be accommodated immediately, rerouting 311 calls to 911 to speed up response.

This to me is an example of what can occur in each city if all of the appropriate and relevant actors are collaborating.

And I feel very powerless on a regular basis.

And I'm imagining how someone in a tent would be feeling in those circumstances.

And we still don't have a walk-in shelter for families and Richmond, to the best of my knowledge.

And I would like to continue to highlight this issue until it's resolved.

Again, thank you for your time.

Thank you, Miss Makovitz.

The next speaker is Ezen Al-Assad.

Welcome, Mr.

Al-Assad.

Good evening, members of the council.

Uh, first, I would like to say my condolences to the lady behind me and her family, and I hope they find solace in their time of hardship.

I'm here today representing local businessmen in my community.

Please stand up.

I'm here representing all these people today.

Please have a seat.

Thank you.

Um, regarding Operation Vaporize, small neighborhood convenience stores are not some distant industry.

We are the backbone of Richmond's neighborhoods.

We invest where others refuse to go.

We hire local workers, we pay local taxes, and every single day we serve the same families who live in these communities.

When the pandemic shut the world down, neighborhood stores did not disappear.

We stayed open.

We stood on the front lines, serving our communities because that's what local businesses do.

We take care of our neighbors.

But now the very same businesses are suddenly being reduced to cheap accusations and slogans like they sell to minors.

They make the city unsafe.

These are not policy discussions, these are stereotypes.

And when you take an entire group of people and paint them with the same brush, that stops looking like regulation and starts looking like targeting.

And when new policies appear that threaten the survival of hundreds of neighborhood stores, people start asking a simple question.

Who benefits from this?

And do those who benefit care if they destroy an entire small business class and open up the city to potential lawsuits?

Because history shows us something very clearly.

When small local businesses are pushed away by regulation, others who are not part of the community are usually there to take their place.

Jackson Ward.

Jackson Ward was once one of the most powerful and successful business communities in America.

Dubbed the Black Wall Street of the South until policy decisions, policy decisions, dismantled it and wiped out generations of black local entrepreneurs.

We should learn from that history.

We should never forget that history to ensure it doesn't happen in any form to any community in the future.

Small neighborhood stores are not the enemy of this great city.

We are the people who keep the lights on in neighborhoods that others forget.

We are the businesses that hire locally, search the uh serve locally, and stay rooted in communities that we support, and we intend to remain within our communities.

Thank you.

Thank you, Issa Al Assaj.

The next speaker is Sarita Mankata.

Welcome, Ms.

Makata.

Good evening.

I am an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and I am here today to call for the passing of a local resolution in opposition of the war on Iran.

From supply chain disruptions to spiking oil prices to bottlenecks.

The negative effects these wars in the Middle East have on our small businesses is indisputable.

With the potential for this war to widen into an international war, the stakes are even higher for supply chains that small businesses rely on.

These wars are not going to be fought by the children of oil executives.

They are going to be fought by our children, our siblings, our relatives.

This war on Iran costs one billion dollars a day of our tax money.

All while we are facing cuts to Medicaid, to food stamps, and practically every other program that serves the common good.

What we need is for our tax dollars that are earned through our labor to go towards meeting our needs.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Ms.

Makata.

The last speaker is Gamdan Alashari.

Good evening.

I'm here.

Welcome, Mr.

Alashari.

My name is Kamdan Allah Shari.

I'm here to talk about my community about the closing of the stores and the issue we face in.

I will not repeat what my colleagues say.

I will give you live examples.

Attacking my store.

No customers are allowed to come inside.

And all of them check in my stores, all my license paid, all my babies is correct.

And never have any violation ever in my store.

I've been an owner for that store for more than 10 years, and the store being in that location for more than 30 years.

And they come and claim I do have some electrical hazard that's and never work on my electrical in my store.

Never.

It's been there for like 30 years.

And some plumbing and smaller stuff, and they shut down my store.

Now more than a month, I'm shut down.

Seven employees, my team that's a built for years, I lost them.

They have to go somewhere.

They apply for unemployment.

Seven of my employees are lost.

I can't count how much I lost so far.

I can't because I'm not allowed to go inside my business.

They put stickers in the front door.

I'm not allowed to go there.

I'm not.

And the sticker owners are not allowed to go inside their businesses, but the business is being breaked down and they get steal overnight.

