Coraggio Consulting
Manassas City Council 2/9/2026

Date: Monday, February 9, 2026
Place: Manassas City Council, Virginia
Length: 3h 16m (video)
Official meeting video (Wistia / RegionalWebTV): https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/mixljyrvn3

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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[00:00:00] Thank you, Madam Mayor. Good evening, everyone. And I'll pass on any further comments. Councilman Osina. Thank you, Mayor. I do have three comments that I wanted to make this evening here. First of all, I wanted to thank our street department and public works personnel for wrestling with all the snow and the subsequent ice on roads and sidewalks.

[00:00:22] While not every drive and sidewalk was cleared to everyone's satisfaction, carrying plows in the middle of the night when I was snug in bed made me appreciate the work that they are doing. they are doing. Our electric crews also have to be commended for handling two outages in these tough conditions. And as it's said, heroes don't always wear capes, sometimes they wear reflective gear. Our local retail businesses and eating establishments have had particularly challenging times for the last two weeks through all the parts of our city. We can all help by braving the weather by shopping in person or placing orders for

[00:01:00] curbside pickup or home delivery. And let's not forget to support local food pantries as many people are very dependent on them, especially now. Lastly, if the mayor and his fellow councillors will indulge me, I wanted to speak about something that's weighing on my mind.

[00:01:18] For many years while living in Manassas, I was told that local elections are about local issues. The states in Richmond or Washington belong in state and federal campaigns and not here at City Hall. That principle reflected the time when the lines between levels of government were clearer and when local decisions were shaped primarily by local conditions.

[00:01:39] But today, the distinction has blurred. Decisions made at the federal and the state level, from reductions in the federal workforce to changes in education funding, social services, transportation support, and immigration enforcement, do not remain confined to those distant chambers.

[00:01:59] They ripple outward. They shift responsibilities downward. They place new demands on local governments like ours. And when those shifts occur, we are the ones who must respond. balancing our budget, preserving services, and protecting the quality of life our residents expect and deserve.

[00:02:20] What has not changed, however, is who we are as a city. Manassas is a diverse community, and that diversity is not a challenge to overcome. It is a strength to embrace. It enriches our neighborhoods, strengthens our businesses, and makes our civic life vibrant and unique.

[00:02:39] It reflects the best of what a community can be, people from different backgrounds choosing to live, work, and build a future together. During times of uncertainty, it is essential that we reaffirm a simple but crucial principle, that public safety exists for everyone.

[00:03:00] Every resident, every worker, every visitor in our city must feel safe calling 911 in a moment of crisis. That call is about protecting life and ensuring safety. It's not about someone's name, the color of their skin, their background, or their immigration status.

[00:03:18] And when people are afraid to seek help, crimes go unreported, emergencies escalate, and everyone becomes less safe. Trust is not a luxury in public safety; it is a necessity. Federal agencies have their missions and their resources.

[00:03:35] ICE, for example, operates with a budget of tens of billions of dollars of dollars to carry out federal immigration enforcement. By contrast, the Manassas City Police Department operates with a far smaller budget and a different mission: to protect and serve our local community through community policing.

[00:03:55] At its core, community policing is about building trust, fostering relationships, and working collaboratively with residents to prevent crime and solve problems long term. And that approach works, we've seen it in the results, including the reported 25% reduction in major crimes in 2025.

[00:04:18] That progress did not happen by accident. It happened because trust was built, partnerships were formed, and residents and officers worked together. Now, I support the enforcement of our laws. Law enforcement is essential to maintaining order and safety, but it must be carried out in a way that preserves trust and does not erode it.

[00:04:42] In a way that protects our community, not divide it. And in a way that ensures that those sworn to protect are seen as guardians and not sources of fear. Because in the end, the strength of Manassas is not measured only in budgets or policies, it's measured in trust.

[00:05:00] Trust between neighbors, trust between residents and their government, and trust between our community and those who serve it. and if we preserve that trust manassas will remain not only a safe city but a strong united and a resilient one mayor thank you so much thank you thank you mr osina councilman desquez luna thank you madam mayor good evening everyone and welcome uh councilman osina thank you for the

[00:05:36] great uh words and uh continued support you know i truly appreciate it uh i will say i get a lot of calls. When it comes to ICE, I know that you're not here for that, but I just want to, you know, make sure that, you know, we know and as a community, not only serving here, but also as a community activist, you know. We should not forget, you know, we all have human rights. We all are living here in Manassas, and like I tell everybody, I expect for them to follow the law rules and regulations and you know if there is you know something that I can

[00:06:16] do to help them I will but we are at the local level but I appreciate it so going first you know congratulations to everybody so happy that we're going to have the employer reclamation led by our chief for the Manasseh City Police so welcome if whether you're here or you're watching online congratulations to each one of you. I know it has been, you know, hard work to get there and, you know, and you are a great example of Manassas and a great service and I believe the results is not only from the great

[00:06:53] leadership that we have, but they work every day in and out around the city. Also, some of you work here for the proclamations. We have two great proclamations, so thank you for being here. I usually have a lot of events that I want to point you out to, but today I just want to point you to the City Connection. Whether you get it when it's no timely like I do, I get it at the first week of February, I get my January, but you can always get it online and all the events are at the end.

[00:07:28] My favorite part is that you can go on the website and you can also find all the events. The proclamations that we do here is to highlight not only the work, but everything that is happening in the community, and we have to celebrate. I talk a lot about diversity, and I'm really happy that we get to celebrate Black History Month.

[00:07:50] So if you're here for that, welcome, and I'm happy that we continue to do that and also to recognize the great people right here in Manassas. There is other different departments presenting today, so welcome.

[00:08:10] It's great to see so many attendees today. We have a full room, and I'm looking forward for a long and very successful meeting. The last thing I want to say is, you know, congratulations to the First Friday Soup winners.

[00:08:27] We have three winners. The difference, you know, this time is how we see there is not just restaurants. The restaurants are working with the stores and they are going, you know, different places. If you are there, feel lucky you had a ticket. Not everybody was able to be there, but that brings an extra to our city, to the businesses.

[00:08:51] And please, you know, try to continue to come and support the businesses. January and February is the hardest month for any business. So if you can, especially if the ballot census is coming around, please consider in supporting not only the old town, but all the businesses around Manassas.

[00:09:12] That's all for me. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councilman Hudson. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I wanted to begin by wishing all of you a happy Black History Month, and thank you all for joining us this evening. I wanted to echo the remarks of my colleagues here, and thank you to the Public Works Department and everyone that was involved in the snow and ice cleanup it has certainly been treacherous and ongoing so thank you for all the efforts there and I would like to highlight that the council had a retreat a few weeks ago where we conducted many trust building exercises and talked a lot about what our goals are for the future and I thought it was a very productive

[00:09:49] two days with with this group here so I wanted to thank all my colleagues for that and as Vice Mayor Wolf said we have a lot on the agenda so I will wrap it up there mayor thank you so much thank you we're gonna show the state of the city video but before I do that I do want to join other council members in and saying thank you to Public Works and to everyone who assisted with the snow and ice removal and don't just let it be a snow storm or ice storm when you check on your neighbors please check on everyone take care of each other watch out for one another it's so important that we do that not just when there's

[00:10:25] bad weather but i am certainly appreciative i i got a ton of emails and phone calls and texts telling me what needed to be done and i knew that our folks were out there working very hard and i'm very appreciative of all the overtime and everything that they had to do to work in the cold and make sure that folks were could somewhat get out i know we're still sort of digging out from it but it is very much appreciated so tonight i am very pleased and thank you to our communications department for putting this um state of the city together um i was a little difficult to deal with because we were shortening it down and it was really long and i said it's too

[00:11:02] long we got to cut it down so i hope that you're able to hear it and um enjoy it and it is um jeremy online it'll be online after tonight um and youtube and all that so if you don't hear it here well tonight you can and then after the video i have a statement that i'm going to make so thank you hope you enjoy it hello city of manassas and thank you for joining me

[00:11:37] mayor michelle davis younger in the state of the city address it is an honor to speak with you about where we've been what we've accomplished together and where we are headed as a city city staff focused on outcomes that matter in daily life public safety you can trust neighborhoods that feel connected and welcoming support for our most vulnerable residents an infrastructure that quietly but reliably keeps our city moving.

[00:12:04] I invite you to listen in as I highlight key accomplishments from 2024 through 2025. Across the city, more businesses are opening, fewer commercial buildings are sitting vacant, wages and household incomes are rising, and visitors are spending more money in our local economy.

[00:12:24] Events and programming remain powerful economic drivers. Attendance at major festivals built in already strong numbers from the prior year, signature events such as Celebrate America, Fall Jubilee, the Railroad Festival, and holiday programming, including Santa Lights, Manassas, and the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony.

[00:12:44] Christmas Market and the Santa Train draw tens of thousands of residents and visitors. First Fridays alone attract approximately 50,000 people each year directly supporting restaurants, retailers, and small businesses. while reinforcing downtown as the city's social and economic heart.

[00:13:02] At the same time, long plan redevelopment projects are moving from vision to reality. In historic downtown, the city advanced redevelopment planning for the former Old Town Inn and MIFCO sites in a proposal that includes new housing, a boutique hotel, retail space, and structured parking addressing long-standing needs while supporting future growth.

[00:13:24] At the landing at Cannon Branch, one of the most transformative redevelopment projects the city's history completed phases now include new housing a nationally top performing hotel and fully leased commercial space generating more than 1.9 million dollars annually in real estate taxes and over five hundred thousand dollars in lodging taxes the city also continued a thoughtful transparent and community driven review of a good housing workforce proposal to support teachers public safety employees, health care workers, and other essential members of our workforce.

[00:14:00] Along Mathis Avenue, the city expanded the Manassas Shopping Center footprint and hosted community conversations that helped shape community-based visions for the site's future, laying the groundwork for redevelopment decisions that reflect neighborhood priorities while strengthening the city's economic base.

[00:14:23] Public safety remains the foundation of a thriving city. In 2025, the Manassas City Police Department continued to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, accountability, and service for our residents.

[00:14:38] This year, MCPD earned its eighth reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, otherwise known as CALEO. This distinction confirms compliance with nationally recognize best practices and training policy and operations and it reflects our commitment to ethical policing transparency and continuous improvement just as important as standards are relationships mcpd's community services unit participated in more than 190 community events from coffee with the cop and youth camps to school programs safety fairs and neighborhood outreach

[00:15:13] these non-emergency interactions strengthen trust dialogue and reinforce that public safety is a shared responsibility data continues to guide deployment and strategy serious part one offenses increased modestly by six percent while overall reported incidents declined by six percent calls for service dropped five percent totaling more than 65 000 calls arrests declined by 14 traffic citations decreased by 25 and dui related incidents dropped by 26 reflecting the shift toward targeted enforcement prevention and education. The Manassas Fire and

[00:15:53] Rescue System continues to protect life and property across our 10 square mile city serving more than 42,000 residents around the clock. Emergency medical services account for more than 70 percent of all responses with an average response time of just over five minutes aligned with national benchmarks. Staffing stability was a major achievement this year after several challenging years, Fire and Rescue approached full career staffing, supported by new recruitment strategies and expanded career pathways. Three members completed paramedic school, strengthening advanced life support capacity. Manassas Fire and Rescue also advanced clinical innovation.

