Coraggio Consulting
Manassas City Council 9/8/2025

Date: Monday, September 8, 2025
Place: Manassas City Council, Virginia
Length: 3h 46m (video)
Official meeting video (Wistia / RegionalWebTV): https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/5xlp85pc11

Machine transcript (speech-to-text) produced by Coraggio Consulting. Not an official county record. Names and numbers may be misspelled; check the video at the timestamp before quoting.
Speech-to-text: whisper.cpp, model large-v3-turbo. Produced 2026-10-17. Timestamps are [HH:MM:SS] into the meeting video.

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[00:00:03] 2025 to order. Mr. Eric Smith, please call the roll. Mayor Davis Younger. Present. Vice Mayor Wolfe. Here. Councilmember Ellis. Councilmember Smith. Brown Smith. Here. Councilmember Osina. Here. Councilmember Vasquez Luna. Present. Councilmember Hudson. Here. McCormish present. Thank you very much. If you would please stand with me, if you're able to, for the invocation.

[00:00:27] Dear God, we thank you for the chance to gather together again after our recent recess. Thank you for continuing to protect and guide our staff, our council members, and our entire community as we strive to all work together in unity and in love.

[00:00:47] We remain thankful for all things. Amen. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States. Thank you so much.

[00:01:14] I'd like to welcome everyone again to our council meeting, first one back after recess. good to see a full chambers love looking out and seeing all of the smiles looking back at us thank you so much for taking your time to be here with us this evening we have quite a full agenda tonight so we'll go ahead and get started with our council time and i'll call on vice mayor wool first thank you councilwoman ellis thank you mayor uh real quick um i wanted to uh just welcome

[00:01:50] our fire rescue camp summer camp that members that are here today and thank you for giving your time i know there'll be a presentation but just want to give you a shout out because in our community safety public safety fire crime prevention is one of the most important things in our community i did get to go to was invited to the volunteer fire and rescue recognition of the board and top performers with number of years and um i want to thank thank them for everything that they do to

[00:02:27] keep our community safe thank you i'm ready for you miss ellis to build councilman smith ralph it's good to be back otherwise i pass on any further comments thank you councilman osina i'll pass too councilman vasquez luna uh-oh she's gonna take all your time thank you madam mayor uh good evening everyone welcome back it's great to see uh the chambers full and also i just want to

[00:03:02] i did have a lot of remarks but i'm gonna pass it uh in essence of time but i want to say everybody that has an email call or reach out in different ways i have received it and uh you know i will continue to try to reply to all of them and i appreciate it whether you show up in person to the different community uh events that our city staff holds or or if you just send your comments online it means a lot and uh the only thing it will be please know that if you cannot

[00:03:36] make it through this meeting you can always watch online and for those who get recognized you can also watch back and and go and see the recording so it's always on demand thank you madam mayor thank you councilman hudson thank you madam mayor just two quick things the northern virginia regional commission has appointed the new executive director his name is craig pfeiffer he brings more than two decades of government affairs and social services experience we will have our first meeting under his leadership on september 25th and the second point that i want to bring to everyone's attention is that osborne high school in partnership with delegate maldonado's

[00:04:11] office will hold their cte career and conversations event on october 1st so if you are a local employer this is a great place to source rising talent and meet some of our great students so that is all i have thank you madam mayor okay thank you um for my time i want to welcome back everyone from our recent recess we didn't have official council meetings but i still saw you all in the community and thank you for supporting the residents because the work never stops even though we take the month of august to try to have a recess it still continues on so thank you all for continuously showing up for our city i'm assuming since you are all still here you were

[00:04:50] not the one million dollar lottery winner that bought the ticket there at the wawa i am so excited about that wawa who hasn't been open for a year yet i think it's december or january when they've been open but they will get some money because they were the store that sold the tickets so um to my new bff the winner i'm here so i'm here i'm here i'm right here so um congratulations to i i just really hope that it was a city resident that that one but i don't know that we find out that whole anonymity thing and all that so congratulations to the wawa and and the

[00:05:24] winner um i was able to travel to farmville on saturday with councilman smith as he was the keynote speaker at a service which was very moving and very touching to celebrate the 250 year partnership with hampton sydney college it is one of i don't know how many but boys only colleges in virginia about a thousand students so and the relationship with that college and mercy seat baptist church councilman smith's father worked for hampton sydney for 50 years and was a huge part of the history of that school. So it was such an honor for me to be able to travel with him and

[00:06:03] to hear him speak. He has such an amazing story and we are so honored that you are part of this council because you have gone through a lot in your life and we we just don't know what we have in you but we appreciate you. We want you to stay put so in your civil rights journey and every time I hear you talk it's something new like I didn't know before. So that was just such an honor. His speech is online I think Jeremy is it out there for everybody to hear the untold story is out there but it's on Hampton Sydney's face or website okay so the speech it'll be on yours soon okay thank

[00:06:41] you so just wanted to to make note of that um so if you can get an opportunity to go look at the website and check out um Mr. Smith's speech it was really awesome um we have several ribbon cuttings coming up I want to remind everyone that you all are invited to ribbon cuttings it doesn't matter where you live who you work for anything like that our ribbon cuttings are open to everyone and we welcome everyone all businesses if you have the time we try to we try to be we have to do it when the business is available so a lot of them do happen during the day we have to go about what they what their needs are and so if you are available and you see a ribbon cutting please

[00:07:19] come out because everyone is welcome to those so this week i have cytech advisory board and mvta meeting there's lots of reports and there's lots of things on our website everything that we do we pretty much try to keep everything out front and center on our website you can find it if you just go look for it and you can always email us i want to thank those of you who have reached out to me and given me lots of love and support over the last few weeks i want you to know that i will continue to show up for this city as I always have. It is not always easy, but I will continue

[00:07:54] to do that because that is what I was elected to do. I will keep smiling and I will keep praying for every single solitary resident of this city, especially my enemies, and I will continue to do this because not only is it the right thing to do, but it's because what Manassas deserves. With that, I will turn it over to our city manager, Mr. Burke. Thank you, Madam Mayor. As the mayor indicated, we do have two new businesses opening this week with ribbon cuttings.

[00:08:21] Sweet's Bakery at 9119 Church Street and Chico's Quick Teas at 9405 Peabody Street. If anyone is interested in establishing a business here in the city, please contact our Economic Development Department. The remnants for September 11th will be conducted at the 9-11 Liberty Memorial Fountain at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday, September 11th at the Prince William County Complex.

[00:08:47] The city is seeking individuals with real estate development, urban planning, or housing equity experience to submit applications to serve on our Housing Advisory Board. Please visit our website for more information and to apply. Utility contractors have begun work to upgrade the waterline on Dean Drive this week.

[00:09:07] Dean Drive will be closed through traffic, and detours will be established to get to some of the businesses on that road. The American Red Cross and the City of Manassas Fire Rescue Department are seeking volunteers to assist with the installation of smoke alarms and fire education with residents on the north side of Georgetown South this Saturday, September 13th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

[00:09:33] Please visit the Red Cross's website for more information, and please contact our fire department if you are in need of a smoke alarm. The city's Public Affairs Department received the SAVI award at the 3CMA conference for their Fire and Rescue Department's Sound the Alarm campaign.

[00:09:52] Congratulations on their first place recognition. They were selected from over 1,100 candidates. And it recognized the city's commitment to informing residents about the need for operational smoke alarms in their homes. You can visit our museum to view the Give Me Liberty, Virginia, and the Forging of the Nation exhibit.

[00:10:15] And that will culminate with the 250th Mobile Museum arriving in the city from Monday, October 20th, to Wednesday, October 22nd. Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in Manassas from September 15th through October 15th to honor the contributions of our Hispanic community.

[00:10:35] The Manassas Museum is hosting an art exhibition of the work of Puerto Rican artist Julio Z. Berrios, whose recent series of work is entitled Original Natives. And also the Manassas Museum will also offer its celebration collection featuring products from four local artists.

[00:10:58] HMI will continue their farmer's market on Thursdays and Saturdays. Visit our website for more information about the programs that are offered at the city's community center. Those include toddler drop-in programs, a Lego club, indoor soccer, parents' escape nights, and movie nights.

[00:11:19] And Lilo and Stitch will be the next movie, family movie, on September 11th. And you can also get more information about all of the musical performances that are continuing at the Harris Pavilion. And that's all that I have, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Burke. any questions for city manager okay with that the first item on our agenda for presentations item 1.1 is recognition of fire and rescue summer camp and chief mills here to take care of that good evening sir good evening welcome back so this year we had our largest fire and rescue summer camp since

[00:11:58] i've been here we were very grateful for the turnout we opened it up to anybody who wants to attend and this year the overwhelming success we did have several returning members one of the returning members actually brought their sibling with them this year so things are looking good the words getting out hopefully you had a lot of fun so Mary Kenny who's one of our volunteers

[00:12:32] with the Manassas Rescue Squad as she does every year she she dedicated the whole week of her time to come in and be part of this and mary if i could have you come up and speak about some of the things you did the kids the enjoyment they had and then we'll be presenting them good evening mayor council members and members of the community i want to take a moment to share with you the success of our fire and rescue summer camp this program this camp was designed to give teenagers

[00:13:10] in our community an inside look at the fire service. What we do, how we train, the skills it takes to protect others. It is also a chance for us to connect with young people, spark their interest in public safety, and build trust within the next generation. Over the course of the camp, the teens rolled up their sleeves and experienced what it feels to be a real firefighter.

[00:13:32] They practiced hands-on life-saving skills, hands-only CPR, first aid, stop-the-bleed techniques, loading patients onto backboards. These are practical skills that they can take home and use in real life. We partnered with Air Care, who is located in Manassas Airport, who gave them a live demonstration of a seen flight and a tour of their facility. It was an incredible opportunity to see how ground crews and flight crews can work together in an emergency.

[00:14:07] On the firefighting side, campers tackled the rope evolutions, the hose maze under zero visibility conditions, engine company operations, hose management drills, and even got a bird's eye view of the city from 100 feet in the tower bucket. They also had fun, learned a lot with dressing drills, which they always seemed to love that was first thing in the morning, the barrel maze, and knot tying. To cap it off, they traveled to Dulles Airport. In an experience, we got to see aircraft rescue firefighting in a training prompt. These young people didn't just

[00:14:45] watched but they participated they sweated it out they worked as teams they gained all real sense of what it is to serve but most importantly they walked away with new skills new confidence and a deeper appreciation of what a fire service is council i want to thank you and your ongoing support of programs like this the fire rescue camp not only teaches valuable skills but it also helps build the future leaders that may even be future future firefighters in our community so this year we had 14 camps camp campers participate three were from prince william

[00:15:24] county but 11 came out of the city which was really nice a few campers returned from last year like chief mill said we had one that brought their sibling along i would like to personally say thank you to all of you your hard work i hope that you will gain from this come back next year enjoyed that you had i know that i've seen a couple of you the last few years that i've done it it's just a great time um i'm gonna call you each up and then we have a picture that we took a few members uh we took that group photo in front of the helicopter you guys they already got their

[00:16:04] certificates at the end of camp we presented that we gave them a challenge coin so now we just want to give them another token to say thank you again all right so i have aaron you're gonna go see

[00:16:18] melissa she's gonna amon angelina christopher derrick elena ethan ezra ian leila lizbeth

[00:16:59] sophia camilla leela she's not here and did you get yours you're not on my list but you can come

[00:17:28] up oh ivana she's on here i went right by her sorry thank you we appreciate it and hope to see

[00:17:47] you guys back next year they have refreshments waiting for them out in the conference room

[00:18:10] so enjoy thank you all so much and congratulations thank you yep yep we got yep this hey thank y'all

[00:18:43] for that next on the agenda we have quite a few proclamations um to get through the first one is a proclamation for recovery month and if lanelle moselle is here if you want to come down if she's here? Maybe not. I will go ahead and read it if not. Oh, are you Linnell? All right. Come on down.

[00:19:14] Is Price right? Price is right. No, up here with me. Put your purse right there, two in the seat. Yep, that works. All right. Perfect timing, right? Okay. This is the proclamation for Recovery Month.

[00:19:31] Thank you so much for being here. Appreciate it. Whereas mental health and substance use disorders affect every community nationwide as well as here in the Prince William County whereas and is that SAMHSA is that okay SAMHSA reports that one in four Americans identify as having a mental health or substance use disorder with 22.3 million Americans having reached recovery from a substance use disorder and whereas with commitment and support those impacted by

[00:20:06] mental health or substance use disorders can embark on a journey of resilience improved health and overall wellness and whereas recovery month is observed each september to celebrate all people that make the journey of recovery possible by embracing the families and recovery to spread the message that people can and do recover every day and whereas the goal of recovery month is to improve the lives of those affected by mental health and substance use disorders by raising awareness and educating communities about the effective services that are available and whereas

[00:20:42] residents are encouraged to be aware of and able to recognize the signs of mental health and substance use disorder disorders and assist family friends and co-workers when possible and people in need of recovery services are encouraged to seek help now therefore i'm michelle davis younger mayor of the city of manassas virginia and on behalf of the manassas city council do hereby recognize september 2025 as recovery month in the city of manassas and we call this observance to the attention of our residents community services believes change

[00:21:17] is possible the agency and its community partners are hosting a families and recovery event on september 17th at the aj forlazzo building and invite community allies and people in recovery to share their stories of resilience and recovery through art and storytelling congratulations thank

[00:21:36] you so much um as um the mayor mentioned on wednesday september 17th we're having our second annual substance use recovery month event something that's very close to my heart we're inviting the entire community to attend our theme this year is families and recovery and it's about hope we will have two speakers one speaking on healing is collective as well as one speaking

[00:22:12] on gambling and substance use because they're often tied together and we will also be providing free lunch for everyone we have some auricular acupuncture we're going to have yoga therapy dogs for HIV testing it is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the falazzo building so please come on out and invite others to come to the event thank you so much congratulations thank you next proclamation is for constitution week and we have miss sue fleming daughters of the american revolution

[00:22:43] one else who's with her now oh hello hello welcome welcome thank you so much for being here all right okay ladies we have the proclamation for constitution week which i will now read whereas september 17 2025 marks the 238th anniversary of the drafting of the constitution of the united states of america by the constitutional convention and whereas it is

[00:23:22] fitting and proper to officially recognize this magnificent document and the anniversary of its creation and whereas it is fitting and proper to officially recognize the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate the occasion and whereas public law 915 guarantees the issuing of a proclamation each year by the president of the united states of america designating september 17 through 23 as constitution week and whereas the elizabeth mcintosh hamill chapter national society of the daughters of the american revolution recognizes the constitution and celebrates

[00:24:00] constitution week and whereas we the residents proclaim our freedoms and the freedoms of our posterity as stated in the constitution and whereas it is the duty of all citizens to guard and protect the constitution as the basis of our laws now therefore i michelle davis younger mayor of the city of manassas and on behalf of the manassas city council hereby proclaim the week of seven of september 17 to 23 2025 as constitution week in the city of manassas and urge all residents to reflect upon the importance of the constitution and safeguarding

[00:24:36] our liberties and to participate in activities that honor this foundational document congratulations And we have two of them for you. I can hold that. Thank you, Mayor Younger.

[00:24:55] One second. Constitution Week is an annual celebration of the U.S. Constitution, taking place from September 17th to the 23rd. The week was established in 1956 by the Daughters of the American Revolution and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

[00:25:17] It has three main goals. Education encouraged the study of the events that led to the Constitution's creation. Awareness reminded the public of the Constitution's importance as the foundation of American life.

[00:25:34] And responsibility emphasized the duty of citizens to protect the Constitution. September 17, Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, marks the 237th anniversary of the Constitution's signing in 1787.

[00:25:52] The day also recognizes those who have become citizens through naturalization or coming of age. And I want to thank you for the proclamation on the 17th at 4 p.m., if all of you will take and find a bell and ring it at 4 p.m. to celebrate the Constitution's signing.

[00:26:18] And we gave each of you one. I also wanted to tell you that in partnership with the Manassas City Museum, we will be hosting the Virginia 250 Mobile Museum on October 20th, 21st, 22nd, and it will depict the revolutionary period.

