OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING HELD BY THE GOVERNING BODY ON SATURDAY AUGUST 17, 2002 AT 8:00 AM AT CITY HALL, ONE PARK CENTER COURT, MANASSAS PARK, VIRGINIA
Present:William Treuting, Mayor
Kevin P. Brendel, Vice Mayor
Council:
Michael Bunner
I.Allen Correll
Vonna L. Privett
Noreen Slater
William R. Wren
Also Present:Lana A. Conner, City Clerk
David W. Reynal, City Manager
Brett Shorter, Director of Fiscal Services
This meeting is a follow up to the first Retreat the Governing Body held in July.
ISSUE: How Governing Body request information of city staff.
Governing Body members sends request to rest of Governing Body to see if they have information. Governing Body responds with any information they have back to the requestor. Governing Body Requestor sends information/questions to department head with a copy to all of GB, with a copy to City Clerk (to keep on Governing Body Action list - what asked, to who, when due) and City Manager (so that he can intervene with Department head if necessary). Department head responds to all of Governing Body, City Clerk and City Manager with answer. Any Governing Body members can escalate if answer is questionable
ISSUE: Whether all department heads have email and to make sure they check it daily
ISSUE: Verbal requests for information
If verbal reply to the Governing Body members, are they obligated to send e-mail to all Governing Body regarding the question and answer. According to opinion of City Attorney, if a reply is given to all Governing Body members, the City Clerk should be copied due to FOIA requests. City Clerk keeps all public records.
City Manager Performance Evaluation and Job Description. The Personnel Committee will develop a draft by August 30, 2002.
City Job Descriptions and Evaluations:
The Director of Fiscal Services will get a copy of all job descriptions for Personnel Committee to review. The Personnel Committee is working on a process for approval of evaluations.
ISSUE: Information sent to Governing Body from City Manager should be “gospel truth”. The City Manager should make sure information forwarded from any source is correct. All information received by Governing Body should be sent to City Manager to be verified.
ISSUE: Information for department requests (budget process)
1) Documentation kept 2) Follow process 3) Running History 4) Agenda packets 5) Staff to do electronically. A goal of the Governing Body would be to eventually have the agendas and pertinent information electronically produced with a central server instead of having packets of information. The Technology Committee will look at the issue of the equipment.
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ISSUE: City Manager will come up with a proposal for future agendas. Try to keep the Worksession at a limit of two hours. The City Clerk keeps the fourth Tuesday open for any additional meetings. Try to keep items down to a 30-minute limit, which would be about 4 items, a meeting.
Transportation Initiative: David Mabie addressed the Governing Body on July 30 asking them to take a stand on Sales Tax Referendum. This item will be placed on August 20 agenda for consideration.
ISSUE: Broadcast of Meetings: The Governing Body needs a procedure for broadcasting their meetings. Consensus - council meetings, commission and committee meetings, all public meetings and public hearings and work sessions of the Governing Body. Councilmember Correll, and City Clerk to develop definitions of regular, special and Worksession meetings
ISSUE: When to rebroadcast the regular meetings? Staff had a proposal on a playback timer but it would not accomplish what the Governing Body wanted. Staff will bring back a proposal to play meetings back automatically and not manually. City Clerk will rebroadcast regular council meetings manually until the equipment is available. Comcast may be able to help with getting necessary equipment.
Digital cable not showing channels 21 and 23 as Manassas Park. The City Manager will ask Comcast about channel indication 21 and 23 on digital cable to show Manassas Park.
Information: The City Clerk places information on the Cable channel. Cyd Ball is responsible for agenda onto website but the Director of Fiscal Services is responsible for timeliness of website
ISSUE: Advance notice of agenda items. City Staff will have agenda available to City Clerk on Thursday by 5:00 pm so City Clerk will have time to put on Cable and website Friday morning. This will give citizens time to review and call with comments. City Staff has come up with proposal on which items to be on which agenda and if it is consent or action items. It will be forwarded to Governing Body for adoption.
ISSUE: Time limits for speakers and citizens. The City Manager will work with speakers about a time limit for presentation. The City Clerk has amended the sign up sheets for citizens to speak for three minutes and citizens at public hearings to speak for five minutes. The Governing Body would like to get out of the issue of having to respond to items addressed at Citizens Time. Give Governing Body time to respond to citizen complaints.
Ongoing Issues:
*Decals: There is an on-going problem with out of state vehicles and no city decals. Staff is constantly working to solve this on-going issue.
*Traffic enforcement: City Manager is working with police department to come back with a proposal.
*Speed limit on Manassas Drive from railroad tracks to Euclid: Staff will come back with recommendation on raising the limit from 25 mph to 35 mph at September meeting.
Limit on thru trucks on Manassas Drive. This is becoming a problem on Manassas Drive. City Manager will bring back proposal at later date.
*Benchmarking: This issue could be dealt with in public works before the new public works director is hired.
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*Bar coding: Governing Body believes this equipment would help Treasurer’s office in their bills and help prevent coding to wrong department. The Technology Committee will address this issue to see what technology is out there to help with bar coding.
*Outsourcing Dispatch: City Staff and Public Safety Committee will look at this issue.
*Outsourcing Garage operations: Governing Body would like this issue looked at in more detail along with animal control, crossing guards, I&I, technology, etc.
*School funding: When funds are determined in March for the ADM and they are over projection, how are they spent by the schools. How are adjustments made in the budget? This issue can be discussed at SBCCL meeting in September.
*Tax rate comparison: Future session but the consensus that the comparison is important
Closed Meeting at 9:23 AM: State Code of Virginia: Freedom of Information Act: Section 2.2-3722(A) Personnel (1)
MOTION Councilmember Brendel moved that the Governing Body will now go into closed meeting to discuss personnel. This matter can be discussed in closed meeting because it involves “assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining or resignation of specific public officers, appointees or employees” of a governing body, pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Section 2.2-3711(A) of the Code of Virginia.
SECOND: Councilmember Privett
VOTE ROLL CALL: Yes: Brendel, Privett, Bunner, Correll, Slater, Treuting, Wren
Reconvene in Open Meeting at 1:15 pm
Mayor Treuting reconvened the regular meeting out of closed meeting at 1:15 pm.
Certification of Closed Meeting and addition of items to Agenda due to closed meeting (If Necessary):
MOTION: Councilmember Brendel moved the following Resolution:
WHEREAS, the Governing Body of the City of Manassas Park has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and
WHEREAS, Section 2.2-3712(d) of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by this public body that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Governing Body of the City of Manassas Park hereby certify that, to the best of each member’s knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under this chapter and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed session was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the meeting by the public body.
SECOND: Councilmember Privett
VOTE ROLL CALL: Yes: Brendel, Privett, Bunner, Correll, Slater, Wren, Treuting
Next meeting will be held September 4, 2002 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to talk about Project Priorities.
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Adjournment at 1:16 PM:
MOTION: Councilmember Privett
SECOND: Councilmember Correll
VOTE: Unanimously passed
Approved October 1, 2002
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William J. Treuting, Jr.
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Lana A. Conner, City Clerk
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