[00:16:33] In 2024, the system launched a whole blood program, allowing life-saving blood to be administered in the field. The department also established a DEA-licensed pharmacy, a first in our region, enhancing patient care and operational control. These efforts led to EMS supervisors being named Regional EMS Agency of the Year. Prevention and community risk reduction remain priorities. Through smoke detector installations, safety education, and the Sound Alarm campaign, more than 600 smoke detectors have been installed in homes across Manassas, helping protect families

[00:17:07] before emergencies occur. The department also launched a peer support team, recognizing that Caring for first responders is essential to caring for the community. The City of Manassas Department of Social Services continues to be a cornerstone of community well-being.

[00:17:28] Out of 121 localities across Virginia, Manassas was selected by Virginia Housing to pilot a project-based voucher program for seniors at Quarry Station. The program provides rental assistance in 20 of the quarry station's 80 units, supporting 25% of the community's residents.

[00:17:48] DSS also received national level performance in program integrity. For 12 consecutive months, the department maintained a SNAP payment error rate of 3% or less, far outperforming the statewide rate of 11.5% and helping reduce costly federal penalties for the commonwealth.

[00:18:10] In response to the opioid crisis, DSS proposed a harm reduction specialist position focused on evidence-based, peer-supported recovery models and collaboration with schools, police, hospitals, and community partners. One of the year's most celebrated milestones was the opening of the Manassas Community Center, a hub for recreation, learning, and connection for residents of all ages.

[00:18:35] Dean Park also completed a comprehensive transformation now featuring trails, athletic courts, fields, memorial spaces, and improved gathering areas showcasing modern, inclusive recreation, long-range planning continue to move forward. The 2045 Comprehensive Plan and Mobility Master Plan are shaping a vision for land use, housing, transportation, environmental stewardship, and economic growth for decades to come.

[00:19:01] The city also established its first Housing Advisory Board and created a Housing and Neighborhood Coordinator position, providing dedicated focus on affordability, neighborhood quality of life, and revitalization strategies. Over the past decade, the city has completed the largest overhaul of its park system in history.

[00:19:23] Our parkland expanded from 229 to 260 acres. All 24 parks and historic sites have now been renovated or improved. 37 new sports courts were added along with new fields developed in partnership with Manassas City Schools.

[00:19:39] The Manassas Regional Airport continues to be a powerful engine of economic development and regional connectivity. In 2025, the airport passed a major milestone with its FAA Part 139 Compliance Inspection, a key step toward scheduled airline service.

[00:19:56] The FAA commended the city's progress and commitment to safety and regulatory excellence. Major infrastructure improvements included rehabilitation of taxiways B&Y, expanded aircraft tie-down capacity, new airfield signage, and upgraded security systems.

[00:20:13] Public Works advanced a citywide traffic signal timing study and transitioned to a cloud-based signal system, allowing a faster repair and real-time monitoring. The city installed its first dedicated bike lanes along Dumfries Road to be charging to support the city's growing electric fleet.

[00:20:31] Engineering delivered major stormwater and stream restoration projects protecting homes, schools, and historic sites while improving water quality and meeting Chesapeake Bay requirements. Utilities brought both water and sewer system models in-house, improving planning, accuracy, and operational efficiency.

[00:20:50] Major water capacity projects advanced in city crews replaced aging water mains, saving nearly $600,000 while improving fire flow and reliability. All of this progress reflects something bigger than any single project or moment.

[00:21:07] It reflects a city that plans thoughtfully, invests responsibly, and leads with service. It reflects the dedication of our city council, city staff, the engagement of our residents, the strength of our partnerships, and a shared belief in the future of Manassas.

[00:21:26] Thank you for your trust, your involvement, and your continued commitment to Manassas. This progress is possible because of you, and it represents our shared success. For residents and community members who would like to learn more, Additional information about the state of the city is available at www.manassasva.gov.

[00:21:50] State of the city. Wasn't too bad. Wasn't too bad. Before I move on, I forgot to recognize electeds that we have in the audience tonight.

[00:22:10] We have our treasurer here, Patricia Ritchie Folks, who's joining us. We have, hello ma'am, thank you for being here. We have the vice chair of our school board, Zella Jones. Dr. Zella Jones is back there as well. We have Ms. Lisa Stevens is here from the school board.

[00:22:29] And Councilwoman Yessi Amaya from Manassas Park. Eats me west, so thank you for being here. I have just a statement that I want to make to wrap up the State of the City video. And I'm so glad that we have a full house tonight so that way everybody can hear this first off from my mouth.

[00:22:46] In 2018, when I first asked for your vote, I made a commitment, not to a platform, not to a party, to a principal. I said that no matter what capacity I served in as an elected official, whether on city council or as your mayor, I would serve a total of eight years and then step aside.

[00:23:07] I believe then and I believe now that leadership is not about holding power. It is about building something durable enough to hand over. I'm here tonight to tell you that I intend to keep that promise. Effective December 31st, 2026, I will step down from this office.

[00:23:27] I did not arrive at this decision lightly. The work is not finished, it never is. There are projects in motion, partnerships we have built, and challenges ahead that will require steady hands. But the question was never whether there was more to do.

[00:23:43] There will always be more to do. The question was whether I would be the kind of leader who means what she says, even when keeping a promise costs something. And it does cost something. I lost my sister, I lost my husband, and both of my parents while serving, and I never, ever missed a council meeting.

[00:24:06] The day I buried my mother, I was here at 530 calling a meeting to order. That's how much I love this city. That's how much I love this work. I love walking into rooms where people disagree and then find the common ground that lets us move forward together.

[00:24:27] Leaving that behind is not easy, but easy was never my standard. I made this commitment because I believe in something larger than any one term or any one office holder. I believe that the health of a city depends on its willingness to welcome new voices, new ideas, and new energy into leadership.

[00:24:47] Self-imposed term limits are not a concession of weakness or being a quitter. They are, in fact, a faith. Faith that the people coming behind us are ready. Faith that the institutions we serve are bigger than the individuals who serve them.

[00:25:04] And faith that a democracy works best when power circulates rather than calcifies. When I look at what Manassas has accomplished over these years, I do not see my work. I see our work.

[00:25:20] Every budget we balanced, every partnership we forged, every difficult decision, conversation we had the courage to hold in public rather than avoid in private. That was a collective effort, and collective effort does not end when one person leaves the room.

[00:25:40] So I say this to anyone who has ever thought about public service but waited for the right moment. The right moment is the one you choose. Manassas needs people who will knock on doors and ask hard questions and sit through the long meetings where the real decisions get made.

[00:26:00] This city was not built by one person and it will not be sustained by one person. It will be sustained by the next generation of leaders who care enough to show up. Between now and December 31st, I will govern with the same urgency I brought to my first day.

[00:26:18] There are commitments to honor, projects to complete, and a city that deserves a leader who is fully present until the last day of service. I do not intend to coast. I intend to finish. Eight years ago, I asked you to trust me with something precious, and you did. And tonight, I am telling you that the promise I made to earn that trust still holds, not because it is convenient, not because the timing is perfect, but because it is right thank you Manassas it has been the honor and

[00:26:52] privilege of my life to serve you thank you so much with that I'll call on city manager Tom mr. Burke thank you everybody thank you madam mayor like many of the members of council I'd like to thank our crews and contractors with a response to

[00:27:31] the snow and sleet event we are we are continuing to work to widen snow on our streets in residential areas the city did experience a major outage on Sunday February 8th at 12:30 p.m. in the Hastings Drive area. Approximately 1,800 customers were impacted. Our crews were able to restore power to all customers in about an hour and a half and the outage was caused by an underground connector failure. I'd also like to thank our water department staff who have been responding to a number of water rain breaks throughout the city. The recent extreme temperatures resulted in waterline breaks that required repair

[00:28:07] work in extreme conditions. Repair of the rink facility at the Harris Pavilion continues. Construction is anticipated to be completed by the beginning of April. Historic Manassas' winter market will continue on Saturdays through March 21st at the Water Tower Park next to the depot. City offices will be closed Monday February 16th in observance of President's Day and please visit the city's website for information about programs offered at the city's community center that include a toddler drop-in program, a Lego club, indoor soccer, yoga,

[00:28:43] Zumba and movie night thank you any questions for city manager up next on the agenda we have presentations item 1.1 is Vanessa City Public Schools school presentation from Mayfield Intermediate is Stevens is going to come up and help us with that thank you thank you madam mayor vice mayor mr. Burke and city council members madam mayor I have to say thank you for serving us we have enjoyed our time with you and we will be sad to see you go I'd like to introduce dr. Donnie

[00:29:20] Fishkorn principal of Mayfield Intermediate School to share updates and insights on our school thank you thank you good evening sir good evening good evening Mayor Davis Younger Vice Mayor Wolfe and members of the Manasseh City Council thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight I'm proud to represent Mayfield Intermediate School and to share how we are supporting students through our commitment to our behavior support system at Mayfield Intermediate School

[00:29:54] our students and staff strive to show their bobcat best every day that means being an exceptional student today and as you see up here these are posted throughout our school this is our motto that we run with our students and staff throughout the school year behavior support systems or bss is a proactive approach to behavior just as academics are taught practiced and reinforced behavior is taught practiced and reinforced instead of reacting after problems occur we clearly define expectations and teach students what success looks like in every setting this

[00:30:34] leads to help us support our school division's vision of preparing students to maximize their potential as a global citizen and the mission to reach their fullest potential this work is not unique to mayfield the work is part of our division's strategic plan this initiative focuses on building a culture of caring behavior support systems is a division-wide initiative involving all nine schools in Manassas City Public Schools. Most importantly it is aligned from kindergarten

[00:31:10] through 12th grade ensuring consistency as students move through our schools and as you see on here this has been a two-year process of this is year one but the steering committee there is made up of assistant principals and staff throughout the school division who have been working together.

[00:31:27] When expectations are consistent across schools and grade levels students know what is expected no matter where they are. The predictability supports smoother transitions, reduces confusion, and allows teachers to focus more time on instruction. At Mayfield, we use ICANN behavior statements to make expectations clear and student centered. These statements define what students can do rather than what they should avoid, helping them take ownership of their behavior

[00:32:04] across classrooms hallways cafeterias and common spaces these i can statements are taught to our students at the beginning of the year and reviewed and reflected on throughout behavior is taught just like reading or math we explicitly teach expectations model them allow students to practice and provide feedback when students struggle we reteach because behavior like learning is a skill that develops over time behavior support solutions or systems also supports equity when expectations

[00:32:42] are clear and taught consistently applied students experience fairness and understanding this approach strengthens relationships and helps create learning environments where students feel safe and respected at mayfield we are seeing positive results students are taking ownership of their behavior calmer learning spaces and stronger connections between students and staff when When expectations are clear, students are better positioned to succeed academically.

