2010-03-15 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

2 th Mr. Brandon Collins, 536 Meade Avenue, said that March 19 is the anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. He said Mr. John Yoo, who he said is a war criminal, will be speaking in Charlottesville. He said the war is illegal and asked Council to join in the protest against the war and Mr. Yoo. Mr. Peter Loach, 1620 Rose Hill Drive, representing the Board and staff of Piedmont Housing Alliance, thanked the City for its support over the years, and listed benefits and services provided o the City by PHA. Ms. Gloria Beard, 1116 Page Street, expressed concern about snow removal and the disabled. She said her street is narrow and people turn around and knock down her fence. She asked that the City consider putting a throughway on Page Street Mr. Wesley Bellamy, 2334 Peyton Drive, NAACP, said there are issues within the predominantly African American community, a huge achievement gap in City Schools, issues with public housing (trash and broken playground equipment). He invited Council to the Spring Fling at Westhaven. He asked Council to work to get things done. Mr. Downing Smith, 810 Locust Avenue, said that the agreement with Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority includes a termination date of 2012, and he asked Council to direct the City Attorney to prepare notices to terminate the contract. He said Council can always change its mind later. Mr. Daniel Bluestone, 501 Park Hill, endorsed Mr. Cruickshank’s comments. He said elected officials are responsible for making sure due process is fulfilled. Regarding Mr. Bellamy’s point, he said the Meadow Creek Parkway is costing tens of millions of dollars. He said the County should pay for ramps to get people to the County. nd Mr. Richard Berman, 205 2 Street, N.W., asked whose idea it was to give bonuses to City employees when there was a budget shortfall. Mr. Stratton Salidas, 704 Graves Street, echoed Mr. Bluestone’s comments. He said the County Supervisors are looking out for the County. He agreed with Mr. Cruickshank that we need to see if the Parkway is legal. He noted that VDOT wants the City to say that an at-grade intersection would be okay. Ms. Colette Hall, 101 Robertson Lane, echoed Mr. Cruickshank’s and Mr. Bluestone’s comments and asked Council to pass the resolution. Mr. John Pfaltz, 1503 Rugby Road, said he got the overall feeling in December that the mall was a seedy place, with street vendors and the homeless and not many others on it. He said the homeless are a real problem, but we need to think about how they affect the mall. He said the City’s program collecting damaged trees after the snow storms was a wonderful thing to do. COUNCIL RESPONSES TO MATTERS BY THE PUBLIC Ms. Szakos said she will be attending the Iraq war protest. Regarding Mr. Bellamy’s comments, she asked how we can keep our eye on the ball of student achievement. Responding to comments made by Mr. Bluestone, she noted that the revenue sharing/school funding formula proposal in the General Assembly was defeated. Dr. Brown said it is important that people who have not been to Council meetings before feel comfortable coming and speaking. He corrected one comment made by Mr. Bluestone, noting that while there are tens of millions of dollars being spent on the Parkway, they are not City dollars. Ms. Edwards said that Alpha Kappa Alpha Society was started in 1908. She said she takes some responsibility regarding employee bonuses. She said she would have like to have given raises, but could not last year and will not be able to next year. She said it was done to acknowledge how hard people work and provided recognition to even the