[00:26:41] So please bring your family, friends. It's free. Donations are accepted, but it is free from 9 to 5, and it's only there for three days, so please try to come. so often it seems that we just take the constitution as a document that's really old and it is 238 years old it will be on the september 17th but if we stop and think that every time we

[00:27:17] uphold the principles and guarantees in our constitution we really affirm its relevance to our country and also we the public are very very we lack knowledge about what's in our constitution so mayor and council members i have placed at your desk a test for the constitution

[00:27:44] and i expect all to thank you museum and enjoy the exhibit all right thank you ladies so much there's a second thank you okay ladies thank you very much next on the agenda is item 1.4

[00:28:09] the proclamation for suicide prevention week we have Madeline and I'm not sure is Madeline here no Madeline's not here it's not Madeline proclamation for um national suicide prevention

[00:28:49] week the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention yesterday um we had darkness walk okay yesterday um then and so this is this is timely for that the proclamation reads whereas suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the united states the third leading cause of death among children and teens 10 to 19 and the second leading cause death among individuals between the ages of 20 to 20 to 34 and in the united states 49 369 people got suicide in 2022

[00:29:27] And that's according to the Centers for Disease Control. And whereas suicide rates have increased approximately 30% over the last two decades, reaching a record high in 2022. And whereas in 2022, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in Virginia, with 1,208 people dying.

[00:29:47] And whereas it is estimated that in 2022, there were 1.6 million suicide attempts. And whereas over 90% of the people who die by suicide have a diagnosable and treatable mental health condition, although often that condition was not recognized or treated.

[00:30:06] And whereas organizations such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are dedicating to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide through research, education, advocacy, and resources for those who have lost someone to suicide or who struggle and urge that we recognize suicide as a preventable national and state public health problem and declare suicide prevention to be a priority. Address the disparity in excess to mental health care for underserved and underrepresented groups and advocate for ending those disparities.

[00:30:43] Develop and implement strategies to improve and increase access to quality mental health and substance abuse as suicide most often occurs when stressors exceed the coping abilities of someone struggling with a mental health condition. Continue advocacy to ensure we can re-imagine a comprehensive suicide, mental health, and substance use crisis response system that builds on the historic new 988 number for the suicide and crisis lifeline. Now therefore, I'm Michelle Davis Younger, mayor of the city of Manassas, Virginia, and on behalf of the Manassas City Council do hereby I recognize the week of September 7th through 13th, 2025,

[00:31:22] as national in this on students to learn the warning signs of suicide, support those survivors and their families and joining community efforts that promote hope, healing, and the prevention of suicide.

[00:31:41] Thank you very much for that. Next is the National Preparedness Month, and that's Chief Mills here for that. And others, great.

[00:32:05] Hello, how are you? Okay, the proclamation reads for National Preparedness Month. Whereas National Preparedness Month is a nationwide effort first sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security in 2004, and whereas National Preparedness Month creates an important opportunity for Manassas citizens to prepare their homes, businesses, and communities for any type of emergency from natural disasters to attacks of terrorism, and whereas emergency preparedness is everyone's responsibility, and whereas Manassas residents have suffered through many natural

[00:32:42] disasters over the years, including blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, an earthquake, and most recently, a pandemic, and whereas the Manassas City Council joins the City of Manassas Fire and Rescue Department's Emergency Management Division in recognizing the value of emergency preparedness for citizens of Manassas and city government, and whereas the number of declared major disasters has nearly doubled since the 1980s and whereas experience has shown that communities are not truly prepared for a disaster until every individual family and household takes responsibility

[00:33:19] for preparedness and whereas since we cannot always know when and where a disaster will occur as citizens of the city of Manassas we can prepare ourselves by creating a family emergency plan by choosing an out-of-town emergency contact by assembling an emergency supply kit and by getting involved in community preparedness and becoming informed about the types of emergencies and related emergency actions that can occur in our community now therefore i'm michelle davis younger mayor of the city manassas virginia and on behalf of the manassas city council hereby proclaim the

[00:33:56] month of september 2025 is national preparedness month in the city of manassas and encourage all citizens and civic organizations to recognize the importance of preparedness by evaluating and updating their plans for the aftermath of a large-scale emergency. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

[00:34:14] So one of the best things we can do as a community is be prepared for the unknown. As hard as that is, that's our way of showing that we're a resilient community. It takes all of us. It takes an effort across the board it takes our volunteers each one plays an important role in showing how strong we are as a community and how resilient we can be the young children that you saw up here earlier

[00:34:49] that's how we build resilient communities as we get involved with those young children early and teach them about all these skills so the best thing you can do is make sure that you have a plan It's going to help all of us recover and get back to normalcy with what we do.

[00:35:13] And I want to thank you, all of our CERT volunteers that give so much to our community. You're always at all of our large events. And the importance that you play each and every day does not go unrecognized.

[00:35:31] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you both. Thank you. Okay. And we have a proclamation for Car Free Day. Chloe, is Chloe in here? Yeah, there's Chloe.

[00:35:57] Yeah, Car Free Day proclamation. Oh yeah, absolutely. That's what I was asking. Come on down.

[00:36:23] Right. I will read the proclamation. Whereas Car Free Day is celebrated in 2,000 cities and in 46 countries with a common goal of reducing traffic congestion improving parking demands and overall mobility and whereas car free day invites those who live and work in the city of manassas to telework and try alternative forms of transportation such as transit bicycling scootering walking and car light methods such as carpools and vanpools and whereas the city of manassas is a walkable

[00:37:03] community served by the Virginia Railway Express Amtrak and Omniride and is designated as a bronze level bicycle friendly community and whereas car free day benefits the city of Manassas by improving traffic related air pollution by reducing noise and by encouraging energy conservation and whereas car free day provides health benefits not only by improving environmental conditions but also by promoting active transportation such as walking and biking.

[00:37:34] And whereas Car Free Day supports the City of Manassas mobility vision, which seeks to provide and promote a multimodal transportation system throughout the city, and whereas Car Free Day supports the City of Manassas strategic plan by increasing pedestrian, bike, and traffic safety awareness, and whereas the City of Manassas and partners will celebrate Car Free Day on Saturday, September 13th at the Farmers Market with information from the city and partners on the topic of transportation now therefore i'm michelle davis younger mayor of the city of manassas virginia and on behalf of the manassas city council hereby proclaim monday

[00:38:08] september 22nd 2025 as car free day in the city of manassas and encourage all residents to be car free or car light on september 22nd and to also try to use alternative modes of transportation throughout the year. Thank you very much.

[00:38:25] Thank you. If you're interested in any of the upcoming car free day activities, please grab one of those postcards. They are in the lobby area. Now on the Saturday, September 13, we'll be at the farmer's market with OmniRide to talk about different transportation options.

[00:38:46] On September 20th, we'll have a free bus ride where you can learn how to take the bus and use it throughout the city. September 22nd is car-free day, and then October 8th is walk-to-school day. So, thank you. I'll be brief.

[00:39:07] Our local service is fare-free. So, please, any day is Tri-Transit Day right now. I don't want to have your meeting cut short, but please get out and ride and have some fun and see what is a wonderful, walkable downtown Manassas. Thank you.

[00:39:27] I'm a representative for BRE. I mean, we do have an event, but, you know, please use the bus to get to the VRE as well. And the less that we use transportation and the more we use the public transportation, which some is free, you know, it's better for our city and for our state and our country as a whole.

[00:39:50] Thank you. The spotlight is on, Cleve. Thank you so much. You want to get a photo with the...

[00:40:03] We have Councilman Vasquez Luna will read the version in Spanish.

[00:41:48] It's a normal microphone. Whereas Hispanic Heritage Month, October, celebrates history and contributions of Americans in Spain.

[00:42:11] Hello. I'll start over. Whereas Hispanic Heritage Month established by Congress and observed from September 15th to October 15th celebrates the history, culture, and contributions of American students, South America, their achievements across diverse fields and recognizing the impact of Latino residents within the city of Manassas.

[00:42:39] And whereas Haile Cortez Corrado, okay, Haile Cortez Corrado, a student at Osborne High School, 5% of 26, served on the leadership, engages in school projects, and is highly respected by both her peers and staff.

[00:43:00] And whereas Julio Z. Berrios, a Virginia-based artist, has spent decades sharing his talent and skill with audiences around the world, including through public displays of his art in North Virginia and Manassas. And whereas Maria Elena Guzman leads LA Expo, the Latin American Artisans and Entrepreneurs Expo, spent nearly a decade serving as a changemaker, supporting entrepreneurs and showcasing the Latino community.

[00:43:28] And whereas Juan Carlos Cadima contributes to the community through his leadership in presenting the annual Manassas Latino Festival, which highlights Latino art, culture, and music for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike. And whereas Felix and Jesus Vargas, owners of La Herosita, I was going to mess it up, proudly serve the community by showcasing the authentic flavors and traditions of Mexican cuisine while providing a welcoming gathering place where residents and visitors can experience cultural pride, connection, and community. And whereas Captain Amalcar Gio Barahona is recognized for

[00:44:06] his exemplary service, dedication, leadership, and unwavering commitment to public safety and exemplifying the values of service and integrity and inspiring the community to work hard, protect, and serve with honor. And now, therefore, I'm Michelle Davis-Younger, Mayor of the City of Manassas, Virginia, and on behalf of the Manassas City Council recognize Sonia Vazquez Luna, the first Hispanic person elected to the council to hereby proclaim September 15th through October 15th as Hispanic Heritage Month, the City of Manassas takes great pride and pleasure in drawing special public attention to the contributions of Hispanic residents that improve the quality of life in our community

[00:44:45] and in communities across the nation. Thank you very much.

[00:45:25] sus campos y reconociendo el impacto de los residentes latinos dentro de la ciudad de Manassas. Y considerando que Hayley Cortés Corado, estudiante de la escuela secundaria de Osborne, se encuentra en el 5% de la clase académica superior de los graduados del 2026, sirve en la junta ejecutiva del liderazgo, participa activamente en proyectos escolares y es altamente and respected both by his colleagues and by the staff.

[00:45:55] And considering that Julio C. B. Ríos, artiste born in Virginia, he has decades sharing his talent and expertise with audiences from all the world, even through public exhibitions of his art in the North of Virginia and in Manazas.

[00:46:12] And considering that Marielena Guzmán direct the Art Expo, the Artesanal and Empresarial Latinoamerican and has spent almost a decade acting as a positive change, supporting the entrepreneurs and highlighting the Latin community, considering that Juan Carlos Cadima contributes to the community with its leadership in the annual presentation of the Latino Festival of Manazas, which reflects the art, the culture and the music, para el disfrute de residentes y visitantes por igual.

[00:46:46] Y que considerando que Félix y Jesús Pargas, dueños del restaurante La Jarochita, sirven como orgullo a la comunidad mostrando los auténticos sabores y tradiciones de la cocina mexicana al tiempo que brindan un lugar de reunión acogedor donde los residentes y visitantes pueden expresar el orgullo cultural, la conexión y la comunidad.

[00:47:12] Y considerando que el Capitán Amirkel Gio Barahona es reconocido por su servicio de educación y liderazgo ejemplar, además de su compromiso inquebrantable con la seguridad pública, ejemplificando los valores de servicio e integridad, e inspirando a la comunidad a trabajar duro, proteger y servir con honor.

[00:47:35] Y por lo tanto, yo, Michelle Davis-Jonger, alcaldesa de la Ciudad de Manassas en Virginia, en nombre del Consejo de la Ciudad de Manassas, reconozco a Sonia Vázquez Luna, la primera persona hispana elegida al Consejo Municipal, y por la presente proclamo el periodo de 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre, el mes de la herencia hispana.

[00:48:00] La ciudad de Manassas se enorgullece y se complace en destacar de forma pública las contribuciones de los residentes hispanos que mejoran la calidad de vida en nuestra comunidad y en comunidades por todo el país. I'm not prepared for a speech, but Madam Mayor, Consulmembers, it's an honor and truly humbling experience to be in front of you and being named in this proclamation.

[00:48:39] It's an honor to be standing with all of you up here today. This proclamation is a reflection of hard work, dedication, and support from so many people, including our police departments, our government, businesses, non-profits.

[00:48:57] It takes a village to do wonderful things. And I know I speak for all of us when I say that. Collectively, we will continue to do wonderful things for the city of Manassas, providing excellent services, and continue to be a wonderful city and progressive environment for all.

[00:49:13] I will speak Spanish and English too. Thank you, community, for recognizing the month of the Hispanic heritage. It is very important for us, the Hispanic, this recognition, because this shows that we do support culture, we support development, and we are very involved in the community.

[00:49:52] Thank you. Thank you for recognizing our culture here in Manassas.

[00:49:58] Next on the agenda, item 1.8 is the battery energy storage system update.

[00:51:00] And we have Chief Mills and Tarek, both of you, coming to talk to us about that. Thank you for being here. Good evening, Madam Mayor. Mr. Burke. Pull the microphone up a little bit, Tarek, because we've got new equipment. We want to make sure it works.

[00:51:17] good evening madam mayor mr burke members of the council uh thanks for allowing me the opportunity to present and be here before you tonight it's a pleasure and i'm glad to be here as you're aware over the past few weeks several residents expressed some concerns regarding the planned battery energy storage system in proximity to the residence the location is pretty much encompassed church street and quarry road we'll share the exact map in the next few slides the residents communicated those concerns and questions to the city of manassas council members

[00:51:53] and senior city staff immediately we took note of that and the city manager mr burke asked the electric department to work with chief mills the fire and rescue chief in addressing those concerns we reach out to our vima partners the system vendor rwe the project engineers to get more more information and clarification about the planned battery energy storage system and we're planning on presenting those some of those findings tonight we put together a presentation that we're hoping will address some of those concerns that were raised and provide an overview

[00:52:30] of the proposed battery energy storage system, explain how the city plans on using it and implementing it and integrating it into our system, and the benefits, some of the benefits that it provides to the city of Manassas residents and electric customers. So with that, I'll start my presentation.

[00:52:49] A lot of information in today's presentation, so I'll make sure that I'll be efficient in going over some of the slides. Total number of electric customers, about 17,000. Our peak load for 2024 was about 100 megawatt. That doesn't include the micron substation.

[00:53:06] The city of Manassas, and the reason why we're bringing this, is one of the benefits for this system is we use it to, or we plan on using it to lower our electric rate for our customers. The city of Manassas electric bill is mainly comprised of three main components.

[00:53:21] Energy charges, which directly measure your consumption and usage. There is nothing we can do about that. demand charges and PGM-related transmission charges. The demand charge alone represents about anywhere from 50% to 52%, sometimes even 54% of the total energy bill, while the energy charges represent about 40% to 42%.

[00:53:45] The demand charge is a significant factor in determining the energy cost for our City of Manassas electric customers. Over the years, we've seen those demand charges go up significantly. Right now, they stand at about $19 kW, or that translates to about $19,000 per megawatt.

[00:54:03] So, like I said earlier, we do everything in our ability and explore ways trying to lower the energy cost for our customers. We already have in place and implemented several tools that actually address that and help us lower our electric rate, which our electric customers in Manassas enjoy that.

[00:54:28] Some of the tools we use is voltage reduction, load management switches, And we dispatch peak shaving generators during peak times to lower our demand. The proposed planned battery energy storage system, BESS at Church Street Generation Facility, is our latest and most innovative way of achieving the same goal, which is the overall reduction of our electric rate while keeping the reliability of the electric system.

[00:54:54] Some facts about the Church Street Generation Facility. The site is zoned LI-1, light industrial. It's already home and houses, six diesel generators. Two are rated 1.6 MW, 1.6 MW, and four are rated 1 MW each.

[00:55:14] Church Street Generation Facility Site is already an existing electric utility site with utility operations and existing infrastructure, water, sewer, electric, and fire hydrant. Our peak load demand shaving strategies, mainly we try to target the Dominion Peak load demand and dispatch everything we have as far as tools to bring the load reduction.

[00:55:40] On average, and the reason why we added this slide is to share with you how we actually plan and intend to use the battery energy storage system. So we went back five years and we gathered the peak load demand control events for the past five years from 2020 to 2025.

[00:55:58] And as you can see on the chart before you, We listed the number of peak load control events for every month, January all the way to December, and the number of run hours for each load control event. As you can see from the data before you, we averaged less than four peak load control events in any given month, with the average run time anywhere from two to four hours per event.

[00:56:25] Why is that important? Because exactly of how we plan and intend on using the battery energy storage system. And the way we can apply it. This is just the peak load demand data for 2024. And like I said, we average less than four load control events on any given month. The next few slides, I'm going to talk about how we plan on using the battery energy storage system.

[00:56:52] The battery energy storage system will be operated by the City of Manassas staff and will strictly be used for peak load demand shaving reduction purposes. The contract we have with VIMA is a 15-year contract. I want to emphasize that the battery energy storage system will not be used for any other purpose other than just reducing our peak load demand, which will result in reducing the peak load demand charges.

[00:57:19] We're not going to use it to buy or sell energy into the market. We're not going to use it for backup. it's strictly our intent is to use it for peak load demand shaving. The battery energy storage system is licensed for only 150 dispatches. This is the agreement we have with the system provider and the way they define a dispatch is that every time we charge and discharge the system that counts as one dispatch. And the way the battery energy system itself is designed, it is designed to discharge over a total period of two hour maximum, which means if

[00:57:55] If we are licensed for 150 dispatches, two hours each, that means the system will not be operational or discharging into the system more than 300 hours annually. Even if we wanted to use it more than that, we can't because that's the agreement. That's the contract we have with the system provider.