[00:33:14] This work extends beyond the classroom. The skills students develop through BSS, self-management, responsibility, respect, prepare them not only for the next grade level, but beyond school life. In closing, Behavior Support Solutions reflects our belief that every student can succeed when expectations are clear.

[00:33:37] Thank you for your continued support of Manassas City Public Schools and for allowing us to share how Mayfield is building strong academic and behavioral foundations for our students and these slides that were up here are behaviors that we teach students at the beginning of the year and again they're posted throughout our school and it's part of the continuum that K-12 so students are taught from kindergarten up through these expectations it's been very successful in year one so far thank you so much any questions or comments so you do this at

[00:34:16] the school but how does this translate or get to get to the home so we actually have our weekly news or our bi-weekly newsletter we share that we actually we just my assistant principals and i we just did our mid-year review with our students during lunches and then during that newsletter we sent the these exact slides home to the parents so that they have them as well we also post them on our social media account and also during back to school nights and whenever parents are in our school building again they're posted throughout our school any other comments or questions oh you

[00:34:54] know i love mayfield so that's where i was able to substitute teach for um a time so um i appreciate welcome you back too when you have time i'll have more time right um but thank you so much for everything you do and for loving on our little ones our littles um the school has i've seen the growth there since you've come and it is truly an amazing example of what we are in this city and we're so thankful for you and you're pouring into our future.

[00:35:21] That's so important. So thank you always for that coming. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. No other questions and we'll move forward. Thank you for being here. All right, so next up is the wonderful Proclamation for Black History Month. Keisha will come forward. I saw her and then I'll come down and join you and you'll have the others come.

[00:35:38] And I'm going to move the other proclamation to be right after that. We had it listed at the bottom of the other presentations but I don't want those folks to have to sit through all of that. So we'll do the Black History Proclamation, and then we'll do the Greater Prince William Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team Proclamation in that order.

[00:35:59] Madam Mayor, members of council, it's a pleasure to be here this evening. I would like to invite our distinguished guests to come to the front. We have Mr. Malcolm Ames, Mrs. Jacqueline Knight, and Mr. Eugene Brown. And as we come to the front, I would like the community to know that Manassas Museum Echoes Gift Shop has a collection of black history books for folks to visit.

[00:36:25] And so when you find some free time, please talk to ask the museum. All right.

[00:36:40] Hello, hello. All right. So I have three, but I need one to read. So I'll give these, you know, hold on.

[00:36:58] I'll read the proclamation. It's always such an honor, and especially now being Black History Month. You need me to move so you can see. Come on down, Dwayne Smith. I forgot. I meant to, I had that in my notes and I totally forgot what everything else is going on.

[00:37:15] Anybody else want to come down as well? Come on down, anybody else? Mr. White, would you like to come up and join us for this proclamation? I would love to have you come and join me up here. Y'all cousins?

[00:37:35] I didn't know that. Wow. Look at that. That's beautiful. Mike, please get that photo. That's beautiful. Yeah. Former council member Colonel Zerk White joining us.

[00:37:50] thank you beautiful I love it so I'm going to read the proclamation and certainly um you want to stand next yeah go ahead thank you Sonia thank you thank you Councilman Vasquez-Luna she always has my back and reminds me of stuff I'm forgetting so I'm very grateful for you thank you um so so special um Black History Month every month is special in the city of Manassas but Black History Month especially because of the history that has been made here in this city with me being the first mayor first person to call her mayor um i always particularly enjoy this but this year especially

[00:38:28] it is about us standing up and being seen and being heard now more so than ever and don't just let it stop here today let's carry it through the rest of this month and into every other month as well so i'll read the proclamation it reads whereas black history month observed annually in February, recognizes and celebrates the history, achievements, cultural contributions, and rich heritage of African Americans, honoring their enduring impact on the history, society, culture, and civic life of the United States and the city of Manassas across fields, including

[00:39:07] the arts, civil rights, education, government, science, military service, and other endeavors. And whereas Malcolm Ames of Ames Funeral Home has faithfully carried forward the sacred legacy established by his father as steward of the city's only black-owned funeral home for more than 65 years, upholding a third-generation family tradition of excellence, dignity, and compassion while providing trusted care to families across Northern Virginia and beyond,

[00:39:45] serving in leadership roles including president and chairman of the Virginia Morticians Association Incorporated as a board member of the Independent Funeral Homes of Virginia and guiding Ames Funeral Home as a cornerstone city institution grounded in the belief that their work is a ministry offering comfort, light, and hope to both the living and the deceased.

[00:40:09] And whereas Jacqueline Knight, owner of Sweet Pearls Cheesecake, a city-based, woman-owned, family-oriented, and purpose-driven business, has enriched the city through her culinary artistry, creating sweet memories that mark life's milestones, celebrate local history in partnership with the Manassas Museum, and bring joy to residents and visitors alike.

[00:40:32] And whereas Eugene Brown, a city resident and devoted community champion, has dedicated his life to advocating for human services for homeless veterans, individuals with disabilities, elderly adults, and underserved youth, ensuring access to essential quality of life resources through transportation, outreach, and compassionate service, and is widely respected as a visionary servant leader who lives by the principle of connection by bringing people together through generosity, service, and an unwavering commitment to strengthening the fabric of community and now therefore i'm michelle davis younger the first african-american woman to become

[00:41:11] mayor of the city manassas and on behalf of the manassas city council hereby proclaim the month of february 2026 as black history month in the city of manassas and the city council city agencies and staff hereby acknowledge and celebrate the contributions to the city of manassas commonwealth of virginia and united states of america made by african americans congratulations to all three of So ladies and gentlemen, I've already been told not too long.

[00:41:49] I'm also a bishop, a minister, and you know how we can preach. Amen. So all I want to say, this award is more than just for Ames Funeral Home in memory of my mom and dad. For me, it's the memory of Roy's shoe shop that was on Center Street.

[00:42:07] New Method Cleaners that was on Battle Street. For Mr. Roy that had the cleaners. or the hair shops, the barbershop of Moore's Barbershop. Mr. Buck Cannon that had a barbershop and did keys. For the blacksmith shop of the Brown family, this represents me being a part of that legacy also.

[00:42:30] I'm a student of Osmond High School. I thank God for what he has done in my life and for giving to this community that has given to me. God bless you. - Hi, thank you so very much.

[00:42:47] - Did you bring us in the cheese? I truly appreciate it. I'm honored also. And I have to say also that I, you know, I'm very nervous. This is not my thing. But I want to say thank you to Jerrani Coffeehouse because without Jerrani Coffeehouse, City of Manassas would not know me.

[00:43:06] I've been their sole cheesecake provided since the day they opened their doors over 10 years ago. So I am truly blessed by Ken Moorman and Jesse Sousa. So, and thank you, Keisha, always. Since the day I met her, she's just been pouring into Sweet Pearl's Cheesecake, so I thank you.

[00:43:30] Well, first of all, I'm completely just lost for words. You know, this is a complete honor. Who knew 15 years ago when I did my personal case study at the Boys and Girls Club that this was gonna be in the cards. For me, it was about the work that was more important to me.

[00:43:47] They say integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking. Unfortunately, this city was paying attention. But for me, my North Star was actually my family member here who has left the legacy right here in this city here.

[00:44:02] Love the city tremendously. He's run the race. I just wanted to be able to catch the baton and actually continue the next leg of this journey. I'm completely just like, again, I appreciate the city of showing some love.

[00:44:18] The love is right back. So you have a friend in me And we just want to continue to just, it's not for the weak, but that's what makes us Old Town strong. So sorry. Thank you to my wonderful husband, William Knight, who's been my great supporter.

[00:44:39] And my family. Thank you.

[00:44:52] I'm so aghast at the fact that this young man here is a cousin.

[00:45:06] And what he has accomplished reminds me so strongly of the fact that his great-great-grandfather and my great-grandmother got together and created an edict many, many years ago that they would pass on to their offspring, that wherever they went, because all of us were born.

[00:45:43] And I'm just hit 95. And at that time, his grandmother and I used to play in the sand at my grandmother's house in a sand yard, no grass.

[00:46:09] And we used to take the sand and throw it in one another's eyes and face it. But one thing that she and my grandmother and his great-grandfather did in the community of Weisville, because that's all that lived there were whites.

[00:46:32] And I could go on ad nauseum talking about how we got that name, but that's neither here nor there. But one of the edicts that they made, that they would share with their offspring, that wherever they went, they would try to make a difference in that community, make it a better community when they leave than it was when they found it.

[00:47:06] I think that that brings us back to the point where we stand on the shoulders of great men and women of my family. And I just wanted to be here to witness what this young man has done as he's carried on for his family. And all the rest of them have carried on with their families, although they may not have been so explicitly addicted to do so, but he has done that. And

[00:47:45] I congratulate him and I thank him very much for what he has done. And I could go on ad nauseam about some of the things that I have tried to accomplish, but I think that's sufficient enough. But thank you so much, and I thank you for what you have done, and what you have done. And Mr. Ames, I just think that your mother and father was just great people, and

[00:48:24] And it's just so great to see you come forward and pick up the gauntlet and move forward with it. This is so great. So thank you very much. I don't normally talk about me, but it is very important in light of the intermediate school, Dr. Zelda.

[00:48:54] I am the first minority student of Manassas, Virginia, in the public school system at Bennett Elementary School. Thank you.

[00:49:07] thank you all so much for that thank you Mr. Smith are there individuals here from the greater

[00:50:21] Prince William domestic violence fatality review team come on down I can recognize you oh come on down yeah thank y'all so much for being here appreciate it and if we need to get more we can get some more we only have three but if you need more okay all right I'll now read the proclamation

[00:50:57] whereas the city of manassas recognizes that domestic violence sexual assault stalking and human trafficking have devastating impacts on victims families and the community at large and whereas prince william county has established the greater prince william domestic violence fatality review team dvfrt to examine fatal family violence incidents and to develop a body of information to help prevent future fatalities and whereas the manassas city police department is a vital member and working to ensure that the city of Manassas is well represented in the Greater Prince William DVFRT.

[00:51:36] And whereas the Greater Prince William DVFRT will be a multidisciplinary body composed of representatives from health care, law enforcement, the judiciary, the office of the Commonwealth's attorney, victim advocacy organizations, community members with lived experience, and other relevant professionals and stakeholders.

