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THE CROW Published by Silver Persinger
www.crowzine.com [ now: www.crownews.com ]
Vol. 1 No. 1 “Now more than ever.” RICHMOND, VIRGINIA Tuesday, October 7, 2003

Our PURPOSE.
From the Editor

Dear Citizens, Friends, and Readers,

One of the most sacred duties prescribed by the U.S. Constitution is a guaranteed right to an energetic Free Press. The Crow is a Free Press, although we do take adverting -- the paper under my editorship shall always be free and use a minimum of paper to limit environmental impact. The newspaper is available free on the internet, www.crowzine.com The Free Press is one of the only effective weapons that Citizens have against the powerful and tyrannical force of money. The purpose of The Crow is to inform the citizens of Richmond, Virginia about what goes on at the City’s governmental meetings. I will endeavor to attend Richmond’s government meetings, to take careful and accurate notes, and to report as accurately and objectively to the best of my ability the events and discussions at these meetings. Richmond City government continues wasting money on big ticket tourism projects rather than spending responsibly on real improvements for its citizens. The press is responsible for informing the public about what the government is doing. At all levels of government, the corporate media dominates the scene of the press and it is failing to inform the public. The Crow is an independent, citizen-written newspaper. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should admit that I consider myself a Socialist who wants to encourage political consciousness among poor and working people and to encourage political organization and participation, to discourage the Stock Market and other exploitative tools of the Capitalist system, and to expose the fraud of Capitalism in a clear and concise way.

I am new to the newspaper business, so grant me your indulgence for my errors, of which I am sure there will be many. Your letters to the editor are greatly appreciated. Write with opinions, corrections, or news; however, due to space limitations your letter may not be printed.

Your humble servant, Silver Persinger, Writer & editor of The Crow.

E-mail: editor@6hourday.org
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ACLU Presents:
“Free & Safe” Community Forum
Wednesday Oct. 22 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Should City Council consider a resolution to protect Richmonders from the Patriot Act?
All are welcome to come to the FREE event. Virginia Holocaust Museum, 2000 E. Cary Street.
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“Special Meeting” of City Council
Tues. Sept. 2, 2003, 5:30 PM

15 -20 Citizens sat in Council Chambers from 5:30 pm until 6:02 when the public was notified that members of City Council had been having a closed door meeting and the public was then invited into the Large Conference Room on the 2nd Floor of City Hall. The purpose of Council’s first meeting since its August break was to discuss the termination of City Assessor James R. Vinson, and the termination of Monique C. Randolph as Councilwoman Gwen Hedgepeth’s council liaison.

Despite Mr. Vinson’s earlier refusal to resign, he eventually agreed to resign earlier the same day, therefore council took no action on Res. No. 2003-R153, which would have fired Vinson by an act of Council. The resolution had been cosponsored by all members of City Council.

The main event was the proposed termination of Gwen Hedgepeth’s personal assistant, Monique C. Randolph. Hedgepeth’s stated reasons for termination included unsatisfactory performance, unavailable after 5pm, not following up on projects, and unacceptable written work. Ms. Randolph was accompanied by her lawyer Mr. Reginald M. Barley who attempted to demonstrate to members of City Council that Hedgepeth had never complained of the quality of Ms. Randolph’s work, and to demonstrate the level of work that Ms. Randolph had been doing. Mr. Barley asked Ms. Randolph a series of questions related to her employment with Hedgepeth. Here are some facts of the case: On July 30, 2003 Hedgepeth wrote a letter asking Randolph to resign. Ms. Randolph never received a copy of the letter, but Mr. Barley received a copy of the letter on August 21 that gave reasons for wanting Randolph’s resignation, which he shared with his client. Ms. Randolph is the fifth Council Liaison that Hedgepeth has had in the last four years. Three of the five, continue to work for City Council as Council Liaisons.

Ms. Randolph stated that there was no discussion of time to arrive in the morning. She usually came in at 9 or 9:30am. Randolph said she worked long hours going to Richmond Renaissance meetings, and community meetings. She said she worked past 5pm everyday, sometimes meeting with Hedgepeth until 9 or 11 at night. Randolph would go over to Hedgepeth’s house if she was lonely, would bring her breakfast or lunch sometimes. And on several occassions Ms. Randolph had to take care of 2 - 4 children (not her own) and feed them. Randolph told council that Hedgepeth had never reviewed and rejected a correspondence, and there was no minimum typing speed required. When Mr. Barley asked, “What was your last day like?” Mrs. Randolph became tearful as she described her last day. Randolph had been preparing for the last two days, a mailing to 600 of Hedgepeth’s constituents that required her to hand address a section of the letter. On the second evening, a woman from Human Resources came in around 8:15 pm and helped stuff envelopes until about 9 pm. After they were done, the woman handed Ms. Randolph a letter from Concilwoman Hedgepeth informing her that she was no longer needed.