[00:58:14] That being said, the battery energy system, the way we intend on using it, will be used a whole lot less frequent than other systems because they are used for different applications. Like I said, we're only going to use it for those two hours that we will be targeting the peak load event.

[00:58:32] And since, like I shared in earlier slides, we are, on average, experience about four load control events a month. So four times two probably will be running in that system around eight to ten hours every month.

[00:58:47] That's it. System information. The system size is about seven megawatt. Like I said, since it holds a storage capacity equivalent of 7 megawatt over two-hour period, so the total capacity is actually 14 megawatt hours to be dispersed and used over two-hour period.

[00:59:05] The system vendor is Tesla. The battery dimension, the enclosures are 5 feet by 29 and 9 feet high. I know some of the concerns raised were mainly about the fire.

[00:59:25] So the system we're using, the battery chemistry and the battery management system, play a very important role. And the system we selected is actually the technology is called lithium ion phosphate, which has an excellent safety track record.

[00:59:42] And it's very, it enjoys a very high resistivity to fire and overheating condition. It also, it's immune to what's called thermal runaway. some facts about the system and some of the monitoring and control design features that come with it it will be monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week it can be remotely shut down and dispatched remotely I know one of the questions and some of the concerns that came were related to noise and we'll talk about that later in the next few slides but I want to emphasize that this

[01:00:21] is considered a static energy source system meaning there are no moving parts there are no machines no rotating elements the only moving parts in that system is just the cooling fans so this is pretty much so the system itself we will be getting three of these three systems they will be run in parallel so we will have three sets of enclosures pretty much the same size like what you see on these slides the battery energy stores the main concerns that were raised

[01:00:57] by the citizens and brought to the city attention mostly were related to do we have questions like do we have adequate and proper setbacks from the adjacent parcel properties to the BESS location? How about the noise level? Is this going to result in elevated noise levels and the public safety and fire hazards? I want to talk about one of the questions that came was why we pick the Church Street site? Because I know lots of people were asking, lots of residents,

[01:01:36] why do you pick this site? Why didn't you pick another site? The reason why we picked this site, This site is already, like I said, zoned light industrial site. We already have existing utilities on site, electric, water, sewer, and an existing fire hydrant that you can see sits right there, right in the middle.

[01:01:55] Perfect location between the generator building and the battery energy storage system site. We already have existing utility operation and utility personnel on site. The site is actually home to our substation group and the generation group. Also, there is an existing solid fence, as you can see, on the north side of the property.

[01:02:18] That fence was put actually, I would say, about 20, 25 years ago to mitigate the noise coming from the generators. So that solid fence being there, it will also help us reduce any potential noise that will come from the battery system itself.

[01:02:34] And here also on this slide, I know you may or may not be able to see it, but we measured the setback and the distance, the linear distance from where the equipment is to every home.

[01:02:50] And the distances from the nearest project equipment to the nearest house is about 217 feet. The number of properties impacted is a total of seven.

[01:03:11] They are the seven properties immediately in close proximity to the battery energy storage site. Five of those properties are zoned residential, are 2S, and two are zoned light industrial. On this slide, we're just going to address the noise issue.

[01:03:40] Like I said earlier, one thing that is worth mentioning is that this is a considered static energy source with no rotating machines or moving parts other than the cooling fans, which are the primary source of noise. Noise and sound pressure test data from the system provider, Tesla, indicate that these actually were taken at a different, similar installation, but different.

[01:04:03] This is in Queens, New York, where they have a similar system, and they did noise and level, noise and sound level test data, and it shows that the highest disciple or noise level was recorded at about a range of 70, 70 disciples.

[01:04:21] The city's code states that the requirement is, for light industrial, we have to meet a requirement of 70 decibels or below for daytime and 60 to 65 decibels for nighttime. On this slide, we're just showing this for comparison purposes only.

[01:04:47] This shows the fuel consumption, fuel rate, and burn rate, noise level, and emission for a typical city of Manassas diesel generator, including those that are already in service at the Church Street site. one diesel generator emits about 100 plus decibel if it's an open set without any enclosure.

[01:05:05] So this system is considered quiet energy source compared to what we already have on site. With that, this is actually where I stop and turn it over to Chief Mills because the next few slides, they're mostly related to the battery energy fire life safety issues, the emergency response, and the evacuation plan unless there are questions at this point thank you any questions for tariq

[01:05:37] wait until yeah wait until chief mills okay okay so just picking up where the uh tesla mega 2xl lithium iron phosphate batteries a lot of the information that has been uh developing questions have to do with fires that are making the noise they're they're rather large those fires are from units utilizing lithium ion and there's a big difference between the two the lithium

[01:06:17] iron phosphate is a component of materials that has a much stronger bond at its core than the traditional lithium ion the traditional lithium ion uses a cobalt and an oxygen makeup which allows during overheating to go into thermal runway because the covalent bond of those products is a lot less stable than what the iron phosphate bond is so with the iron

[01:06:55] phosphate batteries it reduces the probability of going into thermal runway also the way that they are sealed within a solid pack the traditional lithium-ion batteries during that thermal runway they produce their own oxygen which helps support the combustion and that's what makes them so hard to extinguish because with the fire tetrahedron you have to have four elements you have to have heat fuel and an oxygen source and the all of the working together in a chemical chain

[01:07:35] the action if you can reduce any or eliminate any one of those four you're able to extinguish a fire so with the lithium iron phosphate not being able to generate its own oxygen even if it were to overheat it can go to much higher temperatures within the casing that it's in because it's not letting any of that exterior oxygen in to support that combustion so not to say that something can

[01:08:08] never happen because it is an electrical component and we can't say zero but I can feel confident saying that I do feel that it's a significantly reduced chance of going into thermal runway and with the boxes themselves that they're stored in they're going to have they're going to have internal thermal detectors infrared flame detectors everything with that system can be

[01:08:42] shut down remotely. By having those early warning devices that are going to be monitored 24-7, that allows for everything to be shut down to stop what's taking place, and it's going to have an extinguishing system inside. All of those are required by code. The city's fire marshal's office, once those are installed, will be part of that testing to make sure that all those systems are functioning the way that they should be so looking at a lot of the testing that takes place

[01:09:19] the underwriters laboratory has uh two standards that they go by and it's uh 9540 and 9540a they also work in close conjunction with the national fire protection association which has nfpa 855 that governs the installation of each one of those units it also talks about fire mitigation to where there can be no combustibles there can't be any brush anything within 10 feet anywhere

[01:09:57] around these whether it's above to the sides front or rear so that you don't have the possibility of flame impingement from the outside so with each one of those items in place and the internal mechanism that allow for the early detection of anything that goes wrong. They are a much safer alternative than what you've seen with some of the large fires like in Moss Landing, California,

[01:10:31] the different ones that have taken place. So with that, I do think that the biggest concern for me is in the event of a fire is making sure that we have good response plans making sure that we're educated making sure that we understand what we're dealing with and spending a lot of time researching it myself and speaking with the representatives that we spoke with the other day that will be

[01:11:06] installing it they are required to provide every firefighter in the city with extensive training on the operation of the shutdown, what the best tactics and strategy are in the event that something happens to be able to mitigate that, but understanding what the byproducts are and one of the byproducts and some of the misnomers that are out there as you will hear people say this is like a typical structure fire.

[01:11:42] Well, it's not like a typical structure fire. It's an energized fire. But when it's burning, it can emit a hydrogen fluoride gas. That hydrogen fluoride gas will be vented through a vent in the top.

[01:12:02] If we were to introduce water to that, then it would change that hydrogen fluoride gas to a hydrofluoric acid. So one of my requests will be that we build associated around each one of these where it sits on the concrete pad with a vault similar to what they put underground storage gas tanks in to where it can be filled with water and gravel to where even if we had to cool the adjacent box that the batteries are in to keep anything from spreading,

[01:12:41] that we would be able to capture and contain any runoff that is now an acid water. But on the plus side of that, we're able to utilize a sodium bicarbonate product to be able to neutralize that runoff to where we're able to dispose of that water at that point.

[01:13:02] So as I mentioned, the system is designed under NFPA 855, also in accordance with the International Fire Code.

[01:13:19] Chapter 12, the UL testing, which is very extensive testing. The ventilation system actively keeps any gas buildup from accumulating to where we eliminate any possibility for explosion.

[01:13:37] The Knox box system is a system that's already in place across the country that fire departments use. You can get boxes in different sizes. There would be one installed for this site that will have keys and any important documents available to any first responders that need to respond and get into any of those areas.

[01:14:05] And there will be a site-specific emergency response plan. As Tarek had mentioned, we have the distances of each home as well as the senior living facility on Quarry Road already mapped out.

[01:14:25] We know exactly how far they are, and the hydrofluoric gas being close to or equal to the specific gravity of air will be low and able to be dispersed, utilizing a fog stream, a hose stream that we are able to disperse if necessary.

[01:14:54] But with the limited ability of this to be able to burn, that should be very minimal at all. Any questions?

[01:15:18] Thank you. Did you? I'll start. Thank you all very much. Let's go back to the beginning. Touch a little bit on why the city does peak load management.

[01:15:36] Terry, how much is our Dominion bill every year? So I got the June bill for 2025. It's exactly, Council Member Wolf, it was $3,236,000.

[01:15:55] On an annual basis, our Dominion bill, that's probably close to the high. So our Dominion bill was $25, $30 million a year. I'll say at least, yeah. 30 million. Peak shaving efforts that we have now, reduce that. If we didn't have peak shaving, what is your guess? What is your sense of what that number would be?

[01:16:17] Okay. So for the June bill, like I said, out of the $3.2 million, $1.68 million were just the demand charges. Based on our peak for that month was about 85 megawatts. If we do peak shaving and we reduce that by 20 to 24, 25, because this is how much we nominated to Dominion or to the PGM market.

[01:16:43] You can deduct 24 megawatts and you multiply that by the peak demand charges, which is, like I said, $19,000 a megawatt. So we're roughly... $400,000? Yeah. For example, in June...

[01:16:59] Oh, I'm sorry. Just speak into it. Thank you. So in June, we received $500,000. $500,000 for peak saving. For peak saving. So, okay, so plus or minus $4 or $5 million a year.

[01:17:18] Okay. Just, you know, because I just want to establish the importance of why we do what we do in terms of demand management, load management. To do that, currently, we now have the generators. We have generators at Church Street. We have generators over on— VEMA.

[01:17:35] Yeah, VEMA. The VEMA agreement, but generators over on Godwin. And on VEMA, I know council's been in, looked at these generators there, diesel generators. There's big, ugly, nasty diesel generators that catch fire and emit a huge amount of pollution when we run them and noise.

[01:17:55] They do. So we're going to be doing this one way or another, and there's a good reason. This is sort of a matter of what's the best way to do peak shaving because if we're able to use the batteries, my understanding is that will reduce our reliance and usage of the diesel generators, correct?

[01:18:14] That's correct, but I want to clarify that we don't have any immediate plans to retire the diesel generator, our fleet of diesel generators. We're using this in addition to what we have. Just because this is a new technology, we have to assess the performance, the reliability.

[01:18:32] So right now, we plan to use both for, I would say, the next at least three, four, five years. Okay, and your point is well taken. This is an experiment, not I'm going to say an experiment, but this is putting our toe in the water with new technology. That, frankly, was not available to us in the past because of our agreement with Dominion.

[01:18:53] The VEAM agreement with Dominion did not allow storage technology. Let me pivot a little bit. So we're talking about we're going to use these about 1% of the time. Yeah, 300 hours max.

[01:19:08] Well, less than to use it, 100, 120 hours. 8,760, yep. So about 1% of the time during the year. When they're not being used, are the units fully energized or are they de-energized? No, sir. The system is designed so it should not stay fully charged for more than 24 hours.

[01:19:26] Okay. So the way we intend on using and charging that system is we will charge it only the day before we anticipate a peak load condition. Okay. So if, let's say, tomorrow is going to be 105 degrees, we expect it to be a peak load day for Dominion.

[01:19:43] We charge it tonight to be ready for tomorrow. Once tomorrow comes and it's a peak load condition, we discharge into the system. We discharge the energy into the system, and we don't charge it again. It stays only charged at 60%.

[01:20:00] That's the vendor recommendation. Okay. So we're not going to charge it again or discharge it because, one, we don't want to waste our energy because, you know, we'll be charging a system that we're not using. Two, we don't want to use our dispatch limit because, like I said, it's limited to 150 dispatches.

[01:20:19] a year three that's the vendor recommendation is you have you should not be the system should not be left fully charged at 100 for more than 24 hours okay so when the units are not fully charged the other 90 plus percent of the time are the fans running yes fans are so so the fans are running 100 of the time they still are actively okay okay and i'm but i would it be fair to say that they are cooling at a there's less demand therefore at a lower rate or not i don't know

[01:20:59] good question that's a question we need to have an answer to i don't know if there's yeah or oscillate the the the frequency or the pitch yeah okay um again it's it's new technology it's not first generation technology we're in two or three generations down the road with this which is why we're dealing with uh the iron phosphate as opposed to just the regular uh lithium batteries but you know there's some questions we need to make sure we have understood

[01:21:34] we've got members of the public that are neighbors friends of mine here tonight um i will encourage everyone we have a town hall meeting on next monday i somehow think this will be a topic of discussion and that will enable uh the residents to directly question staff with regard to this mr burke okay making sure we're on the same page uh and with that i will shut up and let other council members ask questions thank you miss ellis thank you i didn't know i raised my hand but

[01:22:09] i did want to speak um let's see i'm not too sure this is probably for um the utilities director so i do understand the benefit of this to the community i think this is more of a land use issue than uh debating why this is important for our energy in the city what other places in the city were considered for locating the battery system?

[01:22:44] And why were they denied? Why were they not qualified to hold this system? Good question. So the contract we have with Dominion, we're not allowed to generate back onto their system.

[01:23:03] They don't like reverse power. That's the condition. Reverse power mean we're generating more than the load on the circuit or the bus that we're generating to. Right now, pretty much all of our substations receive the generation output from Church Street, from Vima, from Gateway, from the gas turbine site.

[01:23:27] This system, being tied to Church Street and to Battery Heights, is one of the few, if only, locations where we can actually generate those 7 megawatts onto the system without exceeding or violating that requirement, meaning generating back to Dominion system.

[01:23:47] Because we will be penalized if we do that. So you're saying we couldn't put it out by the airport because that's not acceptable? We have more generation sometimes than actual load on the bus. Sometimes when we anticipate a load condition, actually we start a switching order.

[01:24:05] We implement a switching order to move some loads from other substation to airport substation to accommodate all the generation output from the VEMA units. So we're running out of places, substations, and electric circuits to generate.

[01:24:21] Because we have to use city-owned land as well. Yep. Okay. How big of an area is that? They're like three tractor trailers. How big is that area? I think it's about, say, 90 by 90, roughly. Okay.

[01:24:38] I know, actually, on the site, because I toured it with... And I know probably most of the council members have toured it. There was a discussion when we were there about moving it further away from the historic homes. There were utilities underground, and it was mentioned that they could be moved at the expense of the company or the organization that wants to lease the land.

[01:25:07] So there is an opportunity to move them, but it was said that it was too dangerous to have them so close to the other diesel generators because now we'll have two systems next to each other. And my argument at the time was, I think it's more dangerous to have them near people.

[01:25:29] It's like shoving them over there would have a greater distance. The 100 feet is to the actual homes, right? Property line. It's the property line, not the homes, not the buildings.

[01:25:45] The distance is more than that. The linear distance, I think it's some 200, 210, 250. Because when we saw the fence that is the property, that was not 100 feet. That is not 100 feet. We were measuring from the fence because the system provider, they will have their own fence.

[01:26:05] They will build their own fence around their equipment. And then we will have our fence, which already exists. Okay. It didn't seem like it was 100 feet from the property line where the suggested area was that we were going to put it.

[01:26:22] I mean, I can share the map showing the exact linear distance from equipment to each home. If I could, it's to the property line of the adjacent owner. So it includes the area between the city's fence and the right-of-way to the next adjacent property.

[01:26:42] So the setback is to the residential property lines, not to our property line. Okay, I'm still not clear on that. The way we saw it did not look like it was a safe place to put in relation to where the homes are.

[01:27:02] And there was also a garage. It looked like somebody could be living above the garage. It was a lot closer to that facility. Another thing is the discussion about evacuation radius. If there is a burn with the dangerous gases and particulates, do you know what the evacuation radius, and is there an evacuation that would have to happen in the city if there is a burn?