[00:51:55] And whereas the DVFRT will operate under its rules and procedures that ensure confidentiality and compliance with all statutory requirements, including delaying reviews until all criminal and or civil proceedings are completed. and whereas the Greater Prince William DVFRT has established a vision of a community where domestic violence-related deaths are prevented through proactive intervention, effective coordination, and accessible support services, fostering accountability, education, and continuous improvement to build a safer and more responsive system for all residents, and whereas the

[00:52:32] purpose of the Greater Prince William DVFRT is to review the facts and circumstances of fatal family violence incidents in the city of manassas prince william county and the city of manassas park to identify trends improve systemic responses enhance victim safety and develop strategies for prevention now therefore i'm michelle davis younger mayor of the city manassas virginia and on behalf of the manassas city council hereby proclaim that the city of manassas hereby recognizes and supports membership in and the creation of the greater prince william domestic Violence Fatality Review Team in the city of Manassas and encourage all residents to support

[00:53:10] the efforts of the Greater Prince William Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team working to end domestic violence and support survivors and thrivers on their path to healing. Congratulations. Thank you so much. For those that don't know me, I'm Officer McAndrews of the Manassas City Police Department. I am our domestic violence coordinator and part of my job is to work with these great folks over here with the domestic violence fatality review team and make sure that no

[00:53:46] gaps are found in our system that we take care of every person who's a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault and make sure that everybody's taken care of. Go ahead.

[00:54:02] Hello. My name is Rachel Taylor. I work for Prince William County's Office of Community Safety. And I have to say this has been a long, long time coming. I know it seems simple when we're all here together, but it took so much to get here.

[00:54:17] And I'd like to thank Madam Mayor, the Council, and the City of Manassas for not wavering in your commitment to get this right here. In fact, we have Councilwoman Yesslia Mayer here from Manassas Park, which just to me shows us that we're all coming together to fight domestic violence within our community.

[00:54:34] So thank you. We'll let Gwen Deitulo from AXE, our non-profit partner. Well thank you to you, Rachel, for spearheading the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team and all the hard work you put in over the last several years to get it going and bringing us all together.

[00:54:52] I'm Gwendolyn Diotolo. I'm the Community Educator for Domestic Violence Services at Action and Community Through Service, ACTS. And I just want to thank all of you for supporting us and our ability to help survivors to find stability and to find safety.

[00:55:13] Thank you. Thank you so much for that.

[00:55:52] Next on the agenda, item 1.3, Department Annual Report for Community Development, Parks, Culture, and Recreation. recreation mr. RC area is here for that your honor members of council good evening before we let me just introduce members of my staff that are here this evening starting on the end there we have Kristen Miller my admin coordinator Greg Bokin the assistant director who actually runs the department day-to-day Carlos Perez our thank our code enforcement chief Eric Lowe the city's building official and then in the back row we have Jean Jensen the admin

[00:56:31] coordinator for parks culture and rec mary helen our curator and kristin fox our park superintendent so and then keisha is somewhere here too you'll hear from keisha somewhere back there pulling it

[00:56:43] together i think i got everyone without further ado mr smith video i guess you can see from all

[01:02:29] the video we are truly the fun division so much fun there um madam mayor council members you know 2025 was just a year of historic celebrations it was a busy year we had you know the dean park and time capsule ribbon cutting we have the jenny dean model cottage and of course we have our milestone our signature the opening of the community center so it was such a historic time to be a staff person in the city a community member and of course an elected official so we're super excited um in

[01:03:03] In respect of time, because I know it's a full agenda, I would just like to say that the community center has truly been a gathering place. From HOAs, I don't know, holiday celebrations, just birthday parties, you never know what you're going to get when you walk into the community center.

[01:03:19] And it has been just a pleasure. We already had to expand our Tarly Tuesdays to four days a week. We have a waiting list for our yoga classes, and we have a host of sports programs. So we thank the community for receiving the community center and using all the resources that have been put into it.

[01:03:39] You know, overall for 2025, you know, we can't do this alone. We have a whole host of people who help us. So I know I'm going to miss someone, so I apologize in advance, but I must just name a few from Micron, Walmart, Wellington Community Association, the Heavy Construction Contractors Association, the Parks and Rec Committee, Historic Resources Board, Friends of the Manassas Museum, the Associates.

[01:04:06] We could not have done this without you. We love our volunteers. We are recruiting the volunteers, so if you're interested, please see us. And for our new residents, I'll wrap up here, that the Manassas Museum is free. It's absolutely free.

[01:04:21] We will be open seven days a week after Memorial Day, and the community center is open every day, except Wednesdays and Sundays from 10 to 8. So we would love to see you. Come on down, and we thank you for all that you all do, and we thank our community. Thank you so much.

[01:04:37] Thank you, Kesa. I think that wraps it up, Your Honor. I always like to say it's an honor and a pleasure to serve the city and the community, and I stand ready for any questions. Thank you, Matt. Any questions or comments?

[01:04:53] As always, we thank you for everything you do here everywhere and everything to everybody, so we sincerely appreciate it a great video awesome way to capture everything y'all do thank you all right next on the agenda is item 1.4 the department annual report for economic development patrick small is here for that madam mayor good evening members of council um if i had known i could cycle this through and

[01:05:28] play some music behind it i've done that voice over my report and feel free to stop me and ask any questions along the way you've heard some of this in the state of the city that the mayor delivered at the beginning of the meeting, so I'll gloss through some of that, and I would also caveat this by saying all of our 2025 numbers aren't in yet, so some of the data will not show up until we release the report in May at the annual business appreciation breakfast.

[01:05:56] So staff of three in the Department of Economic Development, Heidi, Tia, and myself. Just as a reminder, while a lot of economic development departments and communities measure inputs like capital investment and jobs created, here in Manassas we measure outputs.

[01:06:13] Our goal is wealth creation, making this a wealthier community, a better place for our residents. And while jobs and capital investment are important, what they actually generate in our community is more so. So to that end, we track numbers like the city's population, which continues to remain stable, median household income, which continue to rise, housing values, which continue to rise, an employed civilian labor force that remains relatively constant, and an unemployment rate that remains below the state and national averages.

[01:06:47] Some highlights, the city of Manassas has the fourth highest manufacturing wage in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. The ninth highest overall weekly wage in the Commonwealth, seven highest professional and technical services wage. We are a net importer of labor.

[01:07:03] 20,000 people drive into this city every day for the jobs that are available here and over the past year we experienced a 6.5% yearly growth in property value. Much of our reporting is tied back to the Citizen Satisfaction Survey and some of the questions are reflected in the highlighted areas at the top but we keep a very close eye on the real estate market here in the city for those of you who receive our e-newsletter you'll know we will report quarterly on the overall city vacancy and rental rates and then twice a year on the downtown historic district and that report will

[01:07:42] actually be coming out Thursday but important to note rents continue to rise That's a sign of a place that people want to be, it's a simple supply and demand equation. Vacancy appears on this chart to be higher than we would like.

[01:08:01] What I would say is that is due to a single large property on Liberia, the former merchant tire facility that is currently vacant and for rent. But for that, our vacancy rate would be a more tolerable 6%.

[01:08:19] Out space is virtually nonexistent, if you're looking to rent here in the city we have 2% vacancy, rental rates have climbed above $27 a square foot. Likewise with retail below 2.5% vacancy and retail square foot rates over $29.

[01:08:38] One of the city's premier projects, and you'll hear a little bit more about a proposal for that property later tonight, is the landing at Cannon Branch. proceed with the development of the Hilton home two suites that will go in between the true by Hilton and the old DMV building increasing the city's available hotel rooms for our friends neighbors guests and visitors and then again later this evening we'll talk a little bit about the good housing proposal which is a workforce housing project that will be replacing the DMV

[01:09:15] building you've seen this slide a number of times I think you'll actually see it later again tonight possibly when when Matt comes up and talks about some of our zoning ordinance changes vis-a-vis data centers however I think it's important to note we have currently four of those five of those actually in various stages of construction here in the city one completed on the brickyard which was in the mayor's state of the city report each one of those data centers are expected to generate between four and six million dollars in net new

[01:09:49] tax revenues we have three of them going on Dean one going out at the airport one of those was actually a city-owned property sale that netted the city twenty seven and a half million dollars along Dean Drive and Foster you have new flex warehouse space going up that is critical property for contractors and and businesses that need smaller industrial space.

[01:10:20] And how do our residents feel about some of this stuff? Relatively constant, 35% are extremely satisfied with our ability to develop those kind of projects. On improving commercial corridors, I know City Council at its retreats spent some time talking about Mathis Avenue and specifically connecting that to downtown and making sure it is inviting.

[01:10:43] So as the Manassas Shopping Center project continues to move forward, I want to remind everybody that for the past decade we have been planning corridor improvements along Mathis, and those are now at 100% design, beginning right-of-way acquisition, and the public can find more information about that on our website.

[01:11:03] That will mirror the Grand Avenue streetscape that's recently completed, which resulted and assisted in driving Ashbury. Along Sudley, improvements that have resulted in new businesses coming into the Canterbury Shopping Center, as well as the Wawa.

[01:11:22] That third lane is really, really convenient now that it's done. I don't think everybody's caught on yet, but it's no longer just a turn lane. So for the time being, it remains fairly easy to travel through. and I've been taking it very much again.

[01:11:38] Our facade and landscape improvement grant, we've been running that for about eight years now. Over that period of time, we've granted about $763,000, resulting in $6.3 million in private sector investment in those projects.

[01:11:55] And here's another excellent example of a company that took advantage of that facade grant program to improve the appearance of its facility, and that is the Commonwealth Senior Living Project. Our residents remain fairly constant in their satisfaction with what we're doing in the commercial corridors, attracting and promoting retail restaurants, many new additions to the community over the past year, almost all of which we did ribbon cuttings for.

[01:12:24] And I'm grateful and thankful to council and the senior leadership team for making the time in their busy schedules to attend these. I know it's very important for the businesses in our city. I want to give a thank you and credit where credit is due to HMI for helping to drive purchasers towards the GIFTI program.

[01:12:44] This is a gift card opportunity that allows people to grant gift cards to their friends, families, and others. And those gift cards can only be redeemed at participating businesses in the city of Manassas, so it allows those dollars to stay here in our community, and HMI has done a great job helping us promote that over the past year.

[01:13:11] Again, how do we measure success by outputs? Here's another measure. You see sales tax continues to rise in the city. Meals tax collections continue to rise as well, and over half of our residents are happy with, or half of our residents are happy with, our ability to attract and promote retail and death toll.

[01:13:30] Tourism and visitation is very important. The State of the City presentation talked about events. Those two numbers in the middle come from the Virginia Tourism Corporation, about $64 million in visitor spending annually in the city. That is directly responsible for 535 jobs and about $17.5 million in payroll, $3 million in taxes.

[01:13:53] So again, tourism and visitation, specifically to our historic downtown, but certainly to some of the assets that Matt highlighted in his presentation, as well as businesses across the city, are vital to that growth as well. Historic downtown, the mayor mentioned the MIFCO and Old Town Inn properties.

[01:14:15] We are now in the detailed phase of analyzing the proposer's contract. We hope to have that in front of City Council in the next couple of months for your review. But the net result of that is going to be a new four-story hotel on the Old Town Inn site, a multifamily building on the former MIFCO site, Market Rate Apartments, and a new parking deck in downtown, all in keeping with the city's comprehensive planning as well as the community conversations that you and our residents have participated in.