And I cannot go inside my store or protect my store or do nothing.

I'll protect my store.

I'll do nothing.

Even the city doesn't protect me.

My store being broken down like twice.

I lost all my resources.

Overhead, it it doesn't hurt the business owners.

It hurts more families, employees, and our entire community.

We hadn't left to against the law or to face the city.

No.

We hate to follow it, but at least give a business owners opportunity to follow the law and give us like time period to fix the issues.

That's what I'm here for.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ms.

Alashadi.

Madam President.

I know I'm sorry.

Councilwoman Trammell.

I just want to say that uh I know a lot of those business people there.

Many of them have stores in my district and in Southside.

I've known some of them over 25 years.

And I just want to say I thank you all for coming here tonight to bring this to us.

I wish we had known about this sooner.

And also that I know that there's always um two sides to a story.

But what I don't understand, and what I hope that our CAO can help us understand with Kevin Vaughn, you know, how do you close the stores down for over 90 days when I know that people in my district are calling me asking how did this happen?

Why did it happen?

Where do we go?

We go in there to buy bread, we're going there to buy cheese, we go in there to buy milk.

Now they can.

And I know that it's a burden, it's it's not only a burden to all of you with your family members not being able to have come to work and have an income and be able to pay your bills.

We're losing tax revenue in the city.

And we know that the mayor and our CAO and us council members have been hollering and screaming over and over that we don't have enough money for things that we can already do.

The budget.

The mayor's gonna present the budget tomorrow at 3 p.m.

And it's open to the public.

But I just want to say again, thank you all.

And I know that Odie has told me over the CAO told me over a week ago that he was going to find out and what how some of you can open back up because I know that all of you most of you have said to me that I was able to talk to that you have paid your taxes, you've paid this, you're on you know, on with the city, but you don't know when you're gonna be able to open back up for little minor things that you all were shut down for.

So again, I look forward to our CAO having a conversation with me and with all of you and our police chief because being chairperson public safety and my colleague is here, and my other colleague wanted to be here, but she's not able to be here tonight.

That there are concerned and in the ninth district.

We're concerned about how this happened, and when are you all gonna be able to open back up to serve the community?

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Trammel.

I want to thank everyone who came down uh this evening to speak and provide comment on all of the areas that you've raised with us.

Um I would like to suggest for any follow-up that we have our legislative uh layers on with the administration, Miss Tornica Edmonds, and if she will raise her hand, you can be in contact with her to follow up for any further discussion and referral to the appropriate department and entity within the city.

Again, thank you for taking time to come down to share your comments and feedback with us.

Uh, we value it and we look forward to working with you.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk or Mr.

Clerk, if you would proceed with the uh agenda for this evening, please.

The amendments to tonight's agenda are as follows.

Item one, ordinance 2025 258 will be amended later this evening and then continued to the Monday, March 23rd council meeting.

Item five, ordinance 2026 003 will be continued to the Monday, March 23rd council meeting.

Item seven, ordinance 2026 042 will be amended later this evening and then continue to the Monday, March 23rd council meeting.

And item 15, ordinance 2025 231 will be continued to the Monday, April 13th council meeting.

Madam President, those are all the amendments to tonight's agenda.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

Um, are there any additional amendments from members to the agenda for this evening?

Seeing none, uh, I'd like to call for a motion to accept the agenda as uh amended.

Summo second.

Council's voting on this evening's agenda amendments as read.

Mr.

Breton, aye.

Ms.

Gibson?

Yes.

Ms.

Jones?

Aye.

Ms.

Robertson?

Ms.

Trammell?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan.

Aye.

And President Newbill.

Aye.

The amended agenda is now before you.

And this evening's consent agenda consists of the following items.

Item two, ordinance 2025-270.

Item three, ordinance 2025-276.

Item 4, ordinance 2025 287.

Item 6, ordinance 2026 019.

Item 8, ordinance 2026 043.

Item 9, ordinance 2026 044.

And items 10 through 14, ordinances 2026, 046, 047, 048, 049, 050.

And those are all the items on tonight's consent agenda.

Thank you, Mr.

Clark.

We will now proceed unless their comment from a patron on any of those papers with a public hearing.

Okay, seeing none.

Are there persons present in the audience desirous of speaking in opposition to any of the papers on the consent agenda?