[01:27:27] Is that standard procedure, Chief Mills? So there are several factors that go into that. evacuation may not always be necessary but sheltering place could be with a shelter in place we would be notifying the citizens that they would be sheltering in place and we would need them to make sure that they keep doors and windows closed and then turn off their HVAC systems until we get an all

[01:28:00] clear or at least know what the conditions are what is the radius of that it depends on the magnitude of the fire okay just there's no set limit to say we have to go a half a mile or or anything it depends on what what size the fire is what is being emitted you may or may not have any visible smoke everything could be contained within the unit we won't know

[01:28:32] until it happens. What is the average number of hours or days if this, if it does burn? I do understand that it has like compartments and they're self-contained because, and you were talking about this is not as bad as what some of the reports are because of the oxygen not getting in to, but how long is a burn for that on average? It could vary depending on the temperature. It could be anywhere from an hour to two hours and if we're able to contain it and and get everything

[01:29:07] cooled down to where it can't spontaneous spontaneously combust other sealed containers next to it which is what our goal would always be then it would be a route for us it would be a relatively short event okay um i know that there is a uh in my well in my opinion there's a push to get this site location this location on the site approved because there are

[01:29:44] some tax incentives expiring at the end of September for energy I believe I think would be really unfortunate to our city to our residents even the businesses with everything that we've heard that this is going to be pushed onto historic residential area just because of an incentive to get done.

[01:30:11] I definitely oppose this. This is not the right location for this. We have to consider the lives of people more than the equipment needs to be moved. I understand it might not happen because we do have an expiration, and this company has an expiration at the end of September, but the risk is far greater.

[01:30:35] Now that we know more about the education, actually, I have to commend our residents for all the information that they have sent the council to educate us. And I do appreciate what you're doing. You're trying to make energy better for our city.

[01:30:51] It's just not the right place. Thank you. Mr. Smith and then Mr. Osina. Thank you. Very valid concerns are being raised about this.

[01:31:07] Thank you for your answers thus far. I will say, and I'm encouraging everyone to participate in the town hall, to the manager, Burke, I'm assuming we will have other avenues and opportunities to have discussions with, particularly the neighbors that are directly affected as we go forward.

[01:31:28] We're not just going to rely on the town hall. Yes, sir. Well, there is no time certainty that we are meeting within September. The applicant, in addition to the site plan process that generated the letters to the adjacent property owners, counsel will have to also approve the lease of the property to VEMA as well as a franchise agreement to VEMA for its operation.

[01:31:57] And both of those would require public hearings prior to approval. So most likely those would be scheduled at the earliest in October, but most likely October or November. And then that would be the opportunity again for the community to express any concerns.

[01:32:18] So we can state very firm and affirmatively that there's no interest or no intent to rush this process? No intent, no, sir. And I do commend Mr. Ali and Chief Mills because both of them have been pressing the applicant to get the information based on the concerns that have been expressed by our residents.

[01:32:43] And Chief Mills identified the concern about containment, which to date has not been incorporated in any installation that we are aware of, and it's not been identified as a concern. So I deeply appreciate the efforts that your staff are making to make sure that this installation, if it does proceed, is done in a safe and environmentally conscious manner.

[01:33:12] Thank you. This is not so much about whataboutism, Chief, but the challenges this process presents, how do they rate to the challenges that exist or the limitations of the existence?

[01:33:28] Are we introducing some significant new challenges in terms of emission and noise and so forth? So I'm no expert on noise and decibel levels or anything like that. For me, anytime we're dealing with energized equipment, it's always a big concern for us because even though these systems can be shut down and discharged, it takes time for that energy to drain down.

[01:33:58] So when you have something that happens, whether it's with the existing system or a new technology, before we can actually start doing certain things related to our job that may require water, we have to ensure that the systems are completely discharged so that we're not causing harm to ourselves.

[01:34:24] At what point in the process of developing this will we have a pretty good idea of the level of noise we can expect? Just as an example with the data centers, some of the noise was anticipated.

[01:34:43] The level was not realized until they were in operation. Yeah, Mr. Smith, like I explained earlier in one of the slides, the test data for noise and sound pressure indicate that the highest noise level is right above the cooling fans, the exhaust. It's about 70, 68 to 70 decibels, about four to five feet above the cooling fans, the exhaust. And of course, the noise level drops significantly as you move

[01:35:15] away from the noise source itself. So where the residents are, 100, 150 feet, we don't expect noise to be an issue at all, especially with the existence of an existing solid fence between the system and some of those properties. Thank you. I appreciate the effort and the level of scrutiny you've done so far. I ask that you continue the process, sometimes put yourself in the shoes to the extent that you can, as if you were a resident in that area. Thank you, Mayor.

[01:35:52] Mr. Alcina and Sonia. Red light on. Yes. Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Mr. Ali, could we go to your PowerPoint presentation and go to the slide that is entitled Battery Energy Storage System Best Layout Slash Setbacks?

[01:36:16] It shows a diagram, not that one, that's the one. And I want to follow up on Councilwoman Ellis' question about the setbacks. Reading on the side there, the second bullet down says the setback is greater than 200 feet to nearest home or business.

[01:36:42] Now, are we saying from where the existing solid fence is, that 200 feet? Are we saying where the dotted line that shows the representation of where the best system would be going, or from what?

[01:36:59] And then from the origin point to what did you measure? You know, what was the end point?

[01:37:33] All right. Thank you. This is why I sit next to this smart person here, because when I do enlarge it, it's hard to see on there, but yes, where the lines are. Okay. So that's what you do. so that the setback is to the actual residence.

[01:37:52] To the structure. The structure. Yes. Thank you. Okay. To just clarify, just wanted that to be there. All right. These are going to be questions I invite either the most qualified or both of you to answer as you see fit here.

[01:38:13] Where's the nearest best system operating to Manassas? Where's the closest one? From what I was able to find, looking regionally, would be in Chesterfield, Chesterfield County.

[01:38:33] Okay, Chesterfield, do you know, if you happen to know, do you know how long it's been operating? It's been fairly recent. I was also able to come up with an operations plan because Hanover County has them.

[01:38:49] And I actually was able to get their operations plan today. And I haven't had the opportunity to review it because I didn't get it until about five minutes before walking in here. But I plan to review that either this evening or first thing in the morning to understand how they laid everything out.

[01:39:10] Okay. And I would assume that since that's within driving distance, we could certainly do noise checks, for instance, just to ascertain borrowing Chief Keene's equipment there and go check noise on things there.

[01:39:27] instead of the loud cars or whatever and things of that sort all right um just to to to make sure i understand the the the batteries used in this best system are ones that if they overheat do not create oxygen and as opposed to the batteries that we might find for instance in electric vehicles

[01:40:01] electric school buses is that correct the chemical components used to manufacture these batteries use uh two two ingredients that are more compatible with one another and are more resistant to heat which makes them less likely to go into thermal runway and they can actually withstand temperatures

[01:40:33] and remain stable at higher temperature levels and if they were for whatever reason if they were damaged in some way go into thermal runway, they won't create their own oxygen as they're heating up, so you won't have that oxygen to be able to support combustion.

[01:40:53] And I'm not ashamed to admit thermal runway is, or what is it? It's when the batteries heat up and actually have the ability to have all the components to support sustained combustion, and when the batteries are in their sealed pack, because they have their own oxygen source they just continue to they will heat up enough to spontaneously combust within that pack and if you if you could picture this these packs have a whole bunch of little batteries in them kind of like double a batteries you may have 12,000 little batteries in

[01:41:32] a pack and they will just start igniting one into another as it heats the other one up and it's just a continual process that's why a lot of the fires you see with the traditional lithium ion require so much water and won't go out because they have an energy source that's allowing them to continually burn and the water doesn't impact when you have a metal which cobalt being a metal can support its own combustion it will burn hotter and flare up on it continue to flare up with water

[01:42:06] and and just as a follow-up these in the best system this is not one just big battery per tractor trailer these are multiple very small batteries is that correct yeah similar to like it's a lot of batteries uh sealed in a pack with uh the ability to discharge energy out through a common uh plug per se all right so how does the fire suppression system for a best system work

[01:42:44] so the ones that i've been able to get the information on are able to cool the packs down with their internal cooling agents whatever the manufacturer uses my guess is it's probably not water it's probably some type of uh some type of gas type extinguishing agent but it's able to cool

[01:43:18] it down and i take it there i take it there are associated sensors with the system is that correct there are there are sensors that detect heat they will detect uh overcharging they will detect uh any type of flame so uh it will be monitored 24 7 from a remote location my guess would be at the operations center uh at public works and from there they would have the ability to shut the

[01:43:51] system down we would get it hopefully we get a notification or at least a call to 9-1-1 as they're shutting it down and allow us to get there early to start whatever our mitigation processes are so mr. Ali how does the fire how does the let's see what would be the word here how does the fire monitoring system suppression system for the diesel generators work closer to the mic it detects like chief mill said it

[01:44:31] also operates on similar concept it detects for any change in the light wavelength, which is an indication of flame. It does not respond to, let's say, smoke. It responds to flames. If it sees flames, it's activated. And when you say activated, what does that mean? What happens? The foam or the gas disperses to put out the fire or the flames around the equipment that it's protecting. Have there been any fires at our diesel generators? And if so, when's been the most

[01:45:04] recent quite a few we had one about four weeks ago and what happened four weeks ago there was a we believe the first assessment the initial assessment is that there was a leak in the fuel line and the oil and caught on fire did the fire suppression system work as it was designed it did but what helped us the most because after the fire suppression system the fire watching the videos reignited what really helped us, and I'm glad Chief Mills is here because we were watching

[01:45:38] the video. The fire started at 6.51. At 6.55, the fire crew, they were putting out the fire. It took them less than four minutes to get to site and actually go into action. Okay, and then dispatch at the public utilities office monitors this, I mean, gets the alarm as well, right? Yes, yes.

[01:45:59] And notifies, or there's a way of notifying the fire department. Exactly. And like I said, because when I said we watched the video, we also have cameras inside the building. Chief Mills, do we have an evacuation plan if there is a significant fire, an ongoing fire at the diesel generators?

[01:46:20] So that would be developed with the manufacturer, the reps that provide all the training to us, well as in consult with their emergency response team that they would be required also to have but yes we we would have an evacuation plan and as part of our emergency management strategy strategies we have current evacuation plans designed for various types of incidents whether it's a fire a major

[01:47:00] or water leak, whatever it is, natural disaster if we have to develop a plan to get people out of damaged areas. We already have those plans, and we have identified evacuation shelters already within that plan, and it's all part of the city's emergency response plan.

[01:47:22] All right, so I think you were answering both. One, you would, with the manufacturer's assistance, develop an evacuation plan for the best system, but you were also saying that for the diesel generators, should there be a significant fire there, that you already have an evacuation plan.

[01:47:42] Yes, if it was something related to that, the proximity to the railroad tracks, part of the plan is we also notify the railroad to stop train traffic from coming through. One of the evacuation sites, if it was there, would be at the fire station.

[01:48:04] We have the large hall there, and we have an elevator if we have to evacuate people that have mobility challenges so we can still get them where we need them to go. And since we're talking about evacuation plans, and it gets my mind thinking here a little bit, we do have railroad tracks that run through Old Town specifically, but through various parts of Manassas.

[01:48:33] In some cases, the tracks run very close to at least four of our schools along the way. To your knowledge, are any kind of chemical rail cars travel on those tracks or go through Manassas?

[01:48:51] So there is, but there are also standards within the rail industry and set by the Department of Transportation limiting what chemicals can go through based on the proximity to populated areas.

[01:49:10] And we are able to get a density study from the railroad that lets us know what the most hazardous chemicals that travel through our community is. But because they can only go through at certain times of the day, we can also have a good idea of the time frame that the trains that would be coming through with those chemicals normally would be coming through.

[01:49:36] And my last question, Mayor, I appreciate the indulgence there, Mr. Ali. So this is being done as this best system is being done, first of all, as part of our membership participation with MEPAC, right?

[01:50:03] VIMA, yes, sir. Okay. And are we the only member that has or is considering locating such a system? No, there is another system identical to the one we're planning and discussing tonight that is going to Harrisonburg.

[01:50:27] Same capacity, same system size, same vendor, same system provider. So why aren't these best systems going to other local, different member towns or cities?

[01:50:44] Why Manassas and why Harrisonburg? Because among VIMA members, it's seven member cities and towns. Harrisonburg and Manassas, they're the largest when it comes to load. So other cities and towns like Wakefield, Culpeper, I don't think they have the load high enough to justify or make it feasible for them to generate 7 megawatt system onto their load.

[01:51:14] Maybe some of these cities and towns, their load is like 3 or 4 megawatts. So they will not be able to install a 7 megawatt system, like I said earlier, because Dominion will penalize them. Because in that case, they will be generating more electricity onto the transmission system than they're actually taking from Dominion.

[01:51:37] And Dominion prohibits that. Okay, so Harrisonburg and Manassas are able to produce enough load to make the peak shaving work. Is that correct? Yes.

[01:51:53] And no other member of the association comes close? They do, but their nomination is a whole lot less than, let's say, Harrisonburg and Manassas. So, for example, I think I have the list.

[01:52:08] So, like I said, Manassas nominates about 24 megawatts. Harrisonburg, I believe they nominate a little bit over 36 megawatts. If you look at the other cities and towns, their nomination is, I would say, between 2 to 4 megawatts.

[01:52:24] What does nomination mean? Nomination meaning the amount of generation output that we offer to PGM and Dominion to use during their peak demand. All right. Mayor, thank you very much. Gentlemen, thank you.

[01:52:40] Councilman Vesquez, Lena. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I believe everybody's input has been enlightening. I appreciate even though a lot of details, I appreciate the presentation. For me, you know, quality of life is very important and public safety.

[01:52:56] But at the same time, we're talking about shaving the cost for the electricity. And we have 17,000 customers. So my ask will be, first, if is there any other measurements that we can take for safety?

[01:53:13] I know that you already said that if that location was to become the location, I know through the meetings that have happened, I think planning commission and other meetings that I have attend, the different subcommittees, staff has worked diligently to update and to reflect changes that are positive based on the residents' feedback, especially the people that live the nearest to the location.

[01:53:45] So my ask is, you know, other than everything has been explained, is there something else that can be implemented if there was really no other location that could be used?

[01:54:01] Through some of the literature today, I was able to come across some literature looking at the UL testing requirements that actually had some of these systems contained within a structure.

[01:54:27] And the structure was also required to meet the sprinkler standards. And that was one of the things, reading through that today, I don't know how it would fit on that site, but that could probably mitigate a lot of the noise if it was contained within a structure.

[01:54:48] It would allow, in the event that the sprinklers activated immediate cooling, the drawback to that is if you did have something in there and it was in one cabinet but it was hot enough to activate the sprinklers, are you doing major damage to the remaining ones by introducing water to them?

[01:55:14] That would be the concern. But I would think that places where they have these units within buildings had to have thought about that, too. I don't think I'm the only person that would have thought about that.

[01:55:30] But it's something that we can certainly, with the blessing of our elected leaders and city manager, it's a question we can pose to see what the alternatives are.

[01:55:46] But like I said, we're talking about building a building, and that's obviously adding cost to it. Thank you. I appreciate it. And my point was, like, everybody is actively trying not only to find the best path, but to maintain the quality of life and the public safety.

[01:56:11] So I just want to make sure that the residents hear that. My other ask will be more for city manager or staff. When it comes to the shaving, we can see the dates.

[01:56:28] It's related to the weather, whether it's in January because it's really cold and we get a snow, or whether it's in June, July, you know, it's really, really hot. So my ask, if you are able to, like some of them, it feels like I have been there many times, like, you know, near our Martin Luther King holiday, it's always kind of cold.

[01:56:49] Is there anything else that also we can do from the communication department of the city to ask to the residents and everybody else to contribute? Manassas is leading these seven communities in trying to shade the pig.

[01:57:07] We have heard from the community about the energy cost, the energy bill passed, especially this month when we got our bills. So I know we had a couple of emails back and forth and explaining how each resident have the peak as well and how they will have to, you know, figure out how to manage so, you know, they don't go beyond and pay more than they regularly used to pay.

[01:57:37] So my ask is, is there anything? Can we predict and can we ask? Maybe not to, I cannot tell somebody to lower their heater or, you know, to put a little bit hotter at their home.

[01:57:52] But it will make a difference because that's literally what our staff is doing, trying to shave the pig so we don't get that higher charge. We can definitely put out those messages. Unfortunately, when it comes to Tarek's conversations with Dominion, Dominion will not put a lot of faith in our customers to reduce their demand.

[01:58:14] That's part of the reason that they have the agreements with the city that we commit to do the peak shaving. But, yes, ma'am, we can definitely put out word that we would absolutely love for our residents to, in the summer, or increase the temperature in their home during these really hot periods and then going cooler during those times.