Ms. Randolph told Council that she had enjoyed her time as a council liason. That she had “workday my butt off” and that she had tried to have a cordial relationship with Hedgepeth. She said, “It hurts, because I know I gave it my all.” She also told Council that she started Feb. 24, 2003 and it was the 3rd week of April before she had an office or a phone, no computer until June, and in May she was supervising 3-4 interns. She said that “Nobody knows what it was like, she had no regard for how much time I was putting in.” Her lawyer concluded, “There are two choices, the right thing or the politically expedient thing.” The session end at 6:25 pm. Council met behind closed doors until 7:35 pm when the “Special Session” was called to order. All members of council were present except Councilwoman McQuinn. The mayor said that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss two personnel matters but after the hearings there was no reason to continue the discussion. Councilwoman Jackson made the motion to strike the resolutions. It was seconded by the Mayor and Pantele simultaneously. And passed with a vote of 8 - 0. Ms. Randolph is now council liason for Councilwoman Jackie Jackson, whose liason recently resigned.

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It’s time for a 6 hour day.
You deserve more time off.
www.6hourday.org

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Land Use & Housing Committee
Wed. Sept. 3, 2003, 4:00 PM

I was a few minutes late coming in. Concilwoman Hedgepeth chaired the meeting. Pantele moved to approve the minutes of the last meeting. They were approved. There was an opportunity for public comment but no one spoke.

Patrick Roberts who works for the City explained the City’s ABC Permit Review Process. He said that there are 3 steps to the process for the city to approve ABC licensing. First, the license must get the community’s approval, Civic Associations are particularly important. Secondly, the application must be evaluated by legal requirements to make sure the business owner is allowed to operate a business, etc. Thirdly, the City creates a memo of evaluation with a recommendation and sends copies to the relevent Council member and the City Manager. Councilwoman Hedgepeth said that she wanted council members notified at the same time as the Civic Association, “at the beginning.” Pantele expressed concern about the timing -- it is a 30 day process, and he suggested that council members be sent e-mail rather than standard mail and he also said council persons should be notified at every step of the process. He was concerned that the Police were not engaged in the process and asked about proximity to schools and concentration of licenses. There was also concern expressed about inconsistancies with how the City is working with Civic Associations.

Mr. Mark Strickler gave a report entitled “Draft Analysis of Potential Alternatives for Regulation of ABC Licensed Convenience Grocery Stores and Restaurants” that was prepared by the Dept. of Community Development (DCD). City Council is considering addressing ABC lincensure through the zoning ordinance. DCD has talked with officials in Norfolk and Alexandria to examine their regulations and to determine potential applicability in Richmond; has prepared maps identifying all businesses engaged in the sale of alcohol beverages; met with the Bureau of Law Enforcement Operations of ABC; and conducted extensive statistical analysis of data provided by the Virginia Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). Current regulations for mixed drink licenses require restaurants make at least 45% of their sales from food sales, and alcohol may not account for more than 55% of sales. Sales of beer and wine are not included in this ratio. Businesses licensed to serve beer and/or wine only must earn at least $2000 per month from food sales (which Mr. Strickler noted comes out to only $67 per day). Neighborhood meetings conducted by the City identified problems associated with alcohol sales which included: the renewal of ABC licenses in residential areas, loitering, public urination, public drunkeness, excessive noise, and trash in parks, alleys and public places.

Statistical Analysis. There are 571 ABC licensed buinesses in the City of Richmond. Retail businesses account for 497 of the licenses, while 74 are associated with importers, wholesalers, breweries, distributors, caterers, and private clubs. 231 of those businesses sell beer and/or wine off-premises. 202 restaurants have a mixed beverage license. In 2000 - 2001, there were a total of 125 ABC permits issued -- 20 for new locations and the rest were for previously licensed locations.

Potential Alternatives. 1. Address problematic businesses as part of a Community Assisted Public Safety (CAPS) initiative or through injunctive relief. To date, CAPS has targeted 32 legal establishments and 16 illegal establishments. 2. Require all new established ABC locations for convenience/grocery stores or restaurants to obtain conditional use approval. 3. To lobby the General Assembly to revise the 45% food/ 55% alcohol ratio to include sales of beer and wine. 4. To amortize (to stop gradually) the alcohol sales of 31 non-conforming stores and restaurants. 5. To amortize the alcohol sales component of approximately 400 conforming and ABC lincensed convenience/ grocery stores and restaurants. Mr. Strickler stated that 5 years was a “reasonable time.”

Cost associated with each of the above proposals. 1. The cost of hiring an additional ABC agent or assigning a police officer would be $50,000 - $100,000 per year. 2. This procedure would eventually require processing up to 100 applications a year with 5 members of the City Staff and at the 21st year of implimentation, projected cumulative costs is estimated at $3.2 million. 3. No additional cost or staffing required to lobby the General Assembly. 4. This option would require hiring one additional staff member costing approximately $75,000 per year. 5. Estimated personnel cost would be $750, 000 per year.