You would come forward.

Mr.

Clark, do we have any persons virtually who have joined us?

No, ma'am.

We do have no virtual speakers.

Thank you.

Do we have persons present in the audience desirous of speaking in favor of any of the papers on the consent agenda?

If you would come forward.

Okay.

Seeing none, the public hearing is now closed.

Bring it back to city council for any discussion.

Seeing none, Mr.

Clerk, please call the question.

Council is voting on the consent agenda as presented.

Mr.

Breton, aye.

Ms.

Gibson?

Yes.

Ms.

Jones?

Aye.

Miss Robertson?

Aye.

Ms.

Trammell?

Aye.

Vice President Jordan.

Aye.

And President New Bill.

Aye.

Those papers have all been adopted.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

Let's proceed to the regular agenda.

The regular agenda item for this evening is as follows.

Item number 16, ordinance number 2026-017 to amend city code to require that 10% of each year's surplus amount go to a special purpose reserve to support the Richmond retirement system total retirement fund to fund bonuses for retired members of the Richmond retirement system and to establish a special purpose reserve fund to support the Richmond retirement system total retirement fund.

That paper is before council.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Would the um principal patron like to comment and/or designee?

Well, you know, Madam President, we had um we spoke earlier during an informal meeting about the retirement system.

I was not very happy with the information that we were given.

Um do not feel like that we were given all the facts and everything that we need, and I do hope that um I think we had some follow-up questions, and I would like to see those um questions be answered, and also I'd like to go into deeper conversation with some of those board members.

And also at this time, I would ask our chief of staff, RJ, if you could please um help forward some information with this because I know that um I don't have any patrons, but anyway, if you can just maybe um I have one.

I have one, Ellen.

Thank you, Ellen.

I just saw that.

But anyway, if you could help me with that, please.

So council member trammel, can I be clear?

Are you asking to continue this until no one to go for?

I wasn't sure.

When you were asking about the conditional I want to make it clear because I've had so many people call me nowhere.

We had a break.

You know, where is this going to I don't feel like we were given all the information that we've got when you've got 85%, you know, make it uh that much, and then you say you can't do this, you can't do that, and then try to blame council members.

No, don't try to blame because the mayor gives, yeah, that's what it seemed like to a couple people that called me earlier.

Thank you, madam.

If RJ could please you may help explain this a little bit better.

Sure.

Thank you.

Uh yes, so this ordinance would be amending sections 12242 and 12265 of city code, and this is in regards to the city received uh city having a surplus as of right now.

A personity code 50 percent would go uh the surplus goes to the downturn reserve fund, 40 percent goes to the capital maintenance reserve, and 10% goes to a special purpose reserve.

And currently, right now in city code, council has a discretion if they adopt a resolution by December 15th to allocate where they want that 10% to go to.

What this ordinance does would amend city code um and any future surpluses would direct that that 10% automatically go to a one-time payment to Richmond retirement system uh recipients.

This ordinance would not impact the current resolution that council adopted in December on the current surplus that will be finalized when the ACFER is presented to you all.

This would be for any future surplus starting next year.

Um there are any additional questions procedurally, I'll be happy to answer them.

Thank you, Mr.

Warren.

We'll proceed with a public hearing uh on the paper.

Uh, do we have persons present desirous of speaking in opposition to the paper?

You would come forward.

Seeing none, do we have persons present desirous of speaking in favor of the paper if you would come forward?

Seeing none, the public hearing is closed.

Bring it back to city council for discussion.

Any members.

Oh, Vice President Jordan.

Um, yes, thank you.

Do we have a sense for what this amount would be in the coming year?

We I guess we don't know what the next year's budget surplus might be.

I have no knowledge of that.

I don't know if anyone from C administration could anticipate, you know, what the next surplus could or could not be, but I have no information on that at this time.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Uh, Madam Clerk, let's proceed to call the question.

Oh wait, what excuse all right?

Councilmember Gibson.

I might system is looking a little weird here.

Sorry, sorry.

Thank you, Madam President.

I just wanted to comment on on this paper.

Um plan on abstaining from this.

My interest is looking more broadly at the surplus overall.

I've expressed interest in revising that particular section of our code.

Um obviously I think it's important that we uh be getting information about the the CAFR and our surplus sooner as well.