[01:58:39] And if we could get some assistance, that's wonderful. But it's also similar to our water system. Halftime during the Super Bowl, the water demand in this community goes up exponentially because everybody gets off the couch.

[01:58:56] Asking people to wait a half hour and, you know, sit and watch the halftime show before they go. We can do that, but the commitment isn't there. Thank you, I understand.

[01:59:11] But again, it's 17,000 customers, and even if 1%, 2% were making a difference, it will make a difference for our bill and for us. So as we continue, I know that this is just the beginning, And I want to make sure everybody, you know, understands that we're not only, at least for me, I'm trying to make sure that the quality of life, when you buy a home or when you buy a property, more than likely that's your biggest investment.

[01:59:39] And, you know, things that we check on is things like this. So we do know the risk that we have when we purchase and when we are there. But at the same time, this is something that they didn't, you know, know it was coming. And so I just like to continue to find, you know, the best way.

[01:59:57] If this were to happen, then the best way to make sure the quality of life is preserved. Thank you. Also, Steve and Ms. Luna, also that we have in place a load management program where the electric customers and the residents, they can sign up for that.

[02:00:19] The program on those load control devices, they target the AC compressors and the water heaters will allow us to control the cycle, the compressors, the AC compressors going on and off. We increase the time it takes for the AC compressors to cycle on and off.

[02:00:40] It's going to inconvenience some of the customers, of course, because, you know, we activate those. I think the requirement is no more than three hours per event, and this is how they can help reduce the peak. So the program is out there if they want to sign up for that.

[02:01:01] Councilman Hudson. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Echoing the sentiments of public safety and quality of life, but looking at this site in particular, can either of you share how long this property has been zoned industrial? Over 100 years? Okay. All right. Good to know. And you shared some of the pollution data on within your slideshow. And what I found kind of staggering that I just want to

[02:01:36] sure the public is aware of as well that on that site we have three of these diesel generators and this is this is statistics for one of them just one so just one diesel generator annually is producing seven and a half tons of nitrous oxide and we have three of them there so that's quite a quite a bit of nitrous oxide and then each one of those generators is also producing a ton of carbon monoxide a year all just being emitted because the fuel for the diesel generators is

[02:02:09] diesel so the amount of nox or the nitrogen oxides is much higher than the carbon oxide than the co's but yeah it's significant and it also on average it burns about 100 gallons per hour of run hour okay and um will the batteries emit any of these types nitrous oxide carbon monoxide no none of

[02:02:32] Okay. And change in tune just a little bit to discuss the 24/7 monitoring, is there already somebody on the utilities staff who is, you know, is there a shift that's overnight, I guess, is my question. Do you already have that?

[02:02:51] Not at the site. Not at the site. But we monitor the site itself through our operations center. And there's 24-hour coverage at the operations center. 24-7. and why and so at the operation center is the remote shutoff I'm assuming yeah this is how we're gonna dispatch the system and why not also have a monitoring site within the fire department is that too redundant is that

[02:03:21] not helpful you might not even be there for it okay okay those are all my questions thank you thank you any other questions or comments miss Ellis yeah I I do have a question, like follow-up one, Ashley Hudson.

[02:03:44] Is the goal to replace these diesel generators with the battery energy storage system? Is that the gold? Is that why they're going there? Not yet. We haven't made that determination yet. Like I said, this is a new technology. We're experimenting with it. We don't know how it's going to perform.

[02:04:02] But based on what we heard, it performs. And the agreement we have with the system provider, it's performance-based. If we charge the system and it does not perform according to specs, they're not getting their cut because the way it's going to work is it's a partnership between Manassas, Vima, and the system provider, the system vendor.

[02:04:23] And they will only get paid if the system performs, meaning it produces 7 megawatt over a two-hour period when it's fully charged. Okay. I just wanted to clarify that. The diesel generators are not going away anytime soon. No. Okay.

[02:04:40] Because we still need them in the community for energy. The other comment I was going to say, the VMEA, you said there's seven members, towns. So if Culpeper's power goes out, would this system kick in for Culpeper?

[02:04:59] Like, I don't know how all this works, and I'm assuming a lot of the other people in the room don't either. I'm just kind of, because I know that we only benefit like 24% of that system because it's shared with seven towns. So go ahead. Yeah, our share is about 27% of the Vima fleet. That's the allocation for Manassas I think it's exactly like 26.96 something like that. Okay, so if other towns in this In this membership have power problems. We if that does not kick one

[02:05:34] It's only kicking on when Manassas City. Yes, that's problem. Okay. Okay. Thanks Any other comments or questions? No. Well, thank you very much for the information and for being here tonight night and clarifying our community questions and concerns we really appreciate it next on the agenda is item 1.9 the NPD crime mapping and we have

[02:06:02] chief Keene here for that like I had a flashback to 1981 science class thank you mayor I'm gonna ask captain Andy Brooks to come up give you just a quick preview when I was before you in July giving you the mid-year update on crime I told you then that our new CAD computer-aided dispatch system was going to enable us to produce a map that our residents could be able to go to to map out crimes in their community so they would

[02:06:41] be able to track that. It has a lot of different mapping and search engines to it and I'm going to let Captain Andy Brooks walk you through it and walk our public through it so they can understand all the enhancements that this has again it's part of transparency so they can see what's going on here in the city of Manassas where is this chief I'm sorry I'm sorry he'll cover that a little bit in the highlights this is on our web page so yes if you go to manassacity.org go to the departments to the police department we'll have a link going live tonight we wanted to show it to you first

[02:07:20] and he'll explain a little bit more of that in answering any of your questions. Okay, thank you. Yes, ma'am. Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of Council, and Mr. Burke. Thank you for setting some time aside for us this evening to talk about our program here. So as Chief had mentioned, and you all are aware, earlier this year we switched over to an upgraded, updated new CAD and RMS system.

[02:07:41] Essentially, that tracks all police reports, dispatch activity, and essentially tracks every single call for service that the police department has responded to. You'll see here, this is what the map would look like. So once you go to that website, and again, we'll provide that to the public later this evening or tomorrow morning, we'll zoom in.

[02:08:02] We have a few features here. So first is a regular map view on the left here. And then, so let's run through a basic scenario here. So I'm interested in learning about police calls for service over the last week. So there's a default setting here, as you can see in the bottom left-hand corner, August 31st through 9-7.

[02:08:25] and i'm going to look here on the heat map this will basically indicate all the calls for service that we had had with a heat map which should okay there we go so i'm going to select all so this shows every call for service this includes any call that somebody had requested police services for as well as any self-initiated officer activity so it'll include traffic stops extra patrols report calls calls for service for anything whatsoever that we had responded to so

[02:09:04] this is broken down into neighborhood teams so as you can see here the darker of the color that means there's higher frequency of incidents or calls for service in that area within the last week so if i'm looking at this and i want to see what's going on without clicking on anything you can see we had 236 incidents so an incident excuse me an incident is anything that we responded to so this could be call for service a traffic stop an extra patrol like i had mentioned you see the second line says cases 19 that's how many police reports were taken for this specific area within the last week so i want to get a better idea within the dean neighborhood team of where these

[02:09:42] calls for service may be occurring so i'm going to go back to the heat map so on the left hand column there you'll see heat map where the clicker is all right so right here we see the darker area in red is the higher frequency and the green is the lower frequency so i'm clicking here i kind of want to see what's happening here so i'm going to go to map view and as we see here there are several uh 91 here in this specific area right here so i'm going to click on that and you're going to see a multitude of icons pop up so again this is for an entire week's time all police

[02:10:19] activity within this specific area so i'm going to just select one here select a random one a traffic stop so it gives us a few different uh things here so first will be the date and time so if you look at that box that had popped up that says traffic stop right here at the bottom it has the date and time so september 2nd 2025 at 2 45 p.m this traffic stop occurred doesn't have an exact address but it has a general area as you can see here again click on this we see however many there

[02:10:54] are here so again the traffic stop again it has manassa city police it has our incident number so every call that we go on has some type of incident number and it's indicated right there i'm going to go here in the bottom left again and let's say i want to see only the police reports that were taken within the last week within a specific area so i'm going to deselect incidents six so select these you can see found property dui others several ones in here so if i click on one of these again

[02:11:31] it pops up provides all the basic information here date september 5th 1 56 a.m the case number and it it was Manassas City Police. So there are multiple functions here. One thing that I like to bring to everyone's attention is a alert. So you have the opportunity to go into this system and create your own account. So I did one earlier today and I'll see if it allows me to log in. Essentially what this does is it allows you to create some type of alert based on an area or an address that you select and it will notify you anytime that there is some type of event or incident within that

[02:12:11] certain area you can set it to notify you daily weekly or monthly all right so I have a few alerts that I had already set up I'm going to create a new alert here create an alert first I'm going to search for an address so I'll use City

[02:12:47] Hall and again this is just a general area so so you'll see here it draws a red circle kind of a radius around the area that you had selected so City Hall is right here this is the area in which if there is some type of event we do a traffic stop we write somebody a ticket we make an arrest we take a report for anything within this specific area an alert can be sent to you so I have an alert right here let's say I want to be notified every day of anything that happens within this specific area again I'm already logged into this system I

[02:13:26] created an account earlier click OK there it's saved at the top right you can see 9027 center street saved so now in the event that there's anything that happens there i'm going to get a lot of emails to my work email to tell me that something had happened i also have three other alerts up here too that i created earlier today again just basic areas so let's do a search let's assume i want to check something specific for last month so i'll change

[02:13:54] the search parameters down here again on the left hand corner i want to search how many traffic stops that the police department conducted within the month of august so you can see there's so many different options down here this is essentially every single call type that the police department responds to click on traffic stop and for this i'm going to go back to the heat map so here we see

[02:14:30] the general areas in the city where a majority of the traffic stops were conducted during the month of august so i want to zoom in a little bit and see where these are liberia signal hill looks like a hotspot for traffic enforcement activity as well as the area of the Centerville Road Liberia and Sudley Road which is you all know where the main thoroughfares in this city so that's kind of what we would expect to see here again I'll click and again this is only traffic stops so you're gonna see all of them so August 20th August 19th 26 19th again you can click on any day if you

[02:15:07] want to change the range to a certain week it's there as well also at the top here there's a couple different links that we have to our Facebook page crime solvers our main Facebook page one thing that you can do if you want to save any information that you have here there's some options to print so if you want to print this page for some type of presentation or something like that I can do that you can also download it you can save it to an Excel spreadsheet a bunch of different things like that are there any questions yes

[02:15:43] everybody bye-bye yes uh thank you very much and i noticed you have a tab for the cog regional crime that's right uh is our data being fed into the cog system now it is so our data is uploaded every month with our crime reports all the information is on there if you get an opportunity anybody in the community as well to take a look at that i encourage you to do so you can compare our stats regionally within the entire dc metro area it has everything on there and again Again, it's a month behind because the reports are uploaded every month, and you can do some trend on there.

[02:16:18] That's a huge tool that COG staff has been working on for a long time. Right. It gives real, you know, essentially rather than waiting six months or a year for crime data, it gives residents the ability to see what's going on in essentially real time across the region.

[02:16:35] Absolutely. Thank you. We appreciate you being a part of that. Councilman Smith. What's the lag time for an incident that it's shown on their website? 24 hours. Really? Okay. Thank you. Okay. Any questions, comments?

[02:16:51] Ms. Vasquez? Thank you. I think in Facebook you have Prince William Raider Police, something. It's reminding me of something like that. I appreciate it. This is really good. My ask, is there any way that you can tell between someone calling, which will be a service call, and the active things that happen?

[02:17:14] So, no. The answer is no. So, two things to that. One is there's no identity about who called or anything like that. The second is if there are generally a few things that are officer-initiated only, and that would be a traffic stop, an extra patrol, things like that.

[02:17:30] Other things, it's really hard to tell through this system how the call was received, whether it was officer-initiated or called in by someone from the community. Thank you. Nice, Mayor. Yeah, a red light violation or speed camera violation, does that show up as a traffic stop, or does that have its own category?

[02:17:49] That's its own thing separate from this system because it's not part of our dispatch. very good thank you thank you mayor again part of this is to create some transparency so our community can do it as you can see there's lots of tools uh if you're interested in it we would suggest you get into it kind of play around manipulate it run some of your own data so you can get used to it i believe when we post this up we're going to do either online or facebook

[02:18:25] some kind of tutorial that'll help folks get through it as well as you can see it's quite extensive i also want to point out an important thing with this the cost of this was not paid out of general fund the cost of this was paid out of the photo red light speed enforcement money which is kept in a separate category so none of your tax dollars went towards this even though the total cost for this upgrade was right around 1.5 million dollars for our entire cad replacement not not just

[02:18:58] this system but the entire system so that is your intent our intent when you put that program in place is for those revenue and those funds to be used to upgrade public safety you'll hear a little bit more about that again tonight but good use of those funds so this is going to be linked to the website for our communications so to our main web page if people don't go to yours they should be able to go to ours and get a link to it somehow yeah so if you go to our if you go to the city's

[02:19:32] home web page you go to departments go down to police okay so we're part of your overall web page we don't have our independent right okay so you go manipulate through that navigate it i guess would be the better word um through the web page get down to police once you get there we'll have this highlighted on that our home page of the police department and then i know our communications department will link up with jeremy and his group once we go live he will attach it to theirs as

[02:20:08] well just trying to work together mr saner thank you mayor uh how far back does this go when does it start the data did it upload the old system no so this should go back to february 25th when we started with this new upgraded system very good thank you any other questions or comments okay thank you for that chief yes thank you captain i think i'm next one item 110

[02:20:44] 1.10 community complaint task force while eric is getting this to come up i'll give you a little background mayor this is kind of i'm going to call it a pilot program this is something that matt and i along with mr burke have spent some great deal of time about discussing all of us myself mr burke all of you over the last few years have heard from our public about our response to these quality of

[02:21:17] life issues in and around the city some frustration about the time it takes us to respond and or get those resolved i want us to focus on does the red go back eric let's focus on the bottom four categories there where you see enforcing mowing cutting of weeds and grass enforcing cleanup of litter and debris enforcing the maintenance of residential property and enforcing removal of blighted or abandoned property as you can see by the survey results we're scoring down in the lower

[02:21:54] categories of those all below 50 percent so when matt and i had discussions about this we sat down with captain hyde and carlos perez from matt's office what can we as a city do to enhance that get some movement in that to give our residents um those who complain uh an opportunity to get these resolved and report back to them but more importantly how can we be more proactive of us as the city letting these residents who may not always know that they're in violation that they

[02:22:29] have a violation that we need them to comply with and get fixed and hopefully our desire here is to get notification and compliance within 30 days eric if you go to the next slide for me if you can get it uh the notification and the problem resolved within 30 days and if not what can we as a city do better to get some compliance and resolution to that complaint so as you know some of us have been working together for a couple years we're not siloed police department may work with the

[02:23:04] zoning department so what we came up with is this little task force model so when we get a complaint whether it's the police department now recognizing we're at a house for a different call however in the backyard we notice they have three vehicles in the backyard on jack stands being worked on that could potentially be a violation the police department then will submit that complaint into the task force it gets assigned out to the appropriate appropriate department to see if they can get it resolved within 30 days then if they cannot get it resolved it's coming back to

[02:23:43] the full team of each one of these departments if zoning can't get that resolved it may be something that the fire marshal's office has greater control over and they have a better resolution than us so we're just looking for opportunities for us to perform a little bit better get some of those numbers moved in the right direction during the next survey and again it is a pilot there's probably gonna be lots of things i think each of you know my style we're going to try a if a doesn't work we're going to switch over to c to see if we get better results so this is just a brainstorm

[02:24:20] we wanted to let you and our residents residents know we've heard you we've listened to you we put some thought and time into it of what we can do better and this is the model that we came up with we're going to give it a shot and then probably at this point we're going into winter but we truly hope that during your retreat we'll have some update and feedback uh to you that will be able to provide you with data that we've been able to increase these resolutions uh within 30 days and get better compliance again tonight is just meant to inform you and the residents that are watching

[02:24:58] listening or here tonight uh that again we're trying to do a better job at this i'd be glad to take any questions that you may have thank you any questions all right thank you so much thank you forward to hearing more at the retreat hopefully yes ma'am all right next on the agenda is item two the consent agenda motion i'll call on vice mayor wolf for that yes madam mayor i move the consent agenda be approved and the reading of the ordinances dispensed with second the other motion by vice mayor wolf seconded by councilwoman vasquez luna to approve our consent agenda any discussion

[02:25:33] hearing and seeing none mr smith please call the role vice mayor wolf yes council member vasquez luna yes council member ellis council member smith yes council member osina yes council member hudson yes the motion carries thank you very much for that moving forward to item three ordinances and resolutions item 3.1 uncodified ordinance number 0 2026-064 establishing the annual salary of the mayor and members of the city council and we have amelia is going to fill in for mr brown

[02:26:08] um tonight on that this was moved from our july 28th meeting um i think i want to jump in with my comments first before you go if that's okay or do i need to wait i i would just like to set it up if you don't mind okay go ahead and then i'll first sure okay thank you um at the last regular meeting of city council on july 28th an advertised public hearing was held on increasing the annual salary of the mayor to 42 000 and the annual salary of the members of city council to 40 000 and since that public hearing the mayor has requested that the salary for the mayor remain

[02:26:44] at the current amount of 20 000 and a member of council has proposed that the salary for members of council be set at 34 000. accordingly there are two alternative ordinances attached for council's consideration on first reading version one establishes an annual salary of 40 000 for members of council as advertised and version two establishes an annual salary of 34 000.