Conclusion. There is no “quick zoning fix” that will easily address the problems associated with ABC sales. Virtually all of the problems identified by the neighborhood meetings were behavioral issues. Zoning regulations have little or no effect on individuals’ behavior. All of the discussed zoning approaches can affect operational characteristics, but will negatively affect legitimate businesses.

Recommendation. Target one problematic business per council district utilizing the CAPS program for a one year pilot period, provide funding for a State ABC agent and/or a police office to target the problematic businesses (one per district), and if the above recommendations do not provide positive outcomes within a year, to implement a conditional use permit process for newly established ABC licensed businesses.

Deputy City Manager William Harrell said that this was a preliminary report and that it would be represented to Council. Hedgepeth requested the subject be brought back to the committee in a month and a half.

Mr. Brooke Hardin of the Dept. of Community Development gave a report entitled “The Past, Present and Future of Housing in Downtown Richmond.” Downtown is defined by the James River to the south, Belvidere to the west, I-95 along the north and west to E. Broad St. & N. 21st St. and down Franklin to N. 27th St. In 2000, the number of housing units rose to 2,729, the highest level in 30 years -- the 1990 level was 2,128 units. The number of homeowners did not change. Rental properties are responsible for the increase, approximately 91% of occupied housing units in 2000 were rental, compared a 56% renatal rate for the city.

Jackson Ward between 1990 and 2000 saw a loss of 134 units (15%) largely due to the demolition of Jackson Place. In 2000, the neighborhood had a vacancy rate of 33%; of occupied housing units, 30% were owner-occupied -- which is the highest rate of any downtown neighborhood but about 15% lower than the rest of the city.

Monroe Ward between 1990 and 2000 saw a 35% increase of occupied housing units which included 247 new/rennovated units. The vacancy rate went from 16% in 1990 to 11% in 2000. The area has consistantly remained 99% renter occupied.

Shockoe Bottom between 1990 and 2000 experienced a boom in housing units from 138 to 670. The number of owner-occupied units went from 15 to 20. Rental units comprised 96% of the occupied units in 2000.

Since the 2000 Census, 740 units have been added to the Downtown housing stock -- 136 units in Jackson Ward (most notably, 113-unit Richmond Dairy Building on W. Marshall St.), 160 units in Monroe Ward (Sydnor Hundley and Grace Place Apts. account for 112 of the units), 444 units in Shockoe Bottom/Slip (171 units at the American Cigar Building on Tobacco Row). Currently there are an additional 354 units under construction or have permits pending, the largest is a 158-unit tobacco warehouse conversion of The River Lofts.

There was an update regarding partial exemptions from taxes for rehabilitative property where a registered historic structure has been demolished. The City’s Attorney, John A. Rupp received an Official Advisory Opinion from Attorney General Kilgore on August 7, 2003. The Attorney General concluded his letter, a partial exemption from real estate taxation is permitted, “provided that the person receiving the partial exemption is not the property owner responsible for the demolition.” Mr. Rupp said that he needed more information from the property owner in order to resolve this issue. Pantele expressed concern about the use of entities to get around the law. A commission has been created to review the abatement program.

A representative of the Dept. of Public Works spoke to the committee regarding trash collection, particularly the large quantities of trash created by students, especially at the beginning and the end of the school year. Pantele wants to start a pilot program to enforcce current ordinances. The meeting ended at 6:20 pm.

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News from a Socialist & Historical Perspective.
www.wsws.org

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Informal Council Meeting Report
Mon. Sept. 8, 2003 3:00 PM

At 3:15 pm, there were 30 people in the audience. On the way in Councilwoman McQuinn noticed a suspicious object under a seat. She was walking with City Manager Jamison; he retrieved the object which looked like a rechargeable battery pack. The meeting was called to order at 3:20 pm, all members of Council were in attendance as well as Deputy City Manager William Harrell, Director of Economic Development John Woodward, and two members of the press in the press box. Mayor McCollum announced that Sept. 18 would be the opening of the $125 million Stony Point Fashion Park, and he encouraged citizens to bring their credit cards. He also commented that he had received positive feedback from the developers regarding “quick turn around” on the part of the city.

John Woodward got up to say a few words regarding Stony Point Fashion Park. Woodward stated that the 690,000 squrare foot mall was the “wave of the future for retail.” The mall “recreates downtown” and compliments Regency Square Mall which is 5 miles away on the same road. He noted that with the recent openings of Stony Point and Short Pump malls; Richmond is becoming known for our shopping. He also wanted to give kudos to the Dept. of Community Development because at one point there were doing “nothing but permits” for the Stony Point project. Stony Point is the latest project of Taubman Centers Inc., a nationwide developer based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, which owns 24 billion square feet of retail space nationwide. Woodward spoke briefly of the traditional shopping districts in the City: Libbie & Grove, Carytown, Shockoe Bottom & Slip. He stated again, “Richmond is getting on the retail map.” Woodward said the developer planned to develop the out-parcels surrounding Stony Point with hotels and sit down restaurants. Pantele stated, “These other projects are not incentivized and they contribute to the economy.” In closing, Woodward mentioned that Willow Lawn, Cloverleaf, and the site of Azalea malls were “going to have to be re-invented.”