Um, and so ultimately um I you know supported the the uh the allocation as we adopted um this past year, but um I think that the my bigger interest is on the overall formula um and ensuring that we are um you know making the best use of of funding, whether it be surplus funds or or or funds up front, but I definitely think that this is an area that I'd be I'm very interested in looking at more broadly.

Thank you.

Council member Lynch.

Um, well, Councilmember Gibson, great minds think alike.

You took took the words right out of out of my mouth.

I think you said it best about you know taking a broader approach to how um we not only allocate surplus, but our policies that dictate how we do so when we get them, and um the input that we're able to have as council members and how those surplus funds are allocated.

Um, you know, any commitment that we do ongoing might hinder us from um, you know, allocating in in the out years, maybe rebates for folks that are suffering um or tax burdened.

That that in the past has been how we've been able to um give rebates to to a residents.

It is covered a number of surplus dollars, have covered a number of really pertinent items that have come up in any given year.

Um, and so really appreciate the spirit of what this is trying to do, fully supportive of um council member tramwell's um effort to try and and have our our retirees made whole every year.

We we need a better way to a better way to do that.

I think tying our hands at this moment without taking that broader approach um may impede us from doing better things in the future.

Thank you, Vice President Jericho.

Um I'd like to sort.

Um thank you, President New Bill.

If we are going to uh not move forward with this paper, I do hope can we have RRS back to continue the discussion that we started today when it came to what our expectations are for them to be responsive to COLA needs for our retirees and different options they might have within their own funding.

We definitely will have um those responses back, and I want to thank councilmember trammel.

I'd like to make sure that we are fully vetting RRS in terms of the opportunity to provide colours to our retirees.

I have some of the same concerns in terms of the surplus and the allocation thereof, but I have no concern about our commitment to retirees and working to come up with strategies that would allow us to address uh periodic colors, but I definitely would like to look at RS uh as uh be as a first round approach to this.

So councilmember Tremell.

Well, we need to make sure that everybody knows they've not our retirees have not had a raise since Governor Wilder was our mayor.

And what was that back in 2006?

So evidently we're sending a message out to our retirees that you don't matter, and they do matter to me when I have probably the I have I have to say for me because I know I have a lot of retirees in my district that still live in a district, still have a house, and they're struggling to keep a roof over their head and to be able to stay in their home.

And they don't, I mean, you give them a bonus, and that's a little bit of crumbs when you got the person that stands in front of us, but don't even, you know, don't even give his name of all the board members, got a police officer on there, firefighter on there.

Are they fighting?

Are they fighting for the retirees?

I don't think so.

Because why is it every year I have to holler and scream about why can't we do something for the retirees?

And then it was not city council that gave them the bonus, it was a previous mayor's that gave them the bonus.

And I don't know what's going to happen right now because I've not heard the mayor's budget yet.

I don't know if he's got something in that form or if he doesn't, but I think it's a daggone shame that we send a message to them that they don't matter of years and years of giving their time, sacrificing everything for this city and for us.

And that's not just the police officers and firefighters, that's the people that work in finance, um, everything, public works, public utilities, um, recreation and parks.

I know they live in my district.

I know because they've been calling me.

Don't stop fighting for us.

And now we're gonna sit here and say, Oh, it's oh, it's this and that.

Really?

Damn it, they should matter just like affordable housing and just like everything else, they should matter.

Those homeowners that are in their homes, retirees, they should matter.

And a lot of them live in a city.

So stop saying, oh, they live in Chesterfield, they live in Goochland.

So be it.

If they do, they do.

They still need to be taken care of.

Thank you, Councilmember Trammell.

Madam Clerk or Mr.

Clark, please call the question.

Council is now voting on ordinance number 2026-017 as stated.

Mr.

Breton, Miss Gibson.

Ms.

Jones?

Yes.

Ms.

Robertson.

Ms.

Lynch.

Abstain.

Ms.

Trammell.

Aye.

Vice President Jordan?

No.

And President New Bill?

No.

That paper has not been adopted.

Um Madam Madam President, can she um can you tell us how many who voted how because I couldn't hear over there, and I'm quite sure others people couldn't.

Did they everybody abstain?

Did they vote no?

They vote yes.

I think I heard me and and Ellen, yes.

That was probably about it.

So Mr.

Breton voted no.