[02:27:09] both ordinances retain the mayor's current salary of 20 000. any change in current salaries will become effective july 1 2027 which is the first july following the next regularly scheduled general election of council members and i just want to add that you're not bound by these two versions the mayor and others may have comments a motion may be made with different amounts as long as they don't exceed those advertised rates of 42 000 and 40 000. okay thank you for that um clarification and i just wanted to make sure that um and for announcing the part about the mayor not

[02:27:47] being included but i wanted to give as i did on social media but i wanted to also provide it just from the dais tonight so those who didn't or may not have seen that um and i'm reading off my notes So I wanted to offer my perspective on the salary increases and also state for some that seem to not know or maybe just don't care.

[02:28:07] But the mayor does not vote on budget related matters, incentives or anything else financially related to this city. The mayor does not vote. I am only able to break ties and again, not on anything financial.

[02:28:28] I cannot vote. There is no need to recuse myself from any votes because I do not vote on financial or budget matters in this city. The mayor does not. Some of you may even recall when it was time to vote for the budget, I repeatedly said if I could vote, I would have voted for a two-cent tax cut, but the majority of council did not agree with that, and what was done was done.

[02:28:55] A reminder for everyone, I only break ties, and again, if it's a tie and anything financial, I cannot vote. I do not vote. I wanted the public to hear this from me, and I am against any increase at this time.

[02:29:11] I know how much time and energy everyone on this council puts into serving our city. They all regularly step up for the residents, attending events and meetings, often beyond the call of duty. Our city's council is already among the highest paid in the region by population, and I do not feel it is justified to increase it at this moment.

[02:29:32] I am not criticizing council members who feel differently, and I appreciate everyone's service, but I want to be clear with the public about where I stand. We regularly hear members of the public express concerns about city spending and our priorities, and I think we have to be mindful of these views, especially now.

[02:29:50] Many families in our community are struggling just to meet basic needs. The needs are real and they are urgent. Even though the increase won't take effect until 2027, we have no idea what kind of shape we will be in financially.

[02:30:06] We hopefully will be better, but we may be repairing damage that is being done now. We just simply do not know. If council moves forward on the ordinance for an increase no matter the amount I've already asked as you've heard prior to the meeting to tonight that the mayor's proposed salary increase be removed And I also think this matter could be taken up at a later time But thank you all for your continued engagement and commitment to manassas. So With that is there a motion?

[02:30:33] Madam mayor. Yes, if I may yes move to adopt resolution are I mean oh 26 - oh six four with one change stipulating the mayor's salary at thirty seven thousand dollars the council member's salary at thirty four thousand dollars So move seconded we had a motion by vice mayor will second it by was that actually by Councilman Hudson on 37,000 for the mayor is that and 34 for council members any discussion? Yes, miss miss Ellis and then mr. Smith

[02:31:15] We discussed this, I guess it's been over a month ago, and then it was delayed to this meeting. I feel that, you know, I have to agree with your statements, Mayor, you know, with regards to this, it's a huge jump.

[02:31:37] You know, a reasonable cost of living adjustment, 2% to 3%, that's fair. I know that some of us might not be on Council 2027. You know, we have some elections coming up next year, but I think it's just crazy that we would vote for this big increase for the council.

[02:31:59] You know, it's just not, it doesn't seem fair to me. This is a part-time position. I know we do have the option to do as many things as we want to in the city. We all do work hard, but when you're looking at the actual position, we are part-time. It's supposed to be to serve the community.

[02:32:17] It's not a career path to anything else. This is just, you know, really a more, I look at it as more of a volunteer, giving back to the community, because that's what we want to do, serve. So I will vote no on this. Thank you.

[02:32:33] Mr. Smith. Madam Mayor, I literally rise to oppose this motion. As you will recall, in July, I asked the council to delay this effort.

[02:32:55] I'll sit down for the benefit of my speaking. I am figuratively still standing. I asked for a delay to put some considerations. Delay was implied that it would be much longer than a one month's vacation.

[02:33:13] So my concerns still remain. I came in here tonight fully intending to comment and extend my comments four to five hours.

[02:33:32] I am prepared to start reading right now. I have the Virginia Constitution ahead of me. I have the United States Constitution. I have the Virginia Code. I would not attempt that because it'll be viewed as a stunt. But know that my intent was to delay this at least four hours since I couldn't get it delayed more than four months or more than four weeks. I just think we should not be doing this at this point. I won't repeat your comments, Madam Mayor, but you're

[02:34:11] Absolutely correct. We have no idea what's ahead of us. We do know we will not be getting any supplemental money from the federal government for this next crisis. So I will be voting a resounding no. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Anyone else? Ms. Hudson and then Ms. Josina.

[02:34:36] I appreciate the comments of my colleagues up here. For me, this really all begins with the Dillon rule which as I've kind of talked about this situation with my friends and family over the past month exactly zero of them knew what the Dillon rule was of course the Dillon rule is a Rule that states that localities cannot do anything unless the state permits it So that's where this is all coming from in the last General Assembly session The state allowed it for cities to pay their council 34 and allowed their councils to pay their mayor

[02:35:13] 37. the the general assembly does not permit cola increases in the sense of an ongoing three percent every year that that's been recommended several times that's just not allowed in the general assembly does not permit us to put like a thousand each year or anything like there's no ongoing thing that we can do like that if if ever there will be a pay adjustment it will come through this exact process in front of council with a public hearing and all of the associated things um as the newest member of city council i can assure you that i also did not run for the

[02:35:48] money i did not know this was coming this this was new to me um just a couple months ago um but what i have found since being elected is that if you are going to be dedicated and do this position to the best of your ability it is definitely time consuming um time consuming and in some ways costly to support the many many things that we're asked to do and i'm not complaining i'm just telling you how it is. And so that is why I'm in support of the 34 and 37.

[02:36:16] Ms. Josina. Thank you, Mayor. So more than a decade ago, 2012 to be exact, a total of 6,615 votes were cast in a city council election that was held in May. It was the last city council election that was held in May because November of that year, city voters approved a referendum which moved city council elections to November in even numbered years. And so when the first city council election

[02:36:54] in November was held, which was 2014, a total of 17,290 votes were cast, a dramatic increase over the previous council elections that had used to be held in May. In 2020, no excuse absentee voting started, which allowed residents to vote without having to provide a reason for not doing so on election day. And that also increased voter turnout. Overall, both of those efforts helped

[02:37:32] increase participation in the civic life of Manassas. I believe that the proposed increase in salaries for mayor and city council will have a similar effect, and here's why. It'll attract and retain qualified leaders. A higher salary encourages a broader, more diverse pool of candidates, which enables more residents, such as working parents, young professionals, and others with limited income to serve. That means a more representative council that reflects the city's

[02:38:09] makeup. It reduces our reliance on, for instance, retirees or business owners, which can limit representation it'll promote equity and public service public service should not be economically exclusive adequate compensation ensures anyone regardless of income level can serve without financial hardship it's a step toward inclusive representative governance professional local government paying a higher wage reinforces the idea that public service is a professional

[02:38:49] responsibility that requires time, skill, and accountability. So if we want a council that looks like our city, professionals, working parents, people who are being paid hourly, we've got to make it possible for them to serve without struggling. This isn't about getting rich. It's about making sure that the city of Manassas is lowering barriers to public service, just as has been done to making voting easier to encourage greater participation in civic life here in

[02:39:26] Manassas. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Any other comments? Mr. Smith. I'll quickly turn the mic off because I think I'll need to, but I think many residents and I think many of us up here, all of us up here, understand the need for some increase as we process. I'm not advocating for never, ever

[02:39:55] Given the council increase I'm simply asking the council to reflect on the circumstances facing our residents. Thank you. Thank you. I would like to comment. In my day job I work for a labor union and I do understand COLA, the changes, the benefits. I don't know if anybody from this body knows or understands the benefits that we get. I really don't as a council person.

[02:40:27] The main point that I want to make is that I will never stand for a wage increase for this body that is more than our mayor.

[02:40:46] I do understand her position. I understand everybody's position. As I replied to the emails today or before, I was telling everybody I haven't made a decision. The only thing I did know is that I don't want to see anything below, because I fight for fairness, I fight for justice, I fight for increases.

[02:41:12] And the other thing is that I want people to be here. When I run for office, I wanted to make sure that all the residents felt heard. And I can tell you many of them, if they do have two jobs, they're not able to either run or sometimes to come to City Hall, even if we want to recognize them because they do not have time for that.

[02:41:38] So I echo some of the comments. It does make a difference for people. You shouldn't have to be a business owner, have to be a retiree. You shouldn't have to have to have a position in order to represent your constituents.

[02:42:02] I do know that our city allowed for higher rates, and I was not in favor of any of those. I do know what was published and what has been presented to you and is before you.

[02:42:21] But like I said, you know, number one is, you know, we can't even consider anything different. And like it was explained, this will be for July 1st, 2027. When I came on board in the office, those rates had already been set back in 2022.

[02:42:41] So it is something that it will affect, no next year, but the following year after the elections for that, those council members. And like we're doing now, you know, they can also make changes. And anything that is related to the changes that may come to us, like with all this, I thought already was going to, you know, maybe, you know, some changes affect our city and the way the city works.

[02:43:14] And we continue to find the ways to address what the precedent or the changes are happening at our level. So all this to say is that I will support, if the majority is supporting, I will only support something that is for everybody and that is no more than what the mayor is set for.

[02:43:45] Thank you. Any other comments? I mean, I have a question. So it looks like the, that it will pass from just from listening to council members at the 3734. So what do I need to do? Or did we just talk offline to make sure that I don't get it as far as me, the position, but not I that I don't want the 37. So it's part of the motion and looks like it'll pass. So is that something that I just need to do offline, but I want it? I don't want it.

[02:44:18] so if if if the motion passes and then that is set to action with the with the items that we read and as far as my experience and what we've researched prior to this and other jurisdictions the option is simply to return turn it okay so and that's something that you guys will help me do in the process department okay okay however that happens okay it's beyond fine okay all right thank you i just wanted to make sure that so i think we're ready for the roll call mr smith

[02:44:52] because we had discussion thank you thank you amelia vice mayor wolf yes council member hudson

[02:45:01] yes council member ellis no council member smith no council member osina yes council member vasquez luna yes the motion carries forward to us okay thank you for that um moving forward next item

[02:45:41] on the agenda is item 3.2 resolution number r 2026-124 facade improvement grant northeastern supply actually mr small has the next three fig items yes thank you madam mayor three items same topic three separate properties starting first with the former southern states property as a loyal southern states customer i routinely complained to them about the condition of that building when i went in there as i did to the owner with the change in ownership the condition of it's become even more noticeable they are the subject of code enforcement but the new owner is

[02:46:20] willing to make those improvements they have applied to you for one of their one of the city's facade grants they're proposing to sandblast and clean the building and repaint it and make it presentable again it is a highly visible building obviously in the entry to our downtown it is in compliance with the stipulations of the grant program staff recommend your approval the improvements are the in the amount of almost 46 000 making them eligible for a grant of up to

[02:46:55] 15 000. okay thank you any questions of mr small on that item yes sir oh thank you i i would just say to reiterate what mr. Paul was saying it is been a building that has desperately needed to be on the outside taking you know updated cleaned up painted and what have you and because it's on on our one of our gateways I think even more so to have that done so I'm pleased to hear that they're been

[02:47:30] willing to work with the city staff to get things cleaned up and and do do so So it was good to see this application. Okay. Any other questions? Ms. Vasquez. Thank you, Madam Mayor. For me, it's important for the public to know a little bit more about how the process works.

[02:47:50] And I know you have stated before, but in case, you know, there has been residents of business that haven't heard, could you explain how much is the percentage the business have to invest and where are the qualifications? Just briefly, if you're able.

[02:48:07] Yes, ma'am. It's a two-to-one matching grant program, so every $2 that the business owner puts up, the city puts up $1. We pay in arrears, so after the work's done, the grant's not given up front. After they've produced invoices, they do get estimates in advance, so we have a basis, as you see in your reports tonight, for the proposed award amount.

[02:48:30] Any commercial or industrial building visible from the public right of way is eligible for these grant awards. We have two programs, facade improvement and landscape improvement. Slightly different criteria.

[02:48:45] Obviously, one is for building improvements. The other is for lawn and landscape could include things like sprinkler systems or new beds. But the facade program is more robust. The maximum award in a 10-year period is $25,000.

[02:49:01] The maximum award for the landscape grant program is $15,000. Again, two to one. So to get the maximum amount of the facade program, a business owner would have to spend $75,000. They would get $25,000 of that back through the program once the work is completed.

[02:49:22] And similarly for landscape. Now, we've had some businesses come in some of the Rappaport properties on Liberia and spend over a million dollars in exterior improvements, but the cap is still $25,000. We've had others, as you probably recall, who come in periodically every few years and do smaller work, $5,000 or $10,000 worth of work, until they've reached the cap.

[02:49:47] in fact one of your applications in here tonight will be reduced by the amount they might otherwise be eligible for because they'd received a previous award and i'll cover that again when we get into it so uh is that a enough of a thumbnail of the program or more i truly appreciate it uh was the last year budget or the amount uh was it maxed out was uh over you know i know it's not going to be overdosed but was it uh used to the limit and is there any uh i know it's two to one but is

[02:50:18] there any limit for smaller um projects and and who they will contact there there no project is too small um we've had grant awards i think as low as five or six hundred dollars for a fifteen hundred dollar project um the process is really easy so it's not burdensome on the applicant or on city staff to produce the paperwork so really any project is is acceptable the other part of your question i'm sorry was at who will they contact if if they were contact my office um the most of the

[02:50:55] program materials are online but i prefer to talk it through with the applicant uh one thing i should add our code enforcement staff do use this uh as the carrot to go with their stick our stick is obviously ultimately taking people to court to improve their properties and bring them into compliance but we can get them to do that amicably code enforcement has been known to use this program to encourage people to do that the other thing we use this program for is to encourage people to do more than they might otherwise have done hey you're doing you know this little bit because you had to because the gutters falling off or the windows broken or

[02:51:34] whatever it is did you know the city has this program out there and oh by the way you can use it to replace those exterior lights while you're doing this other work so our code enforcement team does upsell in some cases but our biggest problem with the program has been making people aware of it so I appreciate your having me do that tonight council allocates a hundred thousand dollars a year to the program we have never exceeded the cap in any fiscal year we've got three in front of you tonight we're gonna get close now but then the balancing act comes in because they have time to do the work and

[02:52:13] to submit the paperwork so we can cross over fiscal years but in no point if we ever had to appropriate extra money over and above the hundred thousand dollars into the program to make the numbers work so relatively small investment we report on in our annual report for economic development which people can find on the choose manassas website I don't have the specific number in front of you but for the few hundreds of thousands of dollars that the city's put into this program over the past decade we've generated a few million dollars in private sector investment in return so far in excess of the two to one that's

[02:52:48] the minimum but frequently the business owner will invest more and you already answered my question well my comment which it would have been to you know the new for uh task force that has been created but it sounds like many things this already has been at work and it's already been taken into consideration so thank you yes ma'am any other questions on this item or comments there motion all right madam mayor i'll move adoption resolution r2 20 20 26 124. second we have the motion by vice mayor wool seconded by councilman vasquez lona

[02:53:28] to approve resolution number R-2026-124. Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none, Mr. Smith, please call. Vice Mayor Wolfe? Yes. Council Member Vasquez Luna? Yes. Council Member Ellis? Council Member Smith? Yes. Council Member Lucina?

[02:53:44] Yes. Council Member Hudson? Yes. The motion carries. Thank you. Item 3.3 is resolution number R-2026-130, the facade improvement grant for 9768 Zimbrough Avenue. Yes, ma'am. Thank you very much. This next property is almost directly across the street, tucked away behind one of the best Mexican restaurants in Northern Virginia, La Chino Poblana.