[01:14:51] And our residents remain very pleased with historic downtown, although that number has slipped just a little bit from prior years. It's still well above 50%. Who are the city's major employers? I'm missing a couple of numbers here.

[01:15:07] The hospital hasn't reported, and Southland Insulators hasn't reported. I believe Southland will probably get bumped off of this list when we get those final numbers in and be replaced by General Dynamics. But Micron remains the city's top employer.

[01:15:22] VA health system, close behind them, public schools, Lockheed Martin, Aurora, American Disposal, SWIFT, VAE, these are marquee employers, and as I say every year, ones that we need to jealously take care of and protect because communities around us and across the country would give their eye teeth for a stable of employers like this. It's almost an embarrassment of riches for a community our size.

[01:15:52] We're very fortunate to have these folks and they're the ones that contribute to and continue to contribute to the rising wages and property values in the city. Unemployment, I mentioned, over the past several years, it's tracking right around 2.5% and remains below the state and national average.

[01:16:12] A couple of highlights for programs we run, graduate, where we will pay all the costs for our residents to achieve a GED. This program is very popular, very successful. Over 240 people have gone through it since we launched it.

[01:16:28] It's not a big financial burden on the city, but it does take all of the cost burden off of the participants, including the test-taking, which you can take as many times as you need to until you are able to pass it.

[01:16:45] And then Grow Manassas is the other workforce development and education program run through my office, And that's one where we pay for the tuition of anybody who's getting a career in technical one-year certificate through the community college.

[01:17:02] And also matches the Fast Forward and G3 tuitions, which are supported by the college and the state as well. So for those two programs, those are no-cost certificates our residents can go get that lead to meaningful employment.

[01:17:17] and the statistics show that those certificates on average have resulted in the people who achieve them getting at least a $16,000 increase in their take home pay for doing so. So whether you're coming out of high school or whether you want to re-educate, those programs are available to you.

[01:17:39] No presentation on economic development will be complete without mentioning Micron, the city's largest employer. the past year they finished their community or employee experience center i think we're all familiar with the expansions and announcements that have been going on out there 340 additional jobs expected with last year's announcement and those jobs pay well above the city's medium wage general dynamics i talked briefly about a new addition to our community and most of you joined

[01:18:14] us when we cut the ribbon on their new Maritime System Center of Excellence. They actually have operations in the county as well, and they recently brought 500 jobs out of Fairfax and into this facility as well as the facility over in the county.

[01:18:32] So of the marquee defense contractors, the city of Manassas has most of them. We need to add Martha Drummond to our stable, SAIC, but other than that, you've got You've got Leidos, you've got Lockheed, you've got General Dynamics, you've got BAE, I mean, the list goes on and on.

[01:18:53] And our residents remain fairly pleased with our ability to attract and retain those types of jobs. Communication and outreach, our numbers continue to improve. Facebook and other social media, online outlets are the way we get the word out.

[01:19:10] things like our e-newsletter and other communication opportunities. And then I'll sum it up with stealing a summary page out of Diane's ACFR, whereby your auditors continue to give you excellent marks for the health of your economy.

[01:19:32] And most notable on there would be one, two, three, four, five. Fifth bullet down, 67.4% of this city's property tax base comes from business and industry, much like the net import of labor into the city.

[01:19:53] Having a community that has such a high ratio of taxes being paid by the business community, thereby taking the burden or some of the burden off of the homeowner is remarkable. And again, communities around the country would give their eye teeth for these kind of numbers as well as for that bond rating that the council and the finance staff and others continue to hold so precious and dear to us.

[01:20:21] And with that, I think that's the last slide, so I'm happy to answer any questions about your economy or our activities over the past year. Thank you, Mr. Small. Any questions or comments from Mr. Small? Mrs. Beskizmo?

[01:20:37] Thank you, Madam Mayor. On the numbers, because, you know, those are very important to me, the workers, I believe those only show the full-time employees. So is there any way that the part-time or the seasonal employment, it's reported?

[01:20:57] I don't mean to be added, but I know it's significant. We can ask and have asked in the past. The other number that's not reported on here are contractors. So if one of these larger businesses outsources its food service to somebody like an Aramark or otherwise, that doesn't show up in here.

[01:21:18] I know Micron specifically has a lot of contractors on their site. So what we are tracking are the direct employment numbers. We can ask for that. It varies pretty widely. Any other questions, comments? Thank you, Mr. Small.

[01:21:36] Next up is the Department Annual Report, item 1.5 on the agenda, Department Annual Report for Engineering, John Keenan. your honor just a brief moment as counsel is aware mr. Lance Kilby is not with us this evening we continue to wish him a speedy and excellent recovery and I just wanted to publicly thank John for stepping in the role of acting city engineer along with Amy is our stormwater manager and the rest of engineering staff for stepping in over the last few months because you've been very difficult and trying but the department has continued to as you're about to see in the video accelerate some projects all right spares job from having to present you for a little bit we're gonna have a video limit soon

[01:22:20] mayor vice vice vice mayor wolf excuse me members of council just want to say thank you for your

[01:25:21] support uh your ongoing support of our department and the work that we do thank you to uh amy lance the rest of our staff and especially kristen for putting together the video saving me and giving the presentation today um but i stand ready for any questions thank you any questions mr osina uh Yes, you know, one of the comments I get or questions that I get from residents is, as you do these stream restorations here, why are you taking down all the trees?

[01:25:50] Plan the process and what considerations are going in there? It's not willy-nilly that the trees are just coming down, are they? That's a great question. I'll let Amy answer that question. It's part of the restoration process.

[01:26:07] And yes, you know, along the ground, there are trees taken down, but also the design plans to put in 1,000 more trees. So, yes, it does take time, but the goal is to have a natural process.

[01:26:28] And the trees, they go through an arborist review, and there's a selection process, and we do a site walk, and so we are very locked up with the ones in which we do remove, and there is a definite plan as far as restoration.

[01:26:51] - And why are these streams being quote unquote restored? What's wrong with the streams? - Well, there is erosion, and there are sediment banks in which we have to restore, and then also it helps with our nutrient loads.

[01:27:08] and to ensure clean water in our system. - How does this relate to the requirements? - We have the TMDL requirements in which we have to meet nitrogen and also phosphorus, and we have a goal in which we have to meet for 2028, and we are ending that goal, thank you.

[01:27:40] Any other questions? - Any other questions, comment? the desk is in? Yes, thank you. I think there are some that we can see, like right away, like Liberia House and, you know, everything was being done there. I think it was, I know it's hard, you know, and thank you, Council Menosina, for the comments. It is difficult to see the trees or all the changes, but no, no, I believe it's so important and I think what hit me the most,

[01:28:14] it was remember that all the water from the streets go there and if this is not done if it's not fixed and made better we might have floods and you know it's so many other different things that happen to this and sometimes it might not the name of the department is not easily related to the work that you do but as a board member in the tpb and other different boards you know we We have to meet our minimums, and we have to do our part, even though sometimes it seems like Manassas is far, but we all are part of the region making a difference.

[01:28:54] But yeah, no, thank you for the work. I think in the historic resources board is when I learned the most about what you do, 'cause they were so detailed on the presentations. I have to say the turtles were fun when we went to the pond, but I was a little scared of it.

[01:29:12] I was scared of it. We'll be having another one with another part. Well, thank you for teaching everyone and making it fun as well. I appreciate it. You're welcome. Ms. Vasquez Luna had the snake around her neck that day. I think I remember that. Thank you so much.

[01:29:27] Any other? Oh, Mr. Burke. Just a couple of things. TMDL, total maximum daily limit, that is part of the permit that our engineering folks have to estimate and report to the state, And that is what Amy reported as far as some of the constituents that we are required to.

[01:29:43] And then as far as the trees go, a lot of the trees that are removed are non-native, non-contributing to the environment. So when we do go in and do some tree removal, what Amy does is go back in and puts in recommended trees that are able to stabilize the banks but also promote positive environment for animals in the area.

[01:30:12] that's good one more comment i remember seeing from the city a lot about the salt and i know this was a historic um snow with the ice um can you just speak a little bit about why it's so important that we don't overuse it or you know if we'll use it we're mindful of of the effect it takes in the water well with the salt it only takes a small amount it only takes a small amount And so we want to be very careful because it affects our fish

[01:30:46] and affects all of the different wildlife sources in the Chesapeake Bay and in our streams. So that's why we have different Facebook videos and different announcements about it.

[01:31:07] Just to add to that, the salinity of the streams affects the ecological resources that are there. A lot of the, not just the fish, turtles, and vertebrates that are there are very sensitive to salinity in the water. So that's why we encourage to be as judicious as we can while exercising what we need to do to be safe in terms of ice removal.

[01:31:32] All right. If there's any other questions, thank you both so much for being here. Thank you for your report. All right. Chief Keene will come forward, item 1.7, the NCPD recognition. And then after we do that, we'll take a 10-minute recess after this part.

[01:31:52] Thank you, Mayor. Thank you to the family and friends, especially the young ones for being so patient with us tonight. It has been a very long agenda, but tonight is very important. I think you know how I believe and you believe it's important to not only recognize the hard work of some of our staff, but get the new officers in front of you and our residents so you can begin to recognize them and build relationships with them.

[01:32:23] No PowerPoints, no videos, live entertainment from the police department. So setting a new standard. We're gonna begin tonight. I'm gonna do a quick introduction of our recent Academy graduates, our lateral hires, thanks to you for supporting our paying benefits package that made us a more competitive agency that got these eight people we're gonna introduce to you in front of you tonight.

[01:32:52] I have three of the assistant chiefs here with me tonight. I'm going to ask them to come up. We have Captain Hyde, Captain Brooks, and Captain Barahona. They're going to help me through this agenda as we do the introductions and the recognition of the hard work. First up tonight is going to be the three officers from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy, Session 153. First up

[01:33:16] is Officer Garay. Next up is Officer Tyler DeWalt. Officer DeWalt was also the Control Tactics Guarding Award recipient of the Academy. And finally, Officer Elijah Snow. I'm going to brag on this young man a little bit. He was second in the human performance testing. He also, you may

[01:33:51] recognize him. He's a local resident. He was also one of our crossing guard parking enforcement. He should be a testament to all young people who want to get into the profession. He is quiet and humble, but he did everything we asked him to do to become a better candidate to go to the academy.

[01:34:12] So congratulations for your hard work and your commitment to get to what you did. Congratulations to them. A round of applause. Stay where you're at. Next up is going to be our lateral officers. You'll hear just a little about each one of them.

[01:34:32] I think you'll recognize that this program allows us to be fully staffed. This is what we're trying to do, a good mix of young officers that are just entering the profession and then also bringing in seasoned officers. First up is going to be Officer Charles Lynch.

[01:34:51] He has eight years of experience, and he came to us from Prince William County. Next up is Officer Karam.

[01:35:06] He came to us from Blacksburg. Again, recommended to us from Blacksburg. They recommended him to come to us as well. Come on up. Next up is Officer Kane. He came to us from Alexandria Sheriff's Office.