Richard Morse, Senior Architect at the Dept. of Public Works gave an update on the progress of the City Hall Re-Cladding project. Morse reported that they began removing the old marble panels from City Hall this week. [Editor’s note: There are approximately 23,000 marble panels on the 450 feet tall, 18 story City Hall.] The two year project which will outfit the building with stainless steel, aluminum fins, and glass canopies is expected to be completed by June 2005. To commemorate the removal of the panels, Mr. Morse gave each member of council a “piece” of the old building’s exterior.

Carol Bracey, Director of the Office of Customer Service and Organizational Development, spoke to members of City Council to announce the debut of the Citizens’ Request System which is available on-line at the City of Richmond’s web site (www.ci.richmond.va.us). Any time of day, citizens may request services and can check on their requests from home, work or at one of the City-owned public cess computers located at Libraries, Recreation and Community Facilities, City Hall and VCU. Citizens will receive e-mail confirmation of their service request including an assigned tracking number and they will receive status updates if estimated completion date changes. If you have questions about this new online service or would like to receive training on the Citizens’ Request System, call (804) 646-7000.

Dr. Earl McCleney of the Commission on Richmond’s Government [which was established by City Council in response to the Wilder-Bliley Commission to study the mayor elected at large issue] reported to Council that their report had been completed. McCleney said the Commission held 5 public meetings that were attended by over 200 citizens. He stated that the Commission did not come to a decision regarding the elected mayor at large but the Commission did recommend that council terms be extended from 2 to 4 years. He stated that it would allow council members time to learn the state budget cycle and noted that surrounding governments also used the 4 year term. Councilwomen Hedgepeth and McQuinn thanked Dr. McCleney for his work and the work of the commission. McQuinn also added that the Commission “operated under great scrutiny” and that they were unfairly attacked by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Both McQuinn and Mayor McCollum expressed an interest in showing this report to the public.

City Clerk Edna Keys-Chavis came before Council to ask when Council would be available to meet for Performance Reviews of the City Clerk, Director of International Education, and the City Manager. Sept. 29, 2003, 2:00 pm was selected as the time.

During the Docket Review, the main item of interest was Ord. No. 2003-284 which was initiated by Councilwoman Jackson, and co-sponsored by Councilmen Kenney and Pantele and Councilwoman Hedgepeth. The proposed ordinance called for an amendment to the recent 1% increase in the city meal tax which had been established to help fund the Performing Arts Center. The amendment specified that revenues generated from the meal tax “in excess of amounts required” to service the debt would “be designated to support the infrastructure and capital improvements of public schools in the city.” The original use of the “excess” [if an excess materialized] was to be used for debt service and to lower the bond which would minimize the city’s “debt exposure.” This was used as a selling point to both Citizens and to the institutions that lend money to the city. [See Finance Standing Committee Meeting Report, in issue No. 2]. The meals tax is to be sunset when the bond is paid off. Remember, City Council has pledged $27.8 million to help pay for construction of the Performing Arts Center, this was the sole stated purpose of the 1% meal tax increase. Councilman Loupassi said in a heated voice that this ordinance was an “unfettered blank check” to the schools. When he asked where specifically funds would go; Jackson replied that funds would go to support the Facilities Plan. After a little more probing it was discover that the ordinance had not gone through any committee. It had not gone through either the Education or Finance Committee. At this revelation, several members of Council laughed. Pantele defended the ordinance and said that the funds would go towards new school construction and capital improvements. Mayor McCollum insisted he wasn’t just speaking to Councilwoman Jackson when he complained “people are pushing papers without going through committees.” After the mayor’s insistence that she take the resolution to the Education Committee, which she chairs, Jackson balked, “To accomplish what?” “To meet council requirements,” responded the mayor.

Tim Davey of the Timmons Group spoke to City Council on the progress of the Richmond Ballpark Initiative. Mr. Davey reported that the group has hired Frank Ricks of Looney Ricks Kiss, a Memphis architectural and planning firm. The Richmond Ballpark Initiative has been created by a group of private businessmen to finance a baseball stadium/ mixed-use project and to study the possibility of building a new stadium in the Metro-Richmond Area. [Editor’s note: On Friday Sept. 26, Robert Ukrop spoke to citizens at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church as part of the the “Eyes on Richmond Series.” Mr. Ukrop admitted that a new stadium was unlikely because of the lack of money but he told the audience the city would likely need a new stadium in 5 - 10 years. He also said that the Richmond Sports Backers have a vision of creating a sprawling “entertainment complex” from I-95 to the area behind the Science Museum.] Mr. Davey closed his comments by saying that his group would look at the data and would come back with recommendations in early October. Loupassi commented, “I have no problem with them having at it -- God bless America.” A phase he managed to repeat two more times in the span of two minutes. City Manager Jamison stated, “Memphis is the example.” Memphis’s $80.5 million AutoZone Park was planned by Looney Ricks Kiss.