[02:54:07] It is on Zimbro. Nice plug. The former Southern States, or not Southern States, 7-Eleven property back there. They have previously received a grant from the program. Some of you remember the donut shop that was in there years ago, got one to improve the facade of that.

[02:54:26] property but this is one where they're exceeding um the uh maximum allowable grant for the program by spending well over 75 000 on improvements and their award is reduced because of that prior award for the donut shop as well so again staff recommend your approval and we look forward to the enhancement of this property as well any questions on that just come in i appreciate the reference especially with hispanic heritage month and i totally know whether it is based on that

[02:54:59] thank you thank you is there a motion madam mayor make the motion that we approve uh the resolution we have the motion by councilwoman vasquez luna and seconded by councilwoman ellis to approve resolution number r2026-130 facade improvement grant any discussion hearing and seeing none mr smith please call the roll council member vasquez luna yes council member ellis vice mayor wolf yes council member smith yes council member osina yes council member hudson

[02:55:38] yes the motion carries thank you item 3.4 is resolution number zero 2026-137 the facade improvement grant for clark's automotive yes ma'am thank you madam mayor uh this property is considerably less visible uh than the other two it's tucked away on commerce court back off behind the mcdonald's dunkin donuts area on route 28 headed towards manassas park unless you're back there to visit one of the small businesses you're not likely to see this property but it is visible

[02:56:12] from the public right away it does meet all the eligible eligibility criteria of the program and staff recommends this for your approval as well any questions or comments ms luna uh more of a comment uh this uh shows the uh it's not only it's not only uh old town or downtown uh you know i i appreciate seeing you know other areas and it does bring a benefit uh to the city any other comments or questions there motion madam mayor i make the motion that we approve resolution 2026

[02:56:49] 137 second we had a motion by councilwoman vasquez luna seconded by councilwoman hudson to approve resolution number 2026-137 any discussion hearing and seeing none mr smith please call the roll council member vasquez luna yes council member hudson yes vice mayor wolf yes council member ellis council member smith yes council member osina yes the motion carries thank you so much thank you thank you next up is item 3.5 resolution number r2026-151 amending the fiscal year 2026

[02:57:28] budget by budgeting and appropriating 150 000 from from photo red light fund balance for the purchase and purchase of replacement duty weapons and training and chief keen is here for that thank thank you mayor again resolution 2026 151 is for us to budget and appropriate 150 000 from the photo red light fund balance to purchase or upgrade our side arms about every seven to ten years we replace our weapons we sell the old weapons back to get credit the timing is right right now for us to get top dollar for the current ones that we have we're right at the seven year

[02:58:07] mark so we're trying to get ahead of it captain petty is heading this program up we are moving to a from a sig sour to a glock model we do believe that is more economically correct and better for our officers it fits their hands better they did a test that is what they selected any questions thank you any questions or comments okay is there a motion oh i'm sorry i'm sorry no no question oh we're merely going to make them oh go ahead uh i just so moved resolution we have the

[02:58:44] motion by councilman osina seconded by councilman vasquez luna to approve ordinance number oh 2026 i'm sorry resolution number r2026-151 any discussion hearing and seeing none mr smith please call the roll council member osina yes council member vasquez luna yes vice mayor wolf yes council member ellis council member smith yes council member hudson yes motion carries all right thank you so much thank you mayor thank you item 3.6 is ordinance number oh 2026-9 franchise for the purpose of installing operating and maintaining telecom conduits facilities and

[02:59:23] equipment in the public rights of way within the corporate limits of the city of manassas virginia mr rc area is here for that your honor members of council good evening the ordinance before you 2026-9 would a reward award a five-year non-exclusive franchise to cox communications for enhancing and upgrading their existing system within our public right-of-way this was subject to a city council public hearing on july 28th which was closed uh staff recommends adoption on first reading stand ready for any questions thank you mr sierry any questions comments okay

[02:59:55] is there a motion madam mayor make a motion that we approve uh ordinance all 2026 nine second we have the motion by councilwoman vasquez luna seconded by i'm sorry it was actually councilwoman hudson to approve ordinance number oh 2026-9 any discussion hearing and seeing none mr smith please call the roll council member vasquez luna yes council member hudson yes vice mayor wolf yes council member ellis council member smith yes council member osina yes the motion carries okay

[03:00:32] thank you thank you matt next on the agenda is public comment time item number four at this time we welcome residents and community members who wish to speak about services policies and affairs with the city of manassas government residents who have not requested additional time four days prior to this meeting from the city manager we have a timer and your comments will be limited to three minutes we appreciate the time you've taken to be here we treat public comment time as a public hearing and we do not engage in conversations with speakers the lack of an immediate response to your comments should not be taken as a

[03:01:07] lack of interest or concern as we have staff present taking notes and they will respond to your concern in a timely manner so please when approaching the podium give us your name and address so that we may follow up with you in a timely manner we ask that you please be respectful when presenting your comments to not only council members but to those residents and community members who are also present with that i have the sign-up sheet here and i'll call off names um in or in the order that they are on the sheet but we will not leave anyone out even if you did not sign up and you wish to speak you

[03:01:42] may do so after i call on the individuals that have signed up the first name i have on the list is and i apologize if i get it wrong noro matey i don't know if i had that right i'm sorry i tried good evening good evening madam mayor council members and fellow community members my name is nora amadi i live on 8804b quarry road which is within close proximity to the city-owned east church street lot and i'm here to voice some concerns regarding the

[03:02:18] siting of the proposed battery battery energy storage system on church street It is my understanding that in October and December of 2024, Council discussed this site location, which was long before community members were made aware of this plan early last month.

[03:02:34] With respect, many in the community feel that this decision was rushed and that critical safety and siting concerns were not fully considered. Federal emergency guidance underscores the risks of these systems. Specifically, I'm speaking about lithium-ion batteries.

[03:02:51] The DOT emergency response guidebook calls for a 500-meter evacuation zone for containerized lithium-ion fires. The EPA recommends at least 330 feet of isolation plus plume and runoff planning. On Church Street, a 500-meter radius would affect at minimum about 1,400 residents, four schools, and an assisted living facility, but potentially up to 14,000 residents within a three-mile radius of toxic capacity.

[03:03:18] Toxic gases and runoff are a result from potential fire. I'm curious what the evacuation zone recommendations, isolation zones, and plume runoff planning are for these lithium iron phosphate batteries. We know that these risks are real and they're not hypothetical.

[03:03:34] The Moss Landing fire in California forced road closures and shelter-in-place orders. The APS McMicken fire in Arizona caused by a BESS system injured four firefighters who responding to reports of smoke from the system that then exploded during their response despite close proximity of a fire hydrant to the proposed Church Street site neither lithium-ion batteries nor lithium-ion phosphate batteries that are ignited are extinguishable by water and if exposed to water can cause a more dangerous fire explosion or the production of toxic flammable gases my husband Kyle who could not be here tonight due to work

[03:04:11] scheduling as a fire captain in Fairfax County, who understands firsthand the risks these facilities pose to residents, first responders, social communities, and ecosystems, both immediate and long-term. We love living in the city of Manassas, and it's a historic charm, and we value safety in our community and in our home. Instead, this project would bring fear, uncertainty, and the potential for catastrophic events right into our neighborhood. Beyond safety, this site sits within or adjacent to our historic district, surrounded by 19th and early 20th century homes, one of them being my own home, which my husband and I deeply cherish.

[03:04:51] Industrial energy storage of this capacity, whether permanent or not, is not compatible with historic preservation. I respectfully ask the council to pause approval until risks are fully understood, urge fire and rescue and emergency services to publish an emergency response plan that includes evacuation prior to the development of the site, Potentially refer this project to the Architectural Review Board and publish a site selection alternatives analysis.

[03:05:21] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next on the list, we have Catherine McCollum. Catherine. Good evening.

[03:05:36] Good evening. May I have a mayor, council? I am here in my individual capacity as a private citizen in Landover, in the city of Manassas. And I just want to say I want to echo all of my neighbors' comments that will be coming and what Nora said.

[03:05:52] I don't want to be duplicative. I want the words that are important. And the words you heard today were should be, might. Nothing's definitive. We have no idea how safe these are because it is a new system.

[03:06:08] And I understand wanting to cut costs. The residents are all for finding a safe way to do so. But you are essentially putting an unknown source that could cause, I think they said, runoff. I mean, how scary is that? My kids live there. Baldwin Elementary is down the street.

[03:06:27] We don't know what's gonna happen. You're putting it right into our historic heart. Also, I wanna direct the city to the comprehensive plan, which I believe is before you next week, although the other one is still in place.

[03:06:42] And looking at this picture that I pulled from the comprehensive plan, item number 10 on possible future development is the loyal. For residential development, that completely surrounds the rest of that area where you would be putting these battery systems in.

[03:06:59] What developer is going to want to develop housing next to the system? And I want to remind you that going back to the timeline, and well, let me go back to words that we didn't hear is this is extremely speculative at best.

[03:07:17] We have no idea the dollar amount, despite Vice Mayor's question about certain numbers that I happen to see highlighted specifically on the manager's sheet, almost as if he knew what he was going to be asked.

[03:07:33] We have no idea how much money is saved. How much saved per resident? What does that look like? Are we talking $5? Is that worth our historic heart? This council authorized this to look into this unanimously in 2024, I believe, in December.

[03:07:57] Yet this morning, only our fire chief is getting plans from Chesterville County. What is this? If you do a simple Google search of the facility in Chesterville County, it is in the middle of nowhere.

[03:08:15] I wonder where it would go in in Harrisonburg. Do you think they would put it in their old town town? I went to school there, I lived there. I can't imagine they would be putting it right among the residences. This is short-sighted, this is dangerous, it is dangerous to our community, and I'm wondering based upon the map of what the other battery would do as far as the radius of evacuation that we do know.

[03:08:37] We don't even know what the radius of evacuation would be in the city. It actually touches our neighboring Prince William County. It encompasses Osborne Park High School, Parkside Middle School. Do our neighbors know? And finally, it encompasses the entire courthouse.

[03:08:53] Thank you. Thank you. Next is Scott Pendleton. Hello, counsel. I am a resident at 8801 Quarry Road. I directly share the property line with a fence that Mr. Tarek had actually brought up in his diagram.

[03:09:16] My primary concern is the rush. Like, all the communication that we've got from this seems very, very rushed. And I thank you for saying proposed, not planned, because it seems like, as my previous fellow residents have said, it seems like this whole thing is being pushed to meet some sort of imaginary deadline without actually thoroughly going through this.

[03:09:44] They've talked about other jurisdictions and so forth, other places like Virginia Beach, Hanover County, even as close as King George. They actually have developed zoning plans specific to BESS before they even considered putting in one.

[03:10:01] We don't have that. I can tell you that those other ones that they have, they go a lot more thorough than this is light industrial checkbox. It's far more complex than that because I am in IT, so I understand how these systems work.

[03:10:21] I will thank Chief Mills. He did some really great research. But I will also state in your plan, historic homes are not airtight. So sheltering in place is not a valid thing. Yeah.

[03:10:37] So, and pretty much you're three quarters surrounded by historic homes there. I can tell you that Mr. Tarek's statements were incorrect because I've lived in that house for 20 years. So I know that solid wall has not been there for 25 years.

[03:10:56] It was put in about 15 years ago prior to that. It was a chain-link fence. right now it is not a solid wall it is a pvc decorative fence all the other zoning plans for other jurisdictions that they have they actually state a solid wall which means concrete brick or cinder block not a pvc fence they actually state wall not fence so when he says solid fence that doesn't qualify um i think that's pretty much what i have because i know

[03:11:31] everybody else here has got a lot more points um 150 feet from the property line i know that that is what's in those other zoning plans not 150 feet to the residents and that as you can saw in there what you correctly observed that is not 150 feet from that concrete block where the battery system is to our property line and that fence sits on our easement it's not part of the city part that's in there it's actually in the middle of the easement that's on my property line thank you thank you and also thank you uh council member luna for directly uh responding to our emails

[03:12:10] thank you sir mr art siegel good evening mayor and good evening mayor and city council sir if you can pull the microphone down a little bit so we want to be able to hear i'm a little short you know i wasn't gonna say that yeah you were thank you very much first i'd like to thank christina and josh brooks for doing an amazing job gathering all this information and getting it out so quickly. I'm here to voice our concerns about the city entering

[03:12:48] a business agreement with the contractor to install and operate a battery energy storage system in the municipal lot located at 8885 Church Street, which is home to the city's electrical department and borders our property at 8805. We share a fence with that. We have a two-story garage in the back our property and it's about 50 feet from where these battery systems are going it's not 100 feet it's not 75 feet it's 50 feet um it's alarming to us that there's no public hearing about this proposed project and the only property owners immediately bordering the lot were notified

[03:13:28] about the best not the other neighbors in the neighborhood which this would affect everything in our neighborhood i don't know if that was done on purpose or what the story was with that Installing an operating BESS in the middle of a residential neighborhood could have a devastating impact to all residents of the neighborhood and beyond basically anywhere the wind blows.

[03:13:56] Our health and safety concerns are noise and hearing loss. The average BESS operates between 82 and 92 decibels and can cause hearing damage at a mere 1.5 hours, according to the CDC, and is not in compliance with the city's own noise ordinance.

[03:14:14] As a person with single-sided hearing loss who wears hearing aids and takes precautions to preserve what hearing ability I have left, it is extremely troubling to learn that the city would approve of this being located so close to residential properties. This thing really is only 50 feet from our buildings, and it is separated by a plastic fence, not a wall.

[03:14:41] And I can't enjoy our property having to use hearing protection. Best fires are toxic. Two breaths of a toxic chemical released during a best fire can cause permanent lung damage and the fallout of chemicals in the air can irritate and burn the skin and eyes.

[03:14:58] While the city's lot may be zoned light industrial, it sits in the back pocket of a quiet residential neighborhood, which is zoned R2S, and not suitable location for a loud and potentially toxic best. Would you want this in your neighborhood or your backyard?

[03:15:14] I don't think so. we certainly do not and respectively request the city council consider an alternative location for the best thank you thank you mr siegel next we have cynthia siegel he's still on trial i'm cynthia lowry i live at 8805 quarry road i know a lot of my neighbors are going to be talking

[03:15:46] about the hazards of it i want to talk about the historic neighborhood so there are many homes in Prescott and Corey that are listed on the National Registry of Historic Places as being contributing structure to the overall historic of Manassas and these homes were built for railroad workers and postal workers at the turn of the century the house located actually Nora's house was designed by architect Albert Speeden which if anybody lives in Manassas they've heard of they've heard

[03:16:23] of mr speeden so when we moved to manassas to 8805 corey road it was purposeful we wanted to be in this neighborhood we wanted to take on you know the struggles of maintaining a 100 plus year old home currently 111 years it was built the same year that the generator plant went in back in the lot. So soon after moving in we met Wilhelmina Dettweiler and she lived at 9307

[03:17:00] Prescott and she invited us to our porch and she was so excited to tell us all about how Prescott was the first street to be paved in Manassas and that she and Kitty Jean Blakemore used to roller skate up and down the street. She talked about how she moved there when she was six years old. Her parents bought the house and moved in because they wanted her close to school. So then she also told us that her husband Oscar had farmed the land that sits between East Church Street and the

[03:17:39] railroad tracks and that Oscar and Roy Blakemore used to be out back tossing horseshoes to kind of blow off the steam of the day after a hard day's work. So the Blakemore family lived in our home for 90 years and and they were contributors to manassas both roy and jesse spent time as superintendent at the sunday school for grace united methodist church both when it was on center

[03:18:09] street where porter lovelace is now located and on main street where bruu has made it a home so Together, they raised three children, and their second child, Kitty Jean, developed to be quite an athlete.

[03:18:27] And I've uncovered a lot of things about who won the races at the Jubilee, and it was always Kitty Jean, Kitty Jean. And so we first met Kitty Jean back in 2013, and she was a lovely person. But, you know, there was something about her.

[03:18:44] I just wanted to know more, so I put my detective hat on. I started Googling away, and lo and behold, this quiet thing that never said a word about her accomplishments turned out that she was the first female basketball coach of West Virginia University.

[03:19:01] So this is the history that we want to protect, the history remembering the people and preserving the homes, and this is contra to preserving these homes. Thank you. Next is Andrew Smith.

