Welcome all.

Um you know to our meeting here.

Uh before we get started, I just want to make an announcement.

Uh let everybody know that captioning in the room is currently unavailable.

If anybody needs captioning, it is available on Facebook or by downloading the VB Now app.

Please make sure your sound is muted.

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Okay.

We are ready to roll.

All right, so Mr.

Mayor, members of the council.

The first presentation is provided by Brent McKenzie.

He's been a brief city council about the steps that we need to make to prepare for the 2027 General Assembly legislative agenda.

Brent, go ahead, the floor is yours.

Uh thank you, Mr.

City Manager, and good afternoon, Mr.

Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor, and members of council.

It's a pleasure to be here in front of you again.

Uh feel like we just finished the 2026 General Assembly session, but here we go, uh getting things ready for 2027.

Um today's presentation is very short.

We're really just uh letting you know that we're kicking off our annual process to create our legislative agenda.

So today we're just gonna do a uh quick General Assembly preview, uh, show you the timeline that we are proposing for the establishment of your legislative agenda.

Um go through just kind of the different sections that we have in there to see if there are any changes or additions you guys would like to see to how we lay it out and how we propose the agenda.

And uh at the um hit the next slide for me.

At the conclusion, we'll be looking for your guidance, uh concurrence on the proposed timeline, guidance on the policy priorities that we set out, and um any initial issues that you guys would like us to do some research on to bring forward in the draft presentation.

So the 2027 General Assembly session will be what we call the short session, as you will remember.

Uh odd numbered years.

The session is 30 days with a 15 days, 15 or 16 day extension per the constitution.

Uh, even numbered years, they have 60 days.

Uh and the 27 General Assembly session, they will amend the fiscal year 27-28 budget that they just adopted.

Session is scheduled to begin on January 14th, which is the second Wednesday in January, which is where they always begin.

Um, and it will set the stage for the 2027 General Assembly elections.

As uh uh you likely know all 100 members of the House and all 40 members of the Virginia Senate will be up for election in 2027.

So here's the timeline that we've laid out.

Uh so in July and August, we will solicit all of our department directors and the council members for uh agenda request items.

Um in August and September, we'll take all of those ideas and we will vet them for uh constitutionality and for uh budget impacts, working with uh city manager's office, working with the budget and finance team.

Um on October 13th, we will bring forward uh the draft legislative agenda.

October 20th, we will hold a public hearing.

October 27th, I'll come back before you to get some final feedback on uh the draft, and then uh November 10th, we will bring it forward for adoption.

Uh as you will remember, uh I think it was two years ago, you guys adopted a city council policy and how the legislative agenda is adopted.

Uh so if there's something that you guys would like to see in the draft legislative agenda, it needs to be either proposed by the mayor, uh proposed by at least three members of city council or proposed by a city department and then approved by the city manager.

The same process that we use to get items on the city council um uh agenda for your weekly meetings.

Uh and then once we get to the um November vote, the legislative agenda uh each individual item requires two-thirds majority to be included in the final and charter amendments require three-fourths majority.

Uh last year, maybe the year before, we added a section to the legislative agenda that we called these policy priorities, and we laid out the uh nine policy priorities from the council based on the focused action plan.

Uh, these are those nine policy areas that we have uh used the last two years.

Um just looking for any guidance from you guys on if there are things on here you would like to see removed or something added, something combined, um, or if you want to stick with the nine items that we have here.

So we'll be looking for that feedback at the conclusion.

Mayor okay thank you and uh I'd like to bring uh something up that has to be of the highest of priorities uh unfortunately last Saturday there was a terrible accident on Sandbrook Road again and uh once again this is a situation and you know feeling helpless is not taking care of the problem feeling helpless well if this was able to be fixed by this council would have been done a long time ago and I really think that we really have to get the word out to not only our legislators but we're I intend to send uh letters to both our senators and our elected uh congressional people that this has that this cannot stand and uh you know going forward uh you know I may I may ask the members of the general assembly to help us lobby uh with the feds for this you know it's hung up I believe with uh not only the federal authorities but uh with environmental groups and things but we've been dancing with this for you know far too long and I'm thinking Mrs.

Henley decades maybe at least yeah you know ever since I've been on city council in 2004 we've been talking about this you know we're at the point with this is enough and enough and we got to take whatever action you know it's gonna take and uh that type of thing I couldn't agree with you more this is the second time this just this year that we've had this and I know I spoke with Senator Mark Warner and told this is a national security issue and maybe what you see put on a fast track you know I tell you what I think maybe we get the Navy involved in this too because that affects their operational efficiency.

So you know this is gonna be all hands-on deck thing to do uh does anybody got any other questions or yeah okay let's go with Michael and then Stacy thank you I don't have a question I just have a comment and uh won't be a surprise to you uh Mr.

McKenzie based on a recent correspondence that we had but the state established a mass violence fund a number of years ago and um and then funded that uh with 10 million dollars and to my understanding it's also been um accruing interest during that time but the state has not been able to identify an administrative framework for how um victims of mass violence across the commonwealth um can access that support so in other words the 10 point something million dollars now um that was meant to support victims of mass violence events including those who are impacted by the May 31st tragedy um but people are not able to access that because the administrative framework has not been agreed upon and I don't really at this point know enough about the legislation or the fund although I have been contacted by people who advocated to establish that fund um but it seems to me that whether part of our legislative agenda or through our correspondence we can and should encourage the commonwealth to develop a framework um that would enable victims of mass violence to access the support for which those funds were intended.

So I hope that we'll be able to look at that as part of this process.

Yes sir yeah and uh you know it through our correspondence we did some cursory research on that and um glad to do some additional research and bring that issue forward for y'all's consideration thank you okay six so I just I'm not sure which one this falls under public safety or transportation but e-bike issue continues to be an escalating problem and uh I think it falls under both categories but it's something that we need to be serious about addressing.

Yes sir and uh you know we've uh I've been participating in the e-bike task force we've had uh one general meeting and two subcommittee meetings and um yeah I'm not sure we're close to making a recommendation yet but I think the recommendations that come out of that group will be um kind of instrumental in us figuring out the direction that's going to go in but we will keep you informed and keep that on the on the radar as well.

Thank you and I thank you for your work on that task force I appreciate that good to know you're there yes sir Stacy would be good ideas sometime to have a discussion on this informal I'll tell you what I am seeing kids like nine 10 years old on these bikes and they're cruising with our homes and you know it's uh this gonna be complicated but I appreciate you bringing it up Amelia yes to do if the e bike whenever it breaks down or what they just leave it there.

But I appreciate you bringing that up.

Amelia?

Yes, to do if the e-bike.

Whenever it breaks down or what they just leave it there.

You'll be driving, seeing about eight e-bikes just along the site.