2006-04-03 - Laserfiche WebLink

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111 Ms. Colette Hall, 101 Robertson Lane, expressed concern made by Mr. Caravati in an e-mail. He said he hopes Council will take that the budget seriously. Mr. Caravati said that the recipient of the e-mail is a friend and he was doing good natures bantering with him. Mr. Satyendra Huja, a member of the JABA Board of Directors, said that 35% of residents of Mountainside come from Charlottesville. He said the amount requested is only 1.25% of Mountainside’s total budget. He said it is a very well run facility and residents are getting loving care. He said the actual cost for auxiliary care is $1,600 a month, and only $982 is received. He asked that Council consider adding the funding. Mr. Tom Bernier, Martha Jefferson House, said Mountainside is a wonderful place. He said he has served on its advisory board and it is run very well. He said the facility is a huge bargain and there is no other decent place to send people to live. Mr. Julian Taliaferro, 1500 Grove Road, spoke in favor of Mountainside. He said he thinks the City owes those folks. As there were no further speakers, the public hearing was closed. Dr. Brown thanked those who have spoken, those who have attended meetings and the forum, and those who have written to Council. He thanked Council for working hard on the budget, particularly Mr. Caravati. Mr. Caravati said he looks at is as doing Council’s legislative duty. He said Council was hired to do the people’s business. He said the needs that confront us are huge. Mr. Schilling said he wanted to address the issue of Mountainside. He said the agency review team recommended no funding and were fairly critical of JABA’s application. He said he asked JABA to respond point by point to the team’s criticism. He said he thinks there are unresolved issues and we need to discuss the long-term relationship. He said there may have been some communication errors on the part of the City. He said in thinking about priorities, and in looking at something we want to do, such as funding the Community Design Center, and something we need to do, such as funding Mountainside, he made a motion to take the proposed funding for the Community Design Center and put it into Mountainside. Mr. Caravati made a substitute motion to put aside Mr. Schilling’s motion until Council talks about the budget appropriation. Ms. Hamilton seconded Mr. Caravati’s motion. Mr. Craig Brown, City Attorney, said a substitute motion is not in order for a motion that has not been seconded. Ms. Hamilton said she spoke up for Mountain at the first and second work sessions. She said she is not proud of dragging out the sick and elderly for $25,000 out of a $121 million budget. She said we should deal with the issues identified by the review team. She said she is not proud of the way this was handled and there could have been a process that did not involve frightening people. Mr. Lynch said that what is unique about this situation is that JABA came to us four years ago with a new project and asked for one-time funding to get Mountainside started. He said Council saw that it was needed even though there were concerns. He said JABA was back the following year saying they had not met their business plan goals and they were given funding for three years. He said he is concerned that he is now hearing that Charlottesville is going to cut their operating subsidy, even though it was never intended to provide an operating subsidy. He said we need to ask are we in the assisted living facility business. He asked if we can offer one time funds without the certainty that we will be asked for funding every year. He said it is a compelling