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OK, let's give this another go! #RVACouncil's formal meeting is set to begin momentarily. Many items are being continued, including the controversial conversion of medians to city parks, and the raft of ordinances regarding the rezoning of BRT-adjacent properties. So what's left? https://twitter.com/jljlovesrva/status/1325911180242726914
Consent agenda:
- We have a bunch of discreet special use allowances, including to allow Shyndigz and Fancy Biscuit to add outdoor seating.
- Confederate Ave is being renamed Laburnum Park Blvd.
- St. Cat's is paying for pedestrian safety improvements at Grove & Somerset.
- We have a bunch of discreet special use allowances, including to allow Shyndigz and Fancy Biscuit to add outdoor seating.
- Confederate Ave is being renamed Laburnum Park Blvd.
- St. Cat's is paying for pedestrian safety improvements at Grove & Somerset.
Consent Agenda cont'd:
- Increased penalties for speeding on S Harrison from Idlewood & Randolph and Colorado from Randolph to S Allen.
- An agreement between the City and VDOT for development and administration of Revenue Sharing Program projects.
- Increased penalties for speeding on S Harrison from Idlewood & Randolph and Colorado from Randolph to S Allen.
- An agreement between the City and VDOT for development and administration of Revenue Sharing Program projects.
All pretty cool stuff, if you ask me! Anyway, the meeting is underway and everyone is present but Jones (9). The invocation is given by Rev. Jeanne Pupke of First UU Church of Richmond. Commission and board appointments are being voted on now.
Lynch (5) is raising concerns about the potential appointment of former law enforcement members to the Task Force on the Establishment of a Civilian Review Board. Gray (2) is pushing back and saying that John Dixon (disgraced former Petersburg Police Chief) should remain.
Gray (2) says it would be unfair for one interest group (referring to @richmondvaTAP) to approve of all 6 task force members. Addison (1) says that he thinks the composition of the task force should be a discussion for the whole council and not just the public safety committee.
Robertson (6) wants to reconsider appointments, as well as further specify the task force's staffing needs and determine if meetings will be public. Hilbert (3) says these questions should have been raised at the Public Safety Committee (on which he serves with Gray & Trammell).
Hilbert and Gray have both mentioned that this is just the task force to advise council on the establishment of a CRB, not the CRB itself. Hilbert also goes to bat for Dixon (who was fired by Petersburg under a cloud of corruption and misconduct scandals).
Dixon is the current president of the Richmond Crusade for Voters, which Hilbert and Gray are claiming makes him a social justice advocate. I don't think corrupt cops get to claim that title, personally!
Lynch notes that members of the community with lived experience with police misconduct will be appointed, and it will make it hard to have candid discussions if cops are on the task force with them. She notes that state legislation explicitly disallows former cops on CRB.
Gray and Hilbert reiterate that this is not a CRB, and should be allowed to have law enforcement members on it. Lynch clarifies that it would be against the SPIRIT of the state CRB legislation to allow police officers on this task force.
The motion to approve this slate of applicants to the task force has failed, with Lynch, Addison, Robertson, and Newbille voting No and Hilbert, Gray, Trammell, and Larson voting Yes. Robertson had a counter-proposal queued up, but it appears the online meeting platform crashed.
While we wait to come back, read this @RTDNEWS reporting from @ShulleetaFiles on John Dixon's termination from the City of Petersburg. https://richmond.com/news/local/central-virginia/petersburg-terminates-police-chief/article_aa3dd514-0344-5ede-90aa-5c10e44e5f50.html
Most of us are back, but it looks like Robertson is still logging back in. @kristenRVA seems to think that if a vote is tied, it automatically gets continued. That's incorrect. Trammell is now off on a tear about how shameful this is. She claims she's getting angry texts.
Trammell is going to bat for Dixon, and she claims that Jones's opinion shouldn't matter since he is absent. That's rich, considering the fact that she flouted her duties as a council rep all summer. Gray complains that some folks want to remove cops from this process altogether.
After lots of confusion about how council can move forward procedurally, Hilbert makes a motion to continue the appointments to the Organizational Development Committee. As the vote is being called, the meeting crashes again. The 2020 energy at #RVACouncil is strong tonight.
For those unaware, the Organizational Development Standing Committee includes all 9 councilors, and will be next meeting 12/7. So please make sure you let your reps know exactly how you feel about ex-cops (particularly disgraced ex-cops) sitting on this task force before then.
The meeting is back but some folks are still being kicked out. Hilbert says he is sorry to be so loquacious tonight, but I do not believe him. The motion to continue the question to Organizational Development passes with Trammell and Gray dissenting.