Councilman Loupassi asked, “Do we have a list of members to important committees?” He said he has been asking for a list since he got on council. He announced that two positions on the Planning Commission were expiring at the end of October and that council had been notified of the vacancies in July. He also stated that two individuals had expressed an interest in volunteering for the positions.

The Informal Session of City Council ended at 5:25 pm.

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Friday Lunch-Forums

Forums are held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. each Friday through Nov. 21 at St. Paul’s Episcopal, Ninth and Grace streets. Eyes on Richmond was started by St. Paul’s in 1998 to provide a better understanding of urban issues.

Upcoming Forums:
Oct. 10, Gretta Harris, senior program director of Richmond Local Initiatives Support Corp., on “What Changes Need to be Made in Urban Policy?”
Oct. 17, former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, on “Will City Government be Different With a Strong Mayor?”
Oct. 24, the Rev. Ben Campbell, pastoral director of Richmond Hill retreat center, on “Why Fundamentalism?”
Oct. 31, Richmond Police Chief André Parker, on “How Can the People Help the Police?”
Nov. 7, Jack Berry, executive director of Richmond Renaissance Inc., on “The Changing Face of Richmond - Skyline Changes From Broad Street to the Riverfront - What’s Up?”
Nov. 14, Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Kimberly O’Donnell, on “How Can We Reduce Juvenile Crime?”
Nov. 21 Mark Holmberg, Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist, on “Is Richmond Changing Its Grass Roots?”
Lunch, at a cost of $6 per person, will be catered by area restaurants. For reservations, call (804) 643-3589 by the Wednesday before a Friday forum.

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Economic Devolopment Committee Meeting Tues. Sept. 16, 2003, 3:30 PM

The monthly Economic Development meeting was held at Tredegar Ironworks and Councilman Pantele called the meeting to order at 3:42 pm. About 20 people were in attendance including Robert Jones, William Harrell, Jackie Jackson, and John Woodward. No one spoke during the public comment period. Harrell gave an update on Hurricane Isabel, expected to hit Richmond Thursday afternoon. The city has serviced and place emergency equipment at strategic locations throughout the city to remove trees and keep roads open.

Alex Wise, President of the Tredegar National Civil War Center Foundation gave a presentation to the board. He informed us that during the 1860’s Tredegar was the fourth largest foundry in the United States. It produced 800 cannons for the United States Army, over 1000 for the Confederacy, and 90% of the ammunition used by the South. Tredegar employed over 2,500 workers, half of them on the riverside site; and more than half of those workers were black. Mr. Wise told us that an economic impact study conducted by VCU’s Institute for Public Policy estimates there would be 205,000 visitors per year, with an economic impact of $9.3 million/ year. The center would employ 140 full and part workers at the Tredegar site, and it will generate around $382,000 per year in State and Local taxes. Mr. Wise showed a video narrated by Morgan Freedman, who volunteered to work for free “because he likes the project.” The video described the vision for the Tredegar Civil War Center. The exhibit is designed by Daniel B. Murphy and curated by Kym S. Rice. The museum is designed to tell 3 stories: the story of the North, the South, and of African Americans in a comprehensive and educational format. A 22,000 sq. ft building is to be built and it is expected to be open for 2007, the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, when Virginia is projected to get 1 - 2 million more visitors above the “normal” amount. It will take two years to build and cost $18 million, the Foundation has raised over $9 million so far. Finally, Mr. Wise also mentioned the generous contribution of Mr. John H. Motley of Connecticut who has agreed to donate his collection of thirty years with over 3000 pieces of Civil War Era African American-related artifacts to the Tredegar Civil War Center.

Mr. Brooke Hardin of the Department of Community Development gave the same report about “Downtown Housing” that he gave at the Land Use and Housing Committee Meeting of Sept. 3, 2003 (see page 3 for report). After Mr. Hardin’s presentation, Pantele asked if the figures included projects like “the Bernstein Hotel” at Franklin and Belvedere, which includes 150 units [Editor note: A “unit” can be either a stand alone home or an apartment in a building.] Mr. Hardin said it did not, a number of known projects were not included because they were not far enough along. Woodward stated that you would be seeing the development of over 300 units in the next 2 1/2 years in the Manchester Area. Development at the South Distributor Building on Commerce Rd. is imminent.