Ms.

Gibson abstained.

Miss Jones voted yes.

Robertson voted yes.

Ms.

Lynch abstained.

You voted yes.

Vice President Jordan and President Newbill both voted no.

Thank you.

Loud and clear.

Thank you.

Uh let's proceed to papers to be amended.

Continue.

Before you is a motion to amend ordinance number 2025-250H, which authorizes the special use of 6320, 6330, and 636340 Daytona Drive for the purpose of modifying the number of detached dwellings upon certain terms and conditions.

Councilmember Jones, would you make the motion to amend and continue this paper to the Monday March 23rd council meeting?

Summold.

Councilmember Trammel, will you second that motion, please?

Second.

Council's now voting on the motion to amend and continue ordinance number 2025-258 to the March 23rd council meeting as stated.

Mr.

Breton, aye.

Miss Gibson?

Yes.

Ms.

Jones.

Aye.

Miss Robertson.

Aye.

Miss Lynch.

Aye.

Ms.

Trammell.

Hi.

Vice President Jordan.

And President Newbill.

Aye.

That motion has been approved, and that paper as amended will be before you again on March 23rd.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Next before you is a motion to amend ordinance number 2026-042, which would amend this special use of 2107 through 2117 West Carrie Street for the purpose of the re the construction of a 12-unit multifamily dwelling and six single family attached dwellings upon certain terms and conditions.

The proposed amendment to this paper would modify the terms and conditions to further modify the address of the property.

Councilmember Lynch, would you make the motion to amend and continue this paper to the Monday, March 23rd council meeting?

So move.

Councilmember Robertson, will you second that motion?

Second.

Thank you.

Council is now voting on the motion to amend and continue ordinance number 2026-042 to the March 23rd council meeting as stated.

Mr.

Breton.

Miss Gibson.

Yes.

Ms.

Jones.

Aye.

Miss Robertson.

Aye.

Miss Lynch.

Aye.

Miss Trammel.

Aye.

Vice President Jordan.

And President Newville.

Aye.

That motion has been approved, and that paper as amended will be before you again on March 23rd.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Let's move on to the approval of minutes.

Minutes to be approved are from the Monday, March 23rd, 2026, informal and formal city council meetings at 4 p.m.

and 6 p.m.

If there are no corrections or amendments, then the minutes will be approved as presented.

Those minutes have been approved.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

Let's proceed to the list of legislation for introduction this evening.

The list of legislation for introduction this evening, consisting of items three through 13 has been provided to you.

And the legislation on this list is hereby introduced as presented.

A copy of the list is currently available for public inspection at the rear of the council chamber, and an electronic copy and copies of the listed legislation will be available on the city's website on Wednesday, March 11.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

We will now move on to reports and announcements.

Um council member Trammell.

I just want to say thank you to the citizens that are texting me, um, thanking me for trying to fight for them and my colleague Ellen Robertson and Nicole Jones.

Thank y'all because we know that these um employees really matter, and especially the ones that are working now.

Hope this gave you a message that hey, we might not give a damn about you after you retire.

I want to say that our meeting is this Thursday, March to 12, 6 p.m.

to 7 30 p.m.

at the satellite.

We're gonna have some great speakers there Thursday night.

Um, CAO OD Donald will be there to speak to us about um some of the things that I've asked him when we've spoken on the phone about the property over there by the Philip Mars, where the casino was going to go.

We lost a casino, but we bought the property, so that was a good thing.

And we want to um maybe do an outlet mall over there with some grocery store, um restaurants and things like that.

Also, we're gonna have Kevin Vonk there.

He's gonna speak about the code refresh, that a lot of citizens got a lot of questions about it.

Um, and then also I've just heard that all the business people that are here tonight, they will be attending our meeting on Thursday night at 6 p.m.

to 7 30 p.m.

at satellite restaurant lounge.

Also, our commonwealth attorney, Collette McKeachin will be there, our police chief or fire chief, and also um Chip Decker, he will be there from the Richmond Lance Authority.

Um, I'm gonna say that um it's just been a lot a lot of things going on in our city with um I guess different things that are happening, and I know that our police chief is doing a everything that he can with um with the the officers that he has because we people don't realize we've lost 165 officers.

He is still still don't have enough officers, especially with our population that is growing and growing and growing.