Council is now voting on the appointees to Affordable Housing Trust Fund Oversight and Maggie L. Walker Initiative Citizen's Advisory Board. @thebkc was just approved for the latter. All of the further boards/commissions will be voted on in bulk except for Sister Cities.
Full disclosure: I myself sit on the Sister Cities Commission, although I have been regrettably absent from most meetings during the ongoing protests and attendant police violence.
The chair of Sister Cities has apparently expressed concern with the appointment of Darren Green, and his appointment is being continued for further discussion. Not sure what that's about, but I'll probably find out at the next commission meeting.
Lol, sorry, I meant to tag @The_BKC! Congrats on your appointment. https://twitter.com/jljlovesrva/status/1325950661956169729
I neglected to mention that Southside is getting a bunch of cool new parks in the consent agenda! That is rad. https://twitter.com/8thwatchrva/status/1325937507712831489
The first public comment is from a gentleman who is upset over crumbling sidewalks. Me too, brother!
The second/final public comment is from a representative of @richmondvaTAP reiterating that the police cannot be trusted to police themselves and that the aforementioned task force must be cop-free. Richmond deserves an empowered, proactive CRB with full access to police data.
Consent agenda is up for discussion. The first public commenter is a resident of Confederate Ave and she is proud of the 75% of residents who support changing the embarrassing name. She says she is thrilled that it's finally happening. Good for her and good for them!
Hilbert's liaison Lisa Townes gets a special shout-out, which is cool. Council liaisons do soooo much work on behalf of Richmonders and they rarely get the credit they deserve. Consent agenda passes unanimously.
The first regular agenda item is the ordinance to reordain the current property tax rate at 1.2%, as is regularly required by the General Assembly. Mr. Green, the only public commenter appears to have done extensive surveys of rising assessment values across the city.
He says his home's assessed value went up by over 50%, but that home values in more affluent neighborhoods have only risen by single digits. That's a very interesting conundrum, and I'd like to learn more, personally. Sounds like the city assessor will come present to council.
Addison says that we need to focus on growing our tax base instead of just letting the market drive assessments up while increasing gentrification. I'll tell ya, sounds like having a TON more truly affordable housing all across the city would solve an awful lot of problems!
Gray wants to roll the tax rate back to 1.17% from 1.2%. She claims that she's motivated by concern for those struggling to pay their housing costs, but she has consistently opposed dense housing in her district. Luckily, the next 2nd Ward rep will have a more urbanist agenda.
Gray and Trammell vote against maintaining the city's property tax at 1.2%. Just a reminder that the rate was 1.23% before the Great Recession, and that Richmond is one of the only cities that never restored to pre-recession levels. Anyway, the ordinance passes.
Regarding the assessment question! Seems like many smart folks are taking it upon themselves to investigate these disparities. https://twitter.com/latoyasgray/status/1325958834947575809
I missed whatever the last item on the regular agenda was, but it passed unanimously and without any discussion, so presumably it wasn't that big of a deal. We're now on to reading last meetings minutes.
We're moving on to announcements. Hilbert notes that over 100,000 Richmond voters participated in the recent election. Robertson mentions "challenges" in Showalter's office but says most had a positive experience. She also urges precautions as coronavirus cases surge.
Robertson says coronavirus testing will be held on Thursday 9am-11am at 1920 Stonewall Avenue. Get tested, y'all. Especially if you've interacted with the registrar's or CA's offices.
If you're struggling with rent or mortgage due to the virus, you can call 866-534-5243.
If you're struggling with rent or mortgage due to the virus, you can call 866-534-5243.
I'm not listing every announcement, just the highlights. Larson announces that paving has begun on Chippenham. Addison is thanking the registrar's office, which seems pretty generous considering how badly Showalter has bungled the reporting of results. 
Addison also notes the upcoming World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, where the community comes together to mourn victims of traffic violence and search for solutions. This will be on the third Sunday of November.
Kim Gray says the city is being led astray by people who claim to be against racism, but who will participate in or justify burning and looting. She also claims (with no evidence) that her children had guns pointed at them by protesters. She is alarmed over rising crime rates. 
Gray goes on to say that those who condone violence should be called out.
So: Kim, I'm calling you out. Your open encouragement of police brutality against Richmonders was shameful and morally repugnant. You leave office in disgrace, rejected by your own district and neighbors.
So: Kim, I'm calling you out. Your open encouragement of police brutality against Richmonders was shameful and morally repugnant. You leave office in disgrace, rejected by your own district and neighbors.