Michelle Nelson-Davis spoke so quietly I could barely hear anything she said. She said the Richmond Retail Merchants Assoc. was holding an event Thursday Sept. 25, on Monument Ave. She also mentioned that on Thursday Oct. 2 the Art Community’s Arts Council would meet to discuss a sample project on Belt Boulevard. Her department is finalizing a Draft Plan for the River Front/Canal Plan, which will need to come back to Economic Devopment Committee.

William Harrell gave the Port of Richmond update because Martin J. Moynihan, executive director, Port of Richmond Commission was out of town for business. Mr. Harrell told us the Port is wholly owned by the City of Richmond [Editiors note: and operated by Federal Marine Terminals, Inc., a private company. Independent Container Line is the port’s principal carrier which operates four container vessels on a regular weekly schedule that serves Chester, PA, Richmond, VA, Liverpool, England, and Antwerp, Belgium.] Harrell reported that the port has done well in the past but the recent slow down in the economy has had an effect. Last year the port lost a client that was responsible for 1/4 to 1/5 of the Port’s tonnage.

CDA Update by Michael Laing of ECI Investment Advisors, good friend and partner of Gary Beller of the Miller & Rhoads Hotel development. Mr. Laing said that much of the work the CDA planned to perform was infrastructure improvements for future development. This includes upgrading the utility system: water, gas, and electrical improvements. In some cases, they will be digging as deep as 30 feet to perform these upgrades. Parking improvements include the creation of 2 new surface parking lots at the old G.C. Murphy building at 5th and Broad and another at the current site of the Atlantic Life Building at 6th and Grace Street. Other parking improvements include mostly cosmetic improvements/painting at the Garage at 5th and Marshall; lighting, painting, and concrete repair to the Garage at 7th & Marshall; and new ramps installed into the Parking Deck at 6th and Franklin Street, which was built in 1924. Streetscape improvements include new sidewalks, landscaping that is to be “retail and pedestrian friendly.” Other street ammenities may also include benches, directories, bus shelters, and lighting.

ECI Investment Advisors, the company in charge of the Broad Street Redevelopment Project (tearing down 6th Street Marketplace, etc), has been busy hiring consultants since June 1. Mr. Laing said that the project could be viewed as 12 individual projects. There must be a “separation of services” because the 6th St. Marketplaces’ electrical and heating and cooling systems are intergrated with the surrounding buildings. Demolition of the Marketplace begins October 1 on the Southside of the building between Broad and Grace taken down first and then the Nortside between Broad and Marshall taken down later. The bridge will be taken down on the weekends when there is less traffic. Mr. Laing anticipates that the project will seek to find smaller contracters, he expects between 20 and 30 contracts over the next 8 - 9 months valued at $25 million.

Pantele said there may be a $40 million public transportation project in the works and wanted to know if the planned improvements along Broad Street reflected this possibility. Mr. Laing said that the new electric infrastructure would be able to handle such a demand and told us that the right lane has been reserved for light rail development. The Miller & Rhoads Hotel has qualified for a Historic tax credit and Mr. Laing said they were “pleasantly astounded” by the National Parks Service’s review comments regarding their application for Historic Park District funds. Earlier the Parks Service had expressed some concern regarding the demolition of the Woolworth’s Building but Mr. Laing said it was “now a dead issue.”

John Woodward gave a short update on the status of the proposed Federal Court House planned for Broad and 7th Streets. Senators have pushed the project through the Appropriations Committee but it has to go to conference in the House, both Cantor and Bobby Scott are supporters. The Court House Project is significant to creating the “parking demand” that is supposed to help pay off the $66.7 million bond for replacing the 18-year old 6th Street Marketplace* with a street and modernizing the utility infrastructure in that area of Broad Street. If the Court House doesn’t get the green light soon, it may be 4 - 6 years until funding is available.

Ordinances 2003-302 and 300 (on the Consent Agenda at the Sept. 22 meeting) were very briefly discussed. Barely anything was said about Ord. 302 other than that it adds procedures for public-private partnerships in accordance with the Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA), to provide for the inclusion of technology infrastructure as a qualifying project for solicited and unsolicited proposals. Ord. 2003-300 dealt with amending the Code of the City of Richmond concerning Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) Procurement Policy, development assistance to Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Emerging Small Businesses (ESBs). The City’s Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE) which is a division of the Department of Economic Development offers this explanation of the amendment. The policy change is “considered developmental” rather than designed to address a past wrong (they used the word “remedial”) and it is “intended to prevent discrimination going forward.” The new policy introduces Emerging Small Business (ESB) as a new designation, ESBs are narrowly defined and require certification by the OMBE. ESBs must be located in a City Enterprise Zone. ESBs may be non-minority men and women and will have the same standing as MBEs. The amendment also changes the definition of minority as it relates to construction, it no longer means just African American, OMBE states “This component is the most controversial of the Program.” Pantele said one important aspect of this policy change is that it has “real strong reporting provisions.” The meeting was called to an end at 5:45 pm.