[01:35:31] Next, Officer Vera. He has two years of experience and also came to us from Prince William County.

[01:35:47] Last but not least is Officer Stillman. Officer Stillman also came to us from Alexandria Sheriff's Office. Before we move to the next section, I just have a few quick words for all of these officers.

[01:36:04] I think our council and the leaders would echo this. What you do matters. How you do it matters. More importantly, each of you matter. You matter to me. You matter to the leadership. You matter to your peers.

[01:36:20] You matter to this council. More importantly, you matter to these residents. So how you do it, what you do is very important. You're a representation of all of us. Keep that in mind, and I think if you stay for the regular program to finish it out, you'll hear what you do and how you do it is recognized and appreciated by us as well.

[01:36:40] So a round of applause for all of them. We can have a seat. I'm going to ask the assistant chiefs to come up. They're going to assist with the employee of the year, the field training officer of the year, and then a couple of award recognitions as well.

[01:37:05] Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of council. If I could introduce Master Police Officer Sean Barrett. Throughout the past year, Master Police Officer Barrett has exemplified the organization's values through his unyielding work ethic and commitment to excellence.

[01:37:30] His dedication to the community and the profession has driven many of his achievements, positively impacting the department's success. While his successes over the past year are plentiful, I'll share just a few of the highlights. He helped develop a plan to address an ongoing narcotics and quality of life concern complaint in a residential neighborhood, which resulted in arrests that put a stop to the illegal activity.

[01:37:53] He assisted with a robbery investigation that led to the arrest of the suspect and recovery of evidence of the crime. He was recognized for providing life-saving measures to a shooting victim and then subsequently arresting those responsible for the crime. He has developed and led surveillance operations leading to arrests of individuals within the city of Manassas who were wanted for multiple criminal violations in other jurisdictions.

[01:38:17] He's one of the department's lead firearms instructors and was placed in charge of overseeing the logistics of the department's recent transition to a new firearm, which involved the equipping and training of nearly 100 officers. And perhaps most notably, he took the initiative to facilitate reunification of an individual with family who had not been able to locate him for nearly 12 years.

[01:38:38] MPO Barrett initiated this on his own and clearly went above and beyond to facilitate what ended up being a positive outcome. And so for those reasons, Master Police Officer Barrett was selected by his peers as the 2025 Sergeant John Connor III Memorial Employee of the Year.

[01:38:54] Congratulations. It's my honor to present the Field Training Officer of the Year award from the Monaster City Police Department, Master Police Officer Ricky Clodfelter.

[01:39:27] Ricky truly represents what a great field training officer should be. With more than 20 years of experience, he's someone our officers naturally turn to for guidance and his presence on a squad is often described as having an extra supervisor. The officers he trains consistently talk about how patient, approachable, and knowledgeable he is and how he pushes them to think critically through real-world, scenario-based training.

[01:39:48] He sets high standards and adapts to how each officer learns and creates an environment that's both supportive and accountable, thus earning him FTO of the Year.

[01:40:13] For the Honor Roll Service Medal Awards, we would like to recognize Master Police Officer Simic and Master Detective Curry. Master Detective Curry, unfortunately, is not able to be here with us today, and I'm honored to accept the award on her behalf.

[01:40:34] The following actions by MPO Simic and Master Detective Curry were not only heroic, but likely saved the life of the victim. The honorary service medal is awarded to members of the department who render distinguished service worthy of the Medal of Merit, while knowingly placing themselves at risk of bodily harm. To set the stage, this incident took place back in July of 2025, roughly just over 1:00 a.m. Master Police Officer Simic and Master Detective Curry responded to 8785

[01:41:10] Centerville Road for a shooting that had just occurred. Master Police Officer Simic was the first to arrive and upon arrival he located an individual with apparent gunshot wounds. Master Police Officer Simic immediately began applying life-saving measures including a tourniquet to the victim while also directing additional officers who were in route to this priority one incident.

[01:41:36] Master Detective Curry will be the second officer to arrive on scene. Master Detective Curry would then proceed and assist Master Police Officer Simic in applying life-saving measures, including applying an additional tourniquet. This was certainly one of those incidents with multiple gunshot wounds to the victim. Other officers, including Master Police Officer Barrett, Officer Coates, Officer Godbold, and Sergeant Jordan would arrive and also assist with this type of incident, including securing the crime scene. As stated, this was

[01:42:13] certainly one of those incidents that require exceptional teamwork. The investigation led officers to a nearby motel where subjects possibly involved were said to be located. All occupants in that room were detained and interviewed. This was one of those scenes requiring quick, decisive actions and, again, exceptional coordination and collaboration. MPL CMIC and Master Detective Curry took control of the scene, provided clarity, guidance to incoming officers in recognition of

[01:42:48] their service to this community, exceptional judgment, and ultimately going above and beyond what is required of duty, they are being awarded with a Medal of Merit. Congratulations. Finally, Mayor, if I could ask Captain Brooks to come up here and join me. We're also recognizing tonight that Captain Brooks was a graduate of the 296th session at the FBI National Academy.

[01:43:27] the fbi national academy while located in quantico is the world it's an international law enforcement school many law enforcement wait their entire career to attend this school we have been lucky enough we were before you last year when captain barahona graduated captain brooks just graduated and captain hyde is set to go in july i have no more favors to call in for the fbi they are they are used up but we do want to congratulate him on getting this as you've heard me stand before you and talk about succession planning for your police department and building the leadership for the

[01:44:05] future now these three or three additional people that now will have those qualities and the ksas to be able to compete to be the future leadership of this department if they so desire so congratulations to captain brooks yeah thank you chief i'd just like to share how incredibly honored and humbled and grateful i am to i've had the opportunity to represent the city the police department i'd like to thank my colleagues who did all my work for me when i was gone for those 10 weeks and then most

[01:44:42] importantly my family for uh holding it together for a very long 10 weeks without me my wife and two youngest children are here so thank you i appreciate it thank you mayor council thank you for taking the time to hear us tonight and in your round of applause when we're ready to take a recess.

[01:45:06] Ten minutes. Yeah, thank you so much. Thank you.

[01:45:33] Vice Mayor Wolfe for that motion. Madam Mayor, I move the consent agenda to be approved in the reading of the ordinances dispensed with. Second. We have a motion by Vice Mayor Wolfe seconded by Councilwoman Vasquez Luna to approve our consent agenda. Any discussion?

[01:45:50] Hearing and seeing none. Mr. Smith, please call the roll. Yes. Councilmember Vasquez Luna? Yes. - Council member Ellis, council member Smith. - Here. - Yes. - Council member Osina.

[01:46:08] - Are you sure? - Am I here? - Council member Osina. - Here or present or what? - Yes. - Council member Hudson. - Yes. - The motion carries. - Thank you. Moving forward to item three is our public hearings.

[01:46:24] Okay, I gotta read the statement here. This moves us along to item three, public hearings. We have a sign up sheet, anybody signed up? Okay, so we don't have anyone sign up. If you wish to sign up to speak, we have this sign-up sheet here. Reminder, public hearing sheet is separate from the public comment sheet.

[01:46:40] First, I'll go over the procedures for public hearing. I'll read the newspaper ad certification, and then staff will present the issue for consideration, and the council then has the opportunity to ask questions, and I will open the public hearing for public comments. We will make sure not to miss anyone who wishes to speak regarding a public hearing item.

[01:46:56] And then the public hearing is then closed or continued, and action is scheduled to be taken by the council at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. So with that, I'll read the newspaper certification statement, which says, As the mayor, I certify that newspaper advertisements for the public hearings listed on tonight's agenda were published in conformance with the requirements of general law and city ordinances.

[01:47:17] As the mayor, I further certify that an affidavit of publication is before me, which is signed by an authorized representative of the Prince William Times newspaper, which states that the advertisements appeared on the required dates. And who's here to help us with, let's see, Mr. Small is here for this item, 3.1.

[01:47:39] Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Mayor. Before you engage the public, just a brief overview on this property. It is less than one-tenth of an acre. It is located on Dean Drive across from the data center construction. It's going on on that road and proximate to the city's water tower, the animal shelter, and serve.

[01:48:01] For those of you familiar with the real estate out there, the properties on the side of the road between Dean Drive and the railroad tracks are cut into these very small 10th of an acre lots. In some cases, several of them have been assembled by private property owners.

[01:48:18] In 2022, when Len Adler and his family sold the mini storage and associated property around it to the Black Chamber Group for the construction of the two data centers that are under construction.

[01:48:34] Now, I approached Mr. Adler about donating about a half dozen of these lots that he owned to the city. He made a lot of money selling the mini storage to the data centers and I convinced him he could use a small tax write-off and really didn't have anything that he might need those properties for in the future.

[01:48:57] So he gave us those lots. Some of them are next to the city's water tank and those increased the size of that property and therefore did have a beneficial use. This one lot does not have any beneficial use for us whatsoever.

[01:49:15] The first thing we did was check with all the city departments and agencies to see if there was any possible use for the property. There is not. The person who owns the two adjacent lots has made us an offer, well it didn't start there, but has now made us an offer that is equivalent to the assessment and has also agreed that we may retain the rights of way and easements along the front of that property that will enable the future widening of Dean Drive as well as utility improvements which are in your capital plan.

[01:49:50] And further has agreed to donate the rights of way and easements necessary for that project along the front of his lot. So we won't have to go into any kind of adverse relationship with him to acquire those or otherwise pay him if the relationship were to be amicable.

[01:50:08] So in summary, he's giving you the rights of way and easements along the front of two lots. We're retaining the rights of way and easement along the front of ours. We're putting $60,000 in the bank and we're getting rid of a piece of surplus property that we will no longer have to insure or concern ourselves with illegal dumping on.

[01:50:27] have any questions i'm happy to answer them either now or after the public hearing and i thank you for your time any questions from mr small from council members if not the um public hearing is now open there's no one signed up is there anyone here to speak on this item okay madam mayor seeing no one i move to the close public hearing schedule for a vote at the next regular scheduled meeting with the council second okay the motion by vice mayor will second it by councilman smith to close the public hearing and and move forward to the next council meeting any question any discussion sorry

[01:51:02] hearing and seeing none mr. Smith please call the roll vice mayor wolf yes council member smith yes council member ellis council member elicina yes council member vasquez luna yes council member hudson yes the motion carries okay thank you so much for that uh item four on the agenda ordinances and resolution item 4.1 is ordinance number oh 2026 443 the conveyance of property the landing at canon branch to good housing virginia llc first reading mr small like a bad penny i just keep

[01:51:38] turning up although with good news i hope uh you held a public hearing in december regarding the sale of the property formerly known as the dmv building which we had temporarily repurposed for use as the customer service center at the landing at cannon branch you received citizen comment at that meeting subsequently city staff mr arcieri myself ms waldron on his staff as well as the principals in good housing had a meeting over the holidays with the homeowners association of the

[01:52:15] private residences in the landing at Cannon Branch we subsequently held a community meeting in January at the Chamber of Commerce the second such community meeting we've held about this project out there in the last six months at the meeting the principles of good housing participated as well and to summarize we believe that some of the residents have raised some concerns that we wanted to address Ms. Waldron has provided in your packet some very

[01:52:50] extensive research regarding some of the issues that were raised as have the folks at Good Housing they are proposing to build an attainable housing development using low-income housing tax credits that will provide 100 multi-family apartment units that will be available for the workforce in our city addressing a housing need that we have identified over the last several years as being necessary in our community for for those that might say this project seems to be moving very quickly I would counter it's not we

[01:53:29] started hoeing this row six years ago or more laying the groundwork in your comprehensive plan in the background studies and works that you have done in identifying properties where we may be able to address housing needs in our community and specifically one year ago last month at your council retreat you charge your staff with pursuing the development of this lot which is entitled for 225 residential units we are proposing again good housing is

[01:54:07] proposing 100 units subsequently as we have shared with council and also with the community we intend to pursue a proper amendment to move some of those housing units but that's not the subject of tonight's conversation we're specifically focused on that corner lot at the intersection of Godwin and Gateway.