Um I've told everybody that we have 11 developers right now.

I just got an email earlier today.

They know the developer wants to be in our district, and um, he wants to meet with me this week.

Um we know that also the drop program.

That's what a lot of people don't realize too.

The drop program, our police officers will have to come out of the drop program because they their time is up, and there could be like 15 more officers we could lose.

So we hope that um we just want to thank our police officers for all that they do, and also the cameras and all that.

Thank God for the cameras that we have because they're doing they're solving a lot of crime, and um, it's making it for the citizens that witness things, it helps them not to have to come to court because they can you know use the cameras for the information that they need.

This right here is your smoke alarm.

It's free.

These firefighters work very, very hard to make sure that you have a working smoke alarm and they will come to your home.

And I know that station 13, I want to thank you because every time I call you, you're there for me.

Station 21, station 22.

Every time I call, you all go out there and you help the seniors when I hear the smoke alarms beeping.

Y'all go out there and you check those smoke alarms, put up new ones, and even put batteries in them if they need them.

So please go to the nearest fire station.

If you hear your smoke alarm going off, go there and they will come there to your home and they will help you.

If you have any questions, you can also call my home at 804-233-7382.

Again, my home, 804-233-7382.

My cell is 804-240-5050.

Again, 804-240-5050.

Thank you, Member.

Councilwoman Lynch.

Thank you, President Nouville.

A couple quick announcements of our quick rundown of our upcoming civic associations.

We have the Caroline Civic Association meeting this evening at 6 30 p.m.

at Unity Church.

The Maymont Civic League meeting next Monday, March 16th at 7 p.m.

We also have two upcoming Fifth District events that we hope to see you at.

The David Tate Day of Service, which is taking place on Saturday, March 21st at 9 a.m.

in Bird Park.

I want to thank all the volunteers.

Parks and Bracken and the um all of our all of our neighbors for coming out and helping plan that wonderful event.

We're also celebrating Frank Wilkins Senior with an honorary street sign at 11 a.m.

on the corner of the Grand and West 32nd Street.

Again, if you want to um reach out to us, reach out to us anytime at Stephanie.lynch or Amy.robins at RVA.gov or by calling our office or direct district line.

You can also catch us on all the socials.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Lynch.

Councilman Breton.

So we have added an additional town hall this month.

It'll be March 26th.

Location TBD.

And it may but it will definitely star the new director of transportation, Andy Baino, to talk about traffic safety in the district.

That'll be on March 26th.

And any questions, you can reach our office at 804 6465935.

Thank you, Mr.

Breton.

Councilmember Gibson.

Thank you, Madam President.

I wanted to thank Dr.

Director Morris for coming to our last district meeting.

Really very helpful.

Our next district meeting will be on March 18th at 6 p.m.

at John Marshall High School.

We will be joined by Andy Benoit, the director of transportation.

There are a couple of civic association meetings coming up.

The Washington Park Civic Association meeting is next Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Um, I believe that is at Pine Camp.

And the North Barton Heights Civic Association meeting is April 28th at 1215, place to be determined.

The City of Department uh speaking of uh Director Morris, he did share with us more about the back on track program, um, which is a limited time utility reset program designed to help residential and commercial customers resolve past due utility balances to make it easier for folks to enroll.

DPU will host community events across the city.

Um, and there will be a back on track event in the third district at John Marshall High School on March 21st from 9 a.m.

to 1 p.m.

Um and as always feel free to email our office.

You can email me at Kenya.gibson at RVA.gov and our district liaison Sarandon Elliott at Sarandon.elliot at RVA.gov um with any questions or concerns that you have.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Gibson.

Councilwoman Jones.

Thank you, madam president.

Um March to May, Virginia Community Voice is hosting the South Side Richmond Leadership Academy, connecting you to your inherent power to become community leaders.

You can sign up by calling 804-372-7566.

Friday, March 13th at 9 a.m.

to 3 p.m.

Plan RBA hosts plan RBA is hosting their regional symposium on future of housing and transportation.

You can visit them at PlanRBA.com to register.

Uh last I heard they were um almost at capacity.

March 19th at the Southside Community Center.

We will be hosting our monthly town hall.

And we will have folks from human services there talking about the homeless services unit and the OPO8 division.

And from March 6th through April 12th, visit Visenter of Richmond as they present State of Flux, a group exhibition of artworks by 20 by 2025-2026 annual residence.