[03:19:24] All right. Good evening. madam mayor and council members my name is andrew i'm a resident here in the city and first i just want to give my strong support for the battery energy storage system in my opinion this is the kind of forward thinking we do need to be thinking about in the city moving away from firing up old diesel generators and instead using a cleaner stored energy solution is a huge step forward for the city's air quality and our health i do think residents living near the site should have

[03:20:02] have been notified a little earlier and i think residents have had some great questions and concerns as they should with any new technology and the city should develop regulation specific to these types of systems amidst all these concerns however let's make sure we stick to the facts these systems are quieter safer and do not pollute our air while running i know because i work in an industry that deploys these systems all over the country and my family drives evs exclusively, so we have them in our garage houses all the time. There are also plenty of people who

[03:20:40] have home battery backup systems, especially if they have solar, and this system is much more advanced than those, and those are installed in residential homes. I would, you know, if it were me, and this is my backyard, between diesel generators and a BES system, I would take a BES system any day. For those concerned about the quick timelines, unfortunately, I do believe that they can thank the current federal and state governments and their war on cheap kind of clean energy. A lot of the tax credits are expiring at the end of the month because of everything going on

[03:21:18] and that does push a lot of these types of projects in urgency forward to make sure that we're getting as much savings as we can for our tax dollars. Lastly I would also like to bring up something I've noticed while talking with many neighbors in the city. Unfortunately there are a lot of people in our community who are very afraid to go out and vote because they fear encounters with ICE. In my conversations about canvassing, I have personally run into a family who stated that they were not, they were afraid to go to the polls. And so my ask from the city and the council

[03:21:57] is to, you know, put out messaging, making sure that everybody knows how they can vote, that they can vote by mail, that there's safe ways to vote early. And, you know, it's just, i don't even have words beyond anger to describe it but no resident no matter who they're voting for should fear you know that they can't vote so i would ask that the city you know do more messaging this year around timelines making sure that people know that they can get mail-in ballots

[03:22:33] when those deadlines are um and that they they feel safe doing so with that thank you thank you Next is Josh Brooks. Good evening, I'm Josh Brooks. I'm a retired Navy commander, so 21 years of firefighting, hazmat, explosives, and weapons safety.

[03:22:54] Okay, so San Diego, California has 21 best sites with literally thousands of these. I got in touch with Battalion Chief Robert Redende, the San Diego County Regional Alternative Energy Emergency Response Coordinator. That's one heck of a title. So he was previously the director of their hazmat unit and led the response to three best fires over the past couple of years in California.

[03:23:16] Here's what I learned from him. Okay, so the newer Tesla Megapacks do have lithium iron phosphate batteries that do have a good track record. However, there's a trade-off. They are less of a fire hazard and more of an explosive hazard. Here's why.

[03:23:33] When the LFP batteries burn, they release large amounts of gas, and about 44% of that is hydrogen, which is explosive. If the gas release mechanism in the Tesla Megapack fails and traps the hydrogen in the best, it becomes an explosive hazard.

[03:23:51] Okay, we're talking about blowing the windows out of every house within line of sight if this thing cooks off, according to him, not me. All right, so he recommends a 100-foot setback from the property lines and more ideally, if possible, 100 meters, so 330 feet.

[03:24:12] that ensures there's no people or businesses in the immediate evacuation zone and that there's room to get fire equipment in there if 100 feet is not possible what they've had to do in san diego because the state tells them where the buses are going the city council doesn't get a vote they've had to build explosive blast walls around these things to protect businesses and houses in proximity and what we're talking about is three foot thick concrete walls that are about three feet taller than the darn battery okay so back to the hundred foot setback so

[03:24:49] the National Fire Protection Agency recommends 100 foot setback from the property lines the property is only 220 feet wide it doesn't work I talked to the engineer at the NFPA that led the development of that standard to make sure I was correct in this assessment okay the International Fire Code is in alignment with NFPA 855. All right. The American Planning Association, you remember that, recommends NFPA 855 setbacks, 100 feet. The Clean Power Association, representing the battery manufacturers,

[03:25:23] recommends NFPA 855, 100 foot setback. The Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code left it up to the municipalities to make their own setback determination when they adopted IFC 2021.

[03:25:39] okay we haven't done that here because we haven't had one before but like fairfax is going through it right now they're doing 200 feet there's a place in southern virginia that is doing a 5 000 foot setback waverable to 1 000 feet okay this is serious business folks and i don't think anybody here has did something wrong it's just we haven't had this before so we haven't developed the local codes all right um so i have some more recommendations from the chief that i'm going to give to our fire chief and he has also agreed to make himself available via zoom or microsoft teams

[03:26:17] for the fire chief for you steve or for any of you folks to go through this stuff by what i can determine is possibly the smartest guy in the entire country on this problem okay thank you appreciate it thank you mr brooks christina brooks hi my name is christina brooks i live at 9302 Prescott. You gonna follow that guy? I'm just kidding. I realized when I signed in that I was

[03:26:50] following that. Thank you ma'am. I do want to thank you all for listening. I'm not here because I'm upset about a BESS. They're new technology and they're great but not in the middle of Old Town Manassas with 14,000 immediate residents. The 14,000 immediate residents of the radius of that evacuation of 500 meters would encompass everything out to the merit school on the other side of the tracks on fairview that area signal hill and it would go all the way to the other side by

[03:27:26] centerville where there's the robert day school daycare center up quarry to the um euclid where it turns into euclid which encompasses an assisted living home and then all the way to zebedee that whole entire neighborhood would evacuate there's five schools there's an assisted living and there's many, many homes. I'm not going to repeat some of the other stuff I was going to say because

[03:27:54] pretty much everyone has covered those points. This, I'm skipping the part. The lot's not the proper size for the setbacks because it's the property line that can be buildable, not the house. And as others have stated, 35 to Loyal and 50 to the quarry. This thing can be anywhere on the grid. It serves Clifton to Culpeper. It's not just for us. That's how VMEA works.

[03:28:34] Just same as Harrisonburg, it serves that line up there. And the answer to, are there, you know, any closer, best batteries? Yes, there are. There's 91 at Dulles. That's an airport. Sure, you know that. So, why can't this be on the location that's vacant, that's just there, backed by industrial between the Cannon Branch and Prince William Parkway.

[03:29:03] It's also the city's. It's public works. And my closing point is many of these homes, as you've heard, were built between 1880 and 1904. That's before the fire that took out the other side of Old Town in December of 1905, which then changed construction ordinances.

[03:29:24] But all of the ones in this historic district, Mine is historic in the fact that R.L. Brown, who's on the wall, grandson is on the wall back there. The Volunteer Fire Department, Women's Auxiliary, was started in one of my front rooms.

[03:29:42] Like, the history goes back in that neighborhood to the beginnings of Manassas. But devastation to this historic event, you know, we can't be the city that burned down twice. Thank you, Ms. Brooks.

[03:29:59] That's all for everyone that signed up. If there's anyone else that's present that wishes to address council, come forward now at this time. Give us your name, please, and your address. My name is Daniel Bonney, and my address is 8901 Center Street, which is on that corner next to the Manassas Junction Bed and Breakfast.

[03:30:19] So I do want to say that most of my points have already been made here. I did want to highlight a thing that was brought up, which was that the older style of these batteries are the nickel-magnonese cobalt, and the new ones are the lithium-iron phosphate.

[03:30:40] One of the fires that was referenced did actually happen with one of those newer types, the lithium-iron phosphate. That was the Moss Park, I believe, in California. Mosslandic, I'm sorry. Thank you. And then I did also want to point out that all of these houses are also very old and not airtight, and a huge fire hazard. I believe I was told they were balloon frame, but the same thing, lack of fire breaks. And on top of that, I wanted to bring up that because

[03:31:15] these systems are expected to be used during peak demand, that would imply that they get cycled during that peak demand, which would be, I would guess, the time where any issues would actually occur. So we would be asked to shelter in place during what could potentially be the hottest or coldest times of the day and of the year. And I think all of my other points have been made already by other people. So thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Anyone else? Good evening, Mayor and

[03:31:55] good evening, Council. My name is Denise Harover. I live at 9646 Clover Hill Road. I'm here tonight in front of you as the chair of the EDA for the city of Manassas. I just wanted to let everyone know that we had a fantastic summer of community conversations regarding the Mathis Avenue Shopping Center and recently have been working with Roadside based on that input from our citizens. We had over a hundred folks join us in two evenings to give us feedback and ideas.

[03:32:28] We're taking those ideas and we're putting them out on paper and we are looking forward to working with the city and reviewing those ideas and taking them back to the community we will be announcing dates in november and december to follow up with the community to show them the the product from the work and effort that they helped put into the mathis avenue shopping center planning look forward

[03:32:56] to working with you thank you you're welcome anyone else mr muchnick uh good evening madam and members of the council. I'm Alan Muchnick. I live on in the city on Park Street and I serve as the co-chair of the advocacy transportation advocacy group active Prince William. Earlier this evening the council endorsed transportation funding applications for three different projects to be submitted by city staff under consent agenda items 2.7 2.8 and 2.9. To my knowledge

[03:33:34] the city did not hold any advertised public hearing or even an online public comment opportunity to allow members of the public who are interested to learn about and comment or seek to influence the mix and scope of the transportation projects supported for funding.

[03:33:50] While I personally do support the proposed projects, allowing interested members of the public to review and comment on such funding proposals would improve transparency and public buy-in and would improve the mix and scope of the proposed transportation projects, or could anyway.

[03:34:09] Since the city lacks a dedicated citizen transportation advisory body, city staff could conduct an annual or semi-annual advertised public hearing to present all of the anticipated upcoming transportation funding applications to the public, either as a standalone event or at a planning commission meeting.

[03:34:28] I asked the city manager of the city council rather to direct the city manager to require an advanced Advertised public hearing to present upcoming Transportation funding applications for public review and comment before those applications are presented to the city council For endorsement as on the consent agenda a staff report summarizing the public feedback received at the public hearing could then accompany the consent agenda request thank you for your service and for your consideration of my

[03:35:00] recommendation evening thank you good evening you heard a lot of people from around the area of concern with these best batteries I don't live there but I don't want it in their backyard either sounds like a good idea it really does but not in anybody's backyard chief gave us some concerns about some safety or he

[03:35:37] He had some good ideas about it, and he also had some questions about it. I hear there's a possibility of toxic gas. That scares me. Put it in your backyard. Possibility of explosions. He's got records here. Put it in your backyard. It's a great idea.

[03:35:54] Put it somewhere else. I mean, it's a workable location for you now because that's where everything is. But not right there. And I was just, someone just brought up that when we have our parades in Old Town, That's the staging area right there.

[03:36:12] Something happens, especially 4th of July. It's nice and hot, and everybody's got their EC on. Something happens with these things, and you've got people there. But their homes are right there, too. And there's so many people here. You've just got to find a different place.

[03:36:29] I don't live where they do, but I don't want it in their backyard. I don't want it in my backyard. Put it in your backyard if you think it's that safe and that's good. Just consider a different place. Listen to these people. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kladniak.

[03:36:56] I didn't expect to come tonight, as you can see, and I was listening. My name is Mark Hempen. I've been a resident since 1981. We lived very close, and now we live almost right next to the power plant there.

[03:37:13] And so several years ago, my wife and I actually were at Splashdown, and we were at one of the big slides, and we saw this big, huge thing of smoke. And we said, that looks like that's near our house. Well, it turned out it was.

[03:37:30] And one of the diesel generators had, it was a bearing or something, but the fire department went in, and it was easily taken care of. Now, the problem, what you're having here, is when you presented and gave this little bit of information, you didn't come up with, you didn't show the plan on safety.

[03:37:50] You didn't show a plan on firefighting. You didn't show a plan on noise. we have a small business. If there's, if these things are too loud, we will go out of business. And that is, and we, our small little business brings in thousands of dollars to the local businesses in town. So it's going to impact that. So when you come out with this stuff, and you want to show that residents, show that you know what you're talking about.

[03:38:20] Show that when, that we don't have all these concerns, because you have done your homework. You show us a plan. You show us exactly how we are going to be safe. You're going to show us exactly how we're not going to be affected by the noise. And none of that's been done.

[03:38:37] And that's why you have all these people. We're not NIMBYs. If this is a good structure and if this works and you have a great plan for it and a great safety plan for it, fine. And it's not a question of people not wanting it in my backyard.

[03:38:55] This is a question of you not giving us the information, you not having the information, You not being straight out with us and saying, hey, we're going to do this, we're going to do this, we're going to do this. They're not allowed to do this, they're not allowed to do this. We're going to work with the neighbors, we're going to work with the community, and we're going to make everyone safe.

[03:39:15] And if you had made that step in the beginning, it's like we have this idea, and we'll put it in, and then we'll figure it out. Well, something that's dangerous like this, that can cause death and destruction, and yes, I know I've watched you shake your head, but it's true.

[03:39:35] It's a very dangerous thing that can go in the middle of a populated area. I want to see a plan, and I want you to have a plan, because until you do, we are not safe. And it is your job on this city council to make sure your citizens not only get a good price and a good fair deal and all this other infrastructure, but that we are safe.

[03:40:01] And I haven't heard anything anywhere from the city council or any of the plans about how we are going to be protected. And that's why everyone is upset. And if you had put this out and said, this is what we're going to do, then we would definitely be working as a community together.

[03:40:20] Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Rampin. Anyone else wish to address the council? Good evening. My name is Janet Plovniak.

[03:40:39] Been a very interesting meeting tonight. And I would have sat through your four to five hours of conversation gladly. Thank you. We had the data center debacle that we didn't know we weren't getting the money and whatever.

[03:40:59] We can't do, that didn't hurt anybody's lives. It was money. This could hurt people's lives. Like they said, it might be a good idea to have it, but put it where it's in a safe area. It's just not like this gentleman just said, the planning.

[03:41:18] Plan it, bring it forward, know what you're going to do first. don't do it like the data center, and then go, oops, look what we did. And that was kind of an embarrassment on the whole council, the way that turned out. Let's save an embarrassment, and let's not harm people's lives. The pay raise, we will not forget, Mr. Wolf. We will not forget come July 1st, 2027. People deserve to be paid for what they do, and I'm not saying you all don't do a lot,

[03:41:51] But to take a pay raise close to 100% is selfish. The people of this community, and Mayor, thank you for your position on it. The people of this community, you were supposed to be our leaders.

[03:42:08] You all got my email. In Romans 13, 4, government is to seek, serve, and promote the common good of the people, not the good of the rulers. and we are at the mercy of what our rulers are trying to rule over us and you know I'm going to ask our Heavenly Father again I've asked him to touch your hearts some of you I'm not sure if there are hearts there now and this is a tough job for him I've had someone ask me how do you think these people feel when you go up and say the things that you say I've thought about that

[03:42:48] long and hard. I want to come up and say something positive. I want to come up and thank you for things that are done. I don't think we have the best people sitting up here. I really don't. We have what our election said we got, so let's work together with what we've got. I'm willing to work with every single one of you, but this is not a community. This is us and them, and I don't know.

[03:43:17] all i can say is god help you and i ask that to the name of jesus christ amen anyone else wish to come forward at this time okay if not we will move forward to item five on the agenda is authorizing a closed meeting amelia will take care of that resolution for us madam mayor and members of council before you now is resolution number r2026162 resolution authorizing a closed meeting of city council whereas it's necessary for the city council to

[03:43:54] discuss and consider whether to dispose of city-owned real property located near downtown for commercial purposes and near godwin drive for residential purposes and the terms and conditions for proposed sale of each of the two properties and the discussion of those terms and conditions in an open meeting would adversely affect the city's bargaining position or negotiating strategy pursuant to virginia code section 2.2 3711 a3 these discussions regarding the purchase of real property may take place in a duly convened closed session of the city council i recommend

[03:44:32] for your adoption this resolution 2026 162. may i move to approve resolution r 2026 162. second we have the motion by councilwoman luna and seconded by vice mayor wolf to approve resolution number r-2026-162 authorizing a closed meeting any discussion hearing and seeing none mr smith please call the roll council member vasquez luna yes vice mayor wolf yes council member ellis council member smith yes council member osina yes council member hudson yes

[03:45:09] the motion carries thank you the bell means we go right Mayor and Council is resolution number 2026-163, certifying a closed meeting of City Council, whereas immediately prior to this resolution, the City Council of the City of Manassas adjourned into a closed meeting in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information

[03:45:46] Act, and whereas the Freedom of Information Act requires a certification by City Council that such closed meeting was conducted in the manner required by law, I recommend this resolution number R-2026-163 for your adoption, that only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Freedom of Information Act, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed, or considered in the meeting by the City Council.

[03:46:19] Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Mayor, I move to approve the resolution R-2026-163. Second. We have the motion by Councilwoman Vasquez-Luna, seconded by Councilwoman Hudson, to approve Resolution R-2026-163, certifying a closed meeting.

[03:46:38] Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none, Mr. Smith, please call the roll. Councilmember Vasquez-Luna? Yes. Councilmember Hudson? Yes. Vice Mayor Wolfe? Yes. Councilmember Ellis? Yes. Councilmember Smith? Yes. Councilmember Osina? Yes. motion carries all right thank you for that we are adjourned thank you

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