[01:54:27] You have a pretty extensive analysis and detailed proposal in your package that shows what that development might look like. What is also in there is a purchase and sale agreement that has been signed by Good Housing that we ultimately will be asking you to vote in the affirmative on as well.

[01:54:48] i would say that that contract is not the end all for this project the council has reserved unto itself architectural review rights on this property as well this transaction also involves some city supported financing that will be the subject of extensive conversations during your budget process so this is not the end of the process but actually more so the beginning there will be other opportunity for public input as well as for City Council to continue to work with the developer on this project so

[01:55:28] with that I stand prepared to address any questions that council may have this evening in the event I am not able to give you an immediate answer I may call on some of my compadres from your legal office or your community development office, but I can probably take a shot at most of them.

[01:55:50] So if you have any questions, Madam Mayor, members of council, happy to answer them. Thank you, Mr. Small. Any questions or comments? Ms. Ellis? That's all you guys. Okay, so what we are voting on is sale of the project.

[01:56:07] A purchase and sale agreement. Before we have the contract. That is the contract. I mean, okay, so what are you talking about? You're saying we still have a lot of work to do. We do. Okay, so there's a lot of contingencies to this contract?

[01:56:23] There are some contingencies in this contract, yes, not the least of which is subject to appropriation. The money. Questions, and I might have asked this in the past. From some of the research, and thank you for all the research that you did give us.

[01:56:43] If I may, Ms. Waldron's to be commended for much of that. The effect of affordable housing properties. I understand the need for affordable housing.

[01:56:59] I think there are many different ways that we can get a rent, and I'll get into that a little bit. My question is, there is a level of funding that starts with the city, $6 million.

[01:57:17] $3 million to buy it, $3 million to help with development. From there, it goes, from what I recall, the state to the federal government to try to get this project actually to completion. From what I could tell from the research that I did, good housing has been established around September 2024, relatively new.

[01:57:42] How can we guarantee that it's going to get to that point? That's $6 million if we sell that land to good housing. And this whole cycle does not get to the end. Do we have a contingency in this contract that it's voided?

[01:58:01] What happens? You will not sell this land until all of those contingencies have been met. So the actual closing on the real estate is the very end of this process. After all of the approvals for financing, for architectural review, for site plan, for building plan, subsequent to all of those things having been met, subject to the developer having all of their financing in place, Closing will not occur, so there will be no need to claw the property back.

[01:58:35] So the $6 million would stay in the city's funding, in funding fund balance. Well, it wouldn't be $6 million because $3 of that $6 million is the sale price of the real estate. So essentially, at closing, at the end of the process, $3 of that $6 million would come to the city at the closing table.

[01:58:58] We would then turn around and lend that $3 million along with an additional $3 million back to the developer as part of the capital stack. And that is after we have gotten to the point where all contingencies are. Absolutely, including those of the Virginia housing folks who wield a much bigger stick than we.

[01:59:19] These projects can take quite a long time. It sounds like it's a long-term project. You know, they take a lot longer when you're dealing with localities that aren't as friendly as ours or perhaps as sophisticated as ours.

[01:59:41] So we have identified a developer that we believe is best in class, that has the experience and the ability to pull this off as quickly as possible. Because you own the real estate and because you have a planning department that turns site plans around in a fraction of the time that any of our neighbors could even contemplate turning a site plan around, we will get this project under construction in a third or better of the time that they might be able to do it in another locality.

[02:00:18] So right now, groundbreaking is anticipated for possibly as early as March of next year. We are looking at to help with affordability in cities.

[02:00:39] There are ways to have paths to home ownership. Grants, we're talking about affordable dwelling units, have actual functioning housing, which I don't see this as functioning housing. I see this as affordable housing in a food desert with no transportation, no walkability, and not enough.

[02:01:06] And because of that, it's not functional. It's not really serving who we're trying to help out and serve our work. And I know that we have conflicting news like, well, you know, they don't need walkability. They don't need transportation.

[02:01:22] They have cars. Well, with 1.5 spaces, like where is it? I mean, there's just so much that doesn't make sense. A project, we have had projects come to council in the past. One was off of Fairview. It was mixed with affordable and different economic levels.

[02:01:43] It was actually, in my opinion, a very good project. It did not get the majority vote, did not require any money from the city, from our residents, to put into it. And it was perfect for walkability, perfect for food.

[02:02:01] Everything was in place without being successful. I don't see this lining up for success. I see other places in our city where this could line up for success, like Mathis Avenue. A lot of opportunities there for people to have a functional community for themselves.

[02:02:21] The $6 million is not sitting well with many people in our community, especially after the retreat when we heard our family services has a shortfall of almost $1.5 million. Our infrastructure needs a lot of updates. we're hearing our our bond rating possibly could be in jeopardy if we don't keep our capital reserves where they need to be and the projections are that they are declining so you know i we have a housing trust housing committee that we haven't heard from i i just can't support it and i know

[02:02:58] most of the council here you know they might support it they support the affordable housing options but i just can't see the six million and i also can't see the location i don't think it's really checking off a box that's going to be the right impact but what many of us are trying to see that's all i have thank you madam mayor uh the landing at canon ranch and i'm going to repeat some of this stuff. So, my apologies. It's 100 units for about 1,000, 99, 900 square feet

[02:03:37] each average unit. It's only 2.99 acres of the whole landing place. I believe we have worked really hard to make sure that, like we saw today, not only did we retain police and fire and everybody else but also for us to be attracting them so for me this is so important because the

[02:04:11] priority will be given to teachers police public safety nurses we have a hospital and some of the nurses might benefit from from this and all city employees these it's so important we have i have I have been attending the housing meetings, the housing board, and they were talking about how some of the units are coming up for expiration. I don't believe our housing coordinator is here,

[02:04:44] but if I recall correctly, it was over 200 units. And that is, you know, important. This is, this is making a difference, not only for our retention, but also making sure that those that are having to travel because they can't afford to live here but they love serving and working here they can also join and live here so many things i attended the uh um the uh the tour and it is about community it's about what we reflect this will give opportunity

[02:05:18] to them to be able to save and be able to you know maybe uh purchase it their home next time so many features for security so many uh different features so for me this is important i mean even it's uh it's uh said to be a certified green so there is many reasons uh i will ask you know council to consider this and you know want to vote in favor because this yes we are 13th place and when it comes to the affordability but i believe that unless we do something today

[02:05:57] we're not going to be able to stay there and we're not going to fix uh northern virginia we are trying to help our workforce as a priority so me this is for me this is very important it is a city assets we're trying to develop as a part of the uh the boards when it comes to transportation i believe it's up to each one of us to make the difference so we can have a stop there and and when the people is terrible you know will can require that and we can make changes but we can't know say no to a

[02:06:34] project just because the bus is not there when when these uh workforce these employees deserve to live right here or deserve to stay right here so uh i'm sorry for taking so much time but to me it's so important and uh you know the reason why i came to manasa it was because the housing was affordable and the biggest gap that we have is when it comes to apartments and rentals and having a rent in all rentals and affordability when it comes to that so I encourage each one of you to think about you know making a difference for

[02:07:13] those they need the most and putting priority in our workforce those they already chose Manassas to serve and work here they deserve to live here as well thank you ma'am um i'm going to agree with miss ellis we should have approved the project in fairview but we didn't and i am haunted by a nightmare scenario where manassas northern

[02:07:49] virginia becomes the new seattle where you live and you make 150 000 a year and you live in your car because you can't find a house there are no perfect answers this is not the perfect answer this is a brick in the wall it is an attempt an effort to make things a little better for 100 families it doesn't solve a pathway to ownership it doesn't do this it doesn't do that there is no

[02:08:26] one stop shop that does everything for housing and if you think there is you're in the wrong place but i think we need to do this um because i think this is we have a partner that has come forward that to Mr. Small's point is best in class.

[02:08:47] Every bit of due diligence we've done from the financials to council members looking at the properties to political conversations with other jurisdictions points to that. It's a piece of property that we own and because of that we are able to do some things with it on the affordability side to make this project happen that would not happen anywhere else in the city to be very honest.

[02:09:14] Maybe there'll be some affordable housing component And Mathis, let's be honest, that's years and years away. And given opportunity here and now in the near term for, again, 100 families of people who work in Manassas, live in Manassas, serve Manassas for the most part, don't be something that won't, is an opportunity that we frankly cannot pass.

[02:09:42] And I'll point out one last thing, and Mr. Small went there a little bit. This is the start of a process. And, yes, once we approve this, it's likely to go through. but the the reality of the process is good housing in the city has to have a contract in place to be able to go to vdha and the feds and the private sector to secure the rest of the funding that's how the game works we can't change that so with that i will go ahead and move adoption of the

[02:10:16] ordinance and shut up second yeah wait for sessions we have the motion by vice mayor will seconded by councilman vasquez luna to approve ordinance number o 2026-443 any discussion so so when it comes to housing priority may be teachers police public safety nurses or student employees may be given doesn't mean it will be given it may be given that's a great

[02:10:53] little bullet to add to a proposal to try to sell the project um you know they went over the the criteria of what how they would try to bring people into the property but from what i can recall in past uh computations they cannot give priority to certain types of groups of people um so it's being sold that way but it's not really that way um when you have six million dollars i know it's

[02:11:26] 100 families how many how much could you give 100 families to help them get in a house halfway to To home ownership, helping with the closing costs to get them something permanent that gives them roots in our community.

[02:11:43] I'm not opposed to apartments. I lived in apartments many times. But this is a for-profit business, food housing. They want to have people in there that are going to pay their rent. They want to keep people that are good payers. That's business.

[02:12:01] They're a business. So how is there a path to home ownership? It's not really – this whole thing just doesn't make any sense to me. When we're trying to really, truly help people with affordable housing, we're doing many things.

[02:12:16] Keeping our taxes low definitely will help. I really like the phrase functional housing, and this just isn't it. We were told by transportation, busing is not coming there. I mean, just recently we had that.