Servings are focused on improving reliability and reduce last-minute trip cancellations, particularly during nights and weekends.

You can visit RideGRTZ.com slash service to learn more.

And there's always something at the South Side Community Center.

Check out the Richmond Parks and Rec Digest to learn about their offerings.

And lastly, our neighborhood library office programming for all weekly.

Seniors can receive one-on-one technology help.

And as always, students can receive homework help.

You can reach my office at 804-646-279 or Tea.west at RBA.gov or Nicole.gov.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilwoman Jerome's.

Councilwoman Robertson.

Thank you, Madam President.

A couple of meetings that are taking place in the 6th district.

The Holland Park Civic Association will be meeting on March the 17th from 6:30 to 8 at Boaz and Roof, which is located at 3030 Meadowbridge Road.

We'll be discussing the uh proposed amendment to the master plan for six points as well as an update on the zoning code refresh.

On March the 18th, uh the advisory board for the code refresh will be meeting here at City Hall on the fifth floor conference room.

Uh that meeting will start at four o'clock on the 18th.

And the Bellmead Civic Association will be hosting its March meeting.

Thursday, March the 19th from 6 o'clock to 7:30 at the Bell Mead Community Center, which is located at 1800 Lynn Haven Avenue.

And I want you to want uh the residents of the 6th district to uh mark the calendar for April 18th.

This will be our next town meeting.

Um we are in the process of putting together the final agenda.

Uh there will be discussion on the budget that is before council at that time.

That meeting will be on the 18th from 9 to 11, and additional information is forthcoming.

For additional information, you can always call me at 804 314 7658.

Uh, you can also reach me by email, Ellen Roberts, Ellen.roberson at RVA.gov or the council liaison at Kimberly 2 at RVA.gov.

Um, and that office numbers 804-6467964.

Thank you, madam chair.

Thank you.

Vice President Jordan.

Thank you.

I want to start off my announcements with our April 2nd District Community Meeting time.

It's going to be April 15th from 6 to 8 o'clock.

And at this moment, we're looking to return to Midtown Green.

And the primary agenda item will be the budget.

More information on other agenda items as we get closer to the date.

Also want to highlight that early voting has started.

I voted on the first day at Laberna, which is our um register's office.

And it was quick and easy.

Make sure you bring your ID.

Um, and that is for the special election, which will be held on Tuesday, April 21st for the proposed statewide constitutional amendment.

Um so early voting again started on March 6th.

We'll go through April 18th for early voting.

April 12th, Sunday voting will be from 1 to 5.

April 10th is the deadline to apply for a ballot by mail, and the request must be received by 5.

April April 14th, voter registration deadline.

Um to DPW for being out there working on the potholes.

If you have one to report, please use 311 or RBA 311 app or website.

Um also want to note that the Public Utilities and Services Commission is looking for more members.

They have their next meeting coming up, and you can apply by March 15th, please.

Um have anything that our office can assist you with with, please call us 804-646-6532.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh just a few announcements.

Uh, would like to send as a reminder, Mayor Avula will present the city's budget tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Would like to send as a reminder, Mayor Avula will present the city's budget tomorrow at 3 p.m.

here in council chambers, which will be certainly open to the public.

This is the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Union Hill Civic Association is scheduled to meet Tuesday, March 17th at 6 30 p.m.

This will be a meeting held at 2405 Jefferson Avenue at the Challenge Discovery Building.

The annual Churchill Irish Festival will be held on March 21st.

It will be at 24th and East Broad Street starting at 10 a.m.

from 10 to 6.

And then the uh Churchill Rotary Club's 10th annual Hilltop or 5K will be held on Sunday, March 22nd from 8 a.m.

to 9 a.m.

Uh from Patrick Henry Park.

The Richmond Fire Department's fire station number one will host a community open house on Saturday, March 21st.

That's the same date as the Irish Festival in our community from 12 to 4 at 308 North 24th Street.

Just a save the date, the next seven district community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, uh March 26th at 6 p.m.

at the VCU Health Hub located at 1330 North 205th Street.

For any additional information, please feel free to contact my Liaison Sam Patterson at 804-241-7544, or you can contact me at 804 543 7837.

With that, this meeting stands adjourned.

Thank you, everyone.