The Governmental Operations Standing Committee of the Richmond City Council met on September 24, 2026, at 4:00 PM. The committee considered eight agenda items, including a major solar power purchase agreement (PPA) project, amendments to railroad property use licenses, lead service line replacement funding, support for state constitutional amendments, an immigration information disclosure policy, GRTC board nominations, the 2027 legislative agenda, and a resolution establishing a transparent process for the legislative agenda. The most extensive discussion centered on the solar PPA, with detailed questions about risk, contract terms, and financial implications.
Welcome everyone. We will be getting started shortly. Welcome everyone. The governmental operations standing committee is now called to order. Madam Clerk, if you can begin the agenda. Upon activation of the emergency alarm signal, all persons should immediately exit the building. Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the north or south stairwells outside the rear doors of the chamber. Do not use elevators or escalators. After exiting the building, security would direct everyone down 9th Street to the fence area located between Clay and Lee Streets. Able persons should assist visually and hearing impaired visitors with exiting the building. Individuals wishing to speak during the public hearings in the public comment period are generally allowed three minutes to speak. Persons appearing before the committee are not allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language of a personal nature which insults or demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are not related to their official duties or address a question staff members directly. All questions are to be directed to the committee chair. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may result in speakers forfeiting any remaining time and further disciplinary action as necessary, which could include barring at attendance at future meetings of the committee for a period of six months. Members of the public who registered in advance to speak virtually will be called at their appropriate time, either doing the public comment period or doing the public hearing for the legislation on which they sign up to address. And Madam Chair, all members of the committee are in attendance today, and you do have a forum. In the interest of folks who have taken time out of their work day, um, I think we will move public comment to two minutes each for all papers and for public comment here at the beginning of the meeting. Okay, wonderful. Thank you. We are going to adjust the agenda and do the papers first. Um, just again, in consideration of those who have taken time out of their day to do public comment for papers on the agenda. Thank you. The minutes to be approved are for May 27, 2026 and June 24th, 2026 for the government and operations standing committee meeting held at 1 p.m. If there are no amendments or corrections, then the meeting minutes will stand approved as presented. Those minutes have been approved. Thank you. Are all legislation to authorize the CAO to execute site lease and solar power purchase project agreements for the purpose of installing, operating and maintaining solar panels on various city-owned properties throughout the city, and to authorize the CAO to execute solar renewable energy credit irrevocable assignment agreements for the purpose of assigning to the city a percentage of solar renewable energy certificates generated by the rooftop solar panels? Those papers are before the committee. Thank you so much. Make sure it's okay. Anyone just walk up. How are you doing, Council members? Good afternoon. Wanted to just come and speak to the upcoming or the solar agreement that's before you now. I can answer some questions or also just give you a synopsis of what we've actually been coordinating, which is now about nine months. Typically we get a quick overview of what we're voting on. Thank you. For the benefit of the public as well. Yeah, absolutely. And this one is interesting because we've had some uh public conversation outside of our normal realm of bringing these items before you. So I just give you a little update of just how this legislative process has occurred and some of the uh opportunities that we've had to not only enter into this solar agreement, which has been interesting and complex, but also the work that has been done between everyone ranging from legal to risk to the mayor's office to most importantly our Office of Sustainability, which is our subject matter experts on this. So we've been working on this effort since about January, a little thereafter. And uh I'll tell you at that time, you know, probably the uh total amount of agreements across the commonwealth, a little over 15 plus uh with everyone range and well, right here in Richmond also included in that with uh the University of Richmond, our partners at RPS, uh educational institution, collegiate uh also has uh an agreement there as well. We've got uh Prince Williams, who I had a chance to talk to, Prince William County and talk to them directly to find out a little bit more actually recently to make sure we alleviating risk and moving into an appropriate framework and format. And so uh over the course of the nine months, we've had a combination of activities that include uh internal discussions, uh evaluation of contracts and agreements, mitigation of risk, and you know, more so just looking at how we avoid cost, which I think is one of the main things here because the higher it costs us or the more we pay, eventually we pass those costs on to our residents. I think another uh piece for the council to be aware of is also the timing associated with this effort. Uh know that folks were really looking forward to having this done earlier, but I think one thing that I know with my partners on council that y'all are fully aware of is good legislation takes time. And uh I think we saw that with the recent housing success that we had for that ordinance that took a little bit of time, but I think we got it right. Some of the other adjustments that you've made, even our collective bargaining negotiations, which ultimately will span the course of about a year. You know, those things take time to get them right.