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*6th Street Marketplace & the CDA
Learn more. www.save6.org
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Formal Council Meeting Report
Mon. Sept. 8, 2003 6:00 PM

At 6:25 pm the formal session was called to order, 52 citizens were in attendence. All members of council were present. During the awards and ceremonies period Councilwoman Jackson presented a declaration by Mayor McCollum that Monday Sept. 8, 2003 be designated to recognize Plaza Bowl as Richmond’s “oldest established unique sports outlet.” Plaza Bowl opened in 1958 as a part of the Southside Plaza development and Plaza Bowl is the only surviving business from that period. The couple who own the bowling alley, received the award and expressed gratitude for the recognition.
Citizen Comment: Jay White, President of the Family and Friends Thanksgiving Feast which has been helping to deliver Thanksgiving dinner and fellowship to over 12,000 residents of the Richmond region since 1999. Mr. White recalled previous assistance from individual council members and expressed a wish of the Board of Directors of Family and Friends for continued support from each council member for the event they plan to bring to the Greater Richmond Convention Center this Thanksgiving.

The next comment came from Jim Straub. Here are his complete comments: “Hi, my name is Jim Straub. I work with the Richmond Coalition for a Living Wage. Excuse the voice, I’m a little stopped up tonight. Richmond now has a 23% poverty rate in the city; in other social indicators like child mortality, infant mortality rates and wage gaps -- we are starting to resemble a third world city. In fact, some of our rates resemble one third world example in particular. The fact that of families in poverty, 90% are black makes us look like apartheid South Africa. Our city is looking more and more like pre-Civil War Virginia, not to mention pre-Civil Rights Virginia.

To stem the tide of impoverishment there are immediate steps that can be taken, tonight even if you guys wanted. There has been a bill that has been waiting for about a year now to provide a living wage to Richmond City contract workers. What this means is that the 500 some people who sweep streets and mop floors for the city through a private employer would be guaranteed by law $8.85 an hour plus health care or $10.65 an hour without health care. You know bring them up out of poverty. Studies have shown that this wouldn’t be costly, hundreds of other cities have done similar bills and have seen the improvements. Such policies would begin to chart a strategy for Richmond to pull itself out of the low wage economy that we are trapped in right now. Besides all that, it is just basic common sense. Mr. Jamison is making $90 an hour here at City Hall. The individual who cleans up after Mr. Jamison is making $6 an hour. That kind of depraved inequality cost your council credibility with ordinary Richmonders. However, council has not acted on this bill for some time. Day laborers can’t afford $1000 contributions or bribes. Some of y’all ran and won election campaigns telling your constituents and voters that your were pro-Living Wage but since reaching power have stopped returning their phone calls. Well, tomorrow I’m going to call every single one of you guys, and ask to schedule an appointment to begin working on addressing the poverty crisis in Richmond and passing a Living Wage for city contract workers bill. If you can’t be bothered; that’s fine, but that’s going to be made public.

And before I go consider this, while you force these contract workers to stay trapped in poverty month after month, and year after year, the poverty that you’re causing is going to begin to create problems for the city’s revitalization. On Saturday, the Living Wage Coalition brought 50 angry picketers to a convention that was happening at the Richmond Convention Center. On Tuesday, we’re doing it again at another big convention. And later this month when the statewide Chamber of Commerce hosts its convention in Richmond, we’re going to picket that too. We feel that we are being forced to picket every single convention at your new downtown anchor, the Richmond Convention Center. If you wait long enough before addressing these issues eventually the poverty and anger that failing to pay your workers properly might chase business away from the Convention Center and ruin the hopes of your beloved developers for making millions of dollars downtown.
A lot of us are willing to go this far. If we’re not all sharing in the wealth, if the contract workers can’t share in the wealth, then we’re perfectly willing to stop the creation of wealth. Let me be clear: address the poverty crisis, negotiate on a living wage for contract workers, or we will try our best to ruin the Convention Center’s business. Before I go, I have a copy of the flyer that we are handing to every delegate who passes us as we picket. Can I leave this for the clerk? Thank you very much. Hope to talk to y’all tomorrow.” [Editor’s note: The Official minutes of the Informal Session for April 30, 2003 take note of a discussion regarding the City’s policy on the Living Wage: The “City Attorney has issued an opinion, based on the decision of Virginia Attorney General [Jerry Kilgore, Dec. 10, 2002], that Richmond does not have the authority to adopt a living wage ordinance that would require private businesses, that contract with the City, to pay their employees a living wage.” Kilgore’s opinion states that a living wage is “unrelated to the goods or services to be procured” which is incorrect.]
The next speaker for public comment was Mr. Victor Motley who came down the aisle dressed as Julius Caesar addressing the audience, “Honorable noble citizens of the Richmond City Council, the honor is mine. Friends, Romans, Richmonders, Countrymen! Lend me your ears.” Mr. Motley then went on to describe a series of failures on the part of various government officials to address his complaint. He stated that he simply wanted to know “Why?” The audience didn’t know what he was talking about. [Editor’s note: Members of council are familiar with Mr. Motley. However, Council has not admitted error or apologized to Mr. Motley for an allegation that the city had a part in the contributing to the loss of Mr. Motley’s home, job, car, and costing him several hundreds of dollars to correct a bureaucratic error in the Court Records/ Police Records. Mr. Motley alleges this happened five years ago. I interviewed Mr. Motley in September of 2001, expect an article in The Crow No. 2.]

Announcements of upcoming Standing Committee meeting were given, Councilwoman Hedgepeth gave a brief report of the Land Use and Housing meeting of Sept. 3 [See Report on page 2]. Mayor McCollum mentioned that the resolution of last October which established the Commission on Richmond’s Government had issued its report today and he emphasized again that the public should get a look at the report. The mayor also reminded the assembly that Sept. 18 was the “opening of a major mall experience,” the $125 million Stony Point Fashion Park. The mayor commented that the mall “enhance[d] the quality of life” because citizens would no longer have to drive 150 miles to get to some of these stores.
The Consent Agenda.

Items of interests. Ord. 2003-280 concerning financial assistance to be provided to the Richmond Metropolitan Authority relating to the financing of renovations to “The Diamond” Baseball field, located at 3001 N. Boulevard. $18.5 million for renovation to include lowering the playing field. Ord. 2003-281 to execute a Deed of Easement for the purpose of partnering with the U.S. Corps of Engineers to dispose of dredged material from the construction and maintenance of the James River Channel. Ord. 2003-286 to close an alley in Carytown in the block bounded by W. Cary Street, South Auburn St., Ellwood Ave., and South Belmont Ave. Res. 2003-R144 thru R147 These resolutions deal with Signal Modernization projects at Boulevard and Monument, Broad Street at 9th, 8th, 7th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Streets; as well as along Broad Streets at Bowe, Lombardy, Allen and Meadow Streets. Res. 2003-R152 to reappoint Harold Leroy Watkins, II to the Local Community College Board. Nine of 29 items were continued for at least two weeks, the remainder of the Consent Agenda was adopted unamimously. Five of 10 items on the Regular Agenda were continued. One was struck. Council appoved 9-0 to amend the ordinance pertaining to the special use of 428 N. Boulevard [Virginia Museum of Fine Arts] for museum purposes. In related action, Council approved a special use of 515 N. Colonial Ave., rear 2810 Kensington Ave., and an adjacent alley for the purpose of a parking area. This area is located behind the museum. Res. 2003-R135 was approved by Council 9 - 0. The resolution affirmed the decision of the Commission of Architectural Review that denied Scott and Jennifer Brown’s proposal to paint over previously unpainted brick at their property located at 27** West Grace Street.

Ord. No.2003-296 Director of Community Development, Mark Strickler reported that on July 7th, 50 citizens spoke in opposition to proposed development. On July 21, the Planning Commission approved ( 8 - 0 ) the plan with modifications that are reflected in the terms and conditions of the ordinance or in the restrictive convenant found in the neighborhood agreement. Mr. Strickler said the Planning Commission felt the project represented an investment and increased the improved housing stock of the city. He also said that the Neighborhood Association was supportive.

Attorney Gloria Frye spoke on behalf of the Ginter Place Associates [Shane Parr, Tom Bondurant, and Mike Wray] who asked Council to approve a preliminary plan to “transform mostly vacant 17 acres hospital campus [located at 1300 Westwood Avenue] into a mixed use development that will create a unique place to live in a maintenance-free, for sale condominium development to be called Ginter Place.” Frye said the development was to include the preservation of the Tower Building (66 condominiums) and the re-adaptive use of the Laburnum House as a community center with a reception area and offices. She also thanked Councilmen Johnson and Pantele for their participation with the developers and neighbors. Ms. Frye told Council that more than 25% of the land was being dedicated to green space, and that the current value of the land was $1.6 million and that this plan represents a $30 million investment.

Hampton Carver who lives on Westwood Ave. told Council he serves on a committee that represents the Sherwood Park Civic Association and the Ginter Park Association in negotiations with developer Shane Parr. He said that both associations supported the resolution. Several more speakers spoke in support. The only voice of opposition was Mr. Edmund Jones. He said “You’ve got a lot of good speakers and everything but it occupies a large part of our city...I think it needs to be closely evaluated because it is the future...the city needs to check it out.”

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In Our Next Issue:
• Ashe Boulevard & Kenney’s resolution
Against an Elected Mayor at large
• Hurricane Isabel and her aftermath
• Council has already passed a 1% increase in the meals tax to fund the Performing Arts Center, now there’s talk of a 1% sales tax increase
to generate $24 million/year.

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End. File created Oct. 24, 2003 12:47 am