[02:12:32] It's not coming there. But I do appreciate the efforts, and I think that we could have an opportunity to wait for another project but we're not putting six million dollars in a place that actually will serve the residents that need help and also have some path to ownership thank you thank you madam mayor you know I think a lot of people are addressing this as a as an or scenario that it's only one or another and I think that

[02:13:12] over the next several years the city will continue to prioritize affordable housing in any way that we can and this is the way that we can right now the way that's going to make an impact on those who need it and it's not ten years down the road which I think is impactful I think it's also you know one of the things that stuck out to me in these conversations was that this site already has the underground utilities in place and that's one of the reasons why they

[02:13:47] make the financing work at this location that doesn't exist and it just any given parcel in the city that it has that adequate utility infrastructure um and i you know as we continue to work with transportation agencies we can continue to advocate should a bus be what is needed there however i think there's a lot of neighborhoods that are just also don't have buses for walkable food options um certain there's a lot of them around here maybe most um so for me this

[02:14:27] is this is one piece of a big puzzle um you know we just heard at vml last week that virginia is in a six million unit shortfall in housing right now um as populations continue to grow i don't see that getting any less without intentional um projects such as this one so thank you madam Ms. Cosino?

[02:14:51] Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't look down this way. You had your... No, I didn't have my hand. Oh, okay. Go ahead. Question for you, Mr. Small. $6 million, that is a loan.

[02:15:08] Is that correct? That is correct. That means they will pay interest back? It does. So we will make more than $6 million? You will. I have a couple of thoughts, as I normally do on some of these things.

[02:15:26] Tonight's decision is about more than just several acres of land. It's about whether the people who work in our city, serve our residents, graduate from our schools, will have a place to live in the community they call home. Before us is a proposal to convey approximately three acres of city-owned land at the corner of Godwin Drive and Gateway Boulevard to Good Housing, Virginia, for the construction of roughly 100 affordable housing units.

[02:15:52] I want to begin by recognizing and thanking the residents of the landings at Cannon Branch and others who took the time to call, email, meet with the developer, engage with City staff and speak with members of council your involvement made this a better project you asked thoughtful questions you shared legitimate concerns and you did the most important thing any engaged resident can do you leaned in seller several of you even toured existing good housing virginia developments to see firsthand the type and quality of housing being proposed that level of civic

[02:16:26] engagement strengthens our community and improves our decision making we must acknowledge the broader reality in which we're making this decision. We are in the midst of a housing shortage that's been building for nearly two decades. Following the 2008 recession, home construction slowed dramatically while population, demand, and regulatory barriers continue to grow. The result is a shortage that is affecting communities across the country, including right here in Manassas. Rental housing has been particularly hard hit. Nearly half of renter households in

[02:17:04] Manassas, 49% are paying more than 30% of their income on housing, and that is not sustainable. This project is designed specifically to address that gap with an emphasis on workforce housing, housing for the very people who keep our schools running, our businesses open, and our local economy. Now, as a city counselor, I have a responsibility to ensure that taxpayer resources are used wisely and prudently. There are many reasons to support this project, but one of the compelling is the return on investment for our community. We invest enormous

[02:17:44] resources into educating our children, kindergarten through high school. We prepare them for success, we equip them with skills, we give them opportunity, but when these same graduates cannot afford to live here and are forced to move elsewhere, we are effectively exporting our investment. We educate a workforce only to have another community benefit from it.

[02:18:13] Anyone who pays taxes should recognize that as an unacceptable economic model. Proving this project is not simply about housing. It's about retaining our workforce, strengthening our economy, and ensuring that the people who contribute to this city have the opportunity to remain part of it.

[02:18:34] Because in the end, as has been said, a community thrives when the people who serve it can also afford to call it home. For that reason, I will be voting for this safety. Thank you, Mayor. - Thank you, Ms. Yossine. Any other comments for discussion before the roll call?

[02:18:53] Ms. Vasquez, do you want me? - My comment is I will continue to work and find new ways to continue to retain staff without having to increase the expenses.

[02:19:09] If we had cut the budget last year, it would have hurt, it would have hurt no staff, but also it would have cut different positions. So for me, I believe that we can even, they are under that percentage.

[02:19:35] If they wish, they will qualify. And to me, it's about making sure that we're doing everything we can, not only for them, but also for anybody that needs attainable place to leave so they can get ready for maybe to purchase one day.

[02:19:55] And I believe everything I learned has a great success. And sitting here, I just wanna do what's best for not only for the workforce, but for the residents. So it is important. I wish we could fix the amount of money, Especially us knowing the, let me see, what was the number?

[02:20:19] We are numbered, I'm looking for your report, my apologies. We are one of the top 10 employers, and having to, I didn't find it, having to do that, you know, it is, you know, for me it's important that we make a change.

[02:20:40] I think we were like, I don't know, it was the schools, right? The schools were on top, the top 10 employers. But yes, if we could, you know, without increasing the rate, without making the changes, we would. I know there's other ways that we're trying to attract and retain.

[02:20:57] And this is important for the people that need it the most and for people to be able to establish themselves. So I see it as an investment, and this is where we're sensitive to look out for everyone. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

[02:21:15] When we moved housing, attainable housing, affordable housing, to a priority on our agenda, we recognized that we would have to think, and pardon me for this because this is an old saying, but outside of the box.

[02:21:33] That box for cities and localities is often a zoning. That's not the issue in this case, but the idea that you have to think strategically, think outside the box, recognizes the reality, the cost of land, the cost of building houses, the cost on behalf of developers, and our localities, and I just find that the, I think many localities, as I know, several of our research, are using local land for affordable housing initiatives as a step towards their goal in attainable housing.

[02:22:08] I support this project because I'm willing to use some strategic thinking as not giving them $6 million, $3 million, whatever. The process that we are using actually dictates that we participate in this process.

[02:22:28] terms of the loan but we do get the benefit from the entrance from that loan we do get the benefit from providing some attainable housing no one here is saying that this is a perfect outcome for the potential residents uh i still believe however that a large percentage of those residents will have the means of getting to the jobs as they get there now without us having a bus stop on on wellington road do we want to improve that yes that's something else we can be thinking about

[02:23:02] transportation and and we have initiatives we have staff working on different ways to provide food and those type things that are missing now do we wait for the housing to go up as it's steadily increasing while someone decides to put food there i think not i think we take advantage of the thinking that just the our us as a locality that the city manassas participating in this process is the way to is a step towards us achieving our goal of attainable housing so i will be supporting this mindful of all the conversation we've had individually with the

[02:23:42] residents at the landing mindful of all the incoming comments we receive this council i think i'd better stop there i want to react to the comments okay thank you mr smith yeah i i do have a question um i know when i was searching for rental rents in apartments in manassas you saw quite a few one bedroom one baths for 1900 a month on the market um that is the that is the rent in this one bedroom one bath apartment 1900 that is without

[02:24:20] subsidy so the highest rent you can pay is 1900 a month which you can get on the market right now um there's also a professional manager that goes in there and i do have a question about that do the renters pay the rent plus some type of extra management fee or is that all included in their rent it's included in the rent okay so if it's a low if it's the lowest rent at a 40 percent of area median income a one bedroom one bath is 1200 a month and then they get a subsidy which i would assume brings it up to 1900 a month subsidy because that's what the highest rent is

[02:24:59] so i'm assuming they are going to make 1900 a month for one bedroom but one bedroom one bath 800 square foot which is on the market right now in the city of manassas i don't see that as affordable options at all thank you i'm ready for mr i'm i'm confused so tell me mr small and maybe you need to ask the folks in good housing are there subsidies to the

[02:25:35] rents that they're charging meaning there there's a there's a an amount and then there's another amount being added in and they get it there is no other amount added in um but yes you are correct um kim hart from good housing is on the back row uh if you would like to hear how the incomes are are calculated and the rents are figured i'm sure he'd be happy to uh indulge you you know i would say as he's coming up, a lot of that subsidy is the low-income housing tax credit, which

[02:26:12] enables them to keep the rents lower because it keeps their financing costs down. Is Kim out near you? Mr. Holt. Excuse me for not wearing the suit coat tonight. Pretty cold at my house. The rents are established by the targets that we sign up for with Virginia Housing.

[02:26:36] So when we submit our proposal to Virginia Housing, we set how many units will be affordable at each level of AMI. In other words, most of the units will be affordable at 60% of area median income. If we are able to get income averaging approved by Virginia Housing, some will be affordable at 70%, some will be affordable at 40%.

[02:26:59] Those are the established incomes the AMI is produced by HUD. So we take that number. That family has to, that's the maximum that family can afford to make at the area median income.

[02:27:18] And we then work backwards. With that gross income, they should not pay more than 30% of their gross income for the rent plus the utilities, the utility allowance. So that establishes the rent. The rent is the rent for the unit.

[02:27:34] There's no, it's not a, there's no money flowing from anybody. Nobody receives a check, anything like that. The subsidy is established by the fact that we can borrow money at less interest rates than others in the marketplace, and we work with jurisdictions like you to make these projects happen.

[02:27:55] So the answer is that the rent is established, and that rent takes into account all the subsidies that have been provided. There's no check that comes later on that helps pay for that. Now, what that establishes is the maximum income that those folks can have.

[02:28:14] They have to be working and be able to make enough money to pay that rent. So we are renting to folks who, unless they have annuity income or Social Security income, whatever, they are working to pay their rent.

[02:28:33] So there's no other money coming to the table except what they earn. now we can sometimes allow a few folks to pay more than 30% of their gross income we don't like to do that if there's special circumstances we can allow that to happen for a little bit but so that people don't are not at risk of losing their housing but at the end of the day folks to live with us have to be able to afford to pay the rent did that I hope answer your question thank

[02:29:04] you just to understand you don't mind no okay I'm here to help so why did you put on your, somebody put this on a proposal, that the lowest rent for residents of 40% of AMI without subsidy, in parentheses, is $1,200. I understand a subsidy might not go to the renter, but does a subsidy go to the business of, to Good Housing or the management company or some other businesses that's running this to bring it up to the market at $1,900? That's

[02:29:43] my question. It's a little complicated because you have to look at the whole chart of the AMI so it depends on how many are living in the household what that area what that income for that that household can be so what I think you're looking at is a chart if I remember it where we showed the the lowest pot if you were a single resident in our smallest unit that would be the lowest rent you could pay I'm trying to suggest what the range would be up to the highest rent if you were a tour three or four person family in the highest rent thank you Patrick

[02:30:21] If your question is what does it mean without subsidy, the lowest rent, residents at 40% of AMI without subsidy, that means that folks that would – we do accept if a family does have a Section 8 voucher, we will accept that.

[02:30:48] We are a landlord that does accept that. We don't go out of our way to – we don't market those folks specifically. We're not built requiring that, but we do accept renters that do, and there are very, very few of those, by the way.

[02:31:05] There are so few Section 8 vouchers available anymore. Very, very few people have them, but we are a renter that will accept that. Okay, so without subsidy, that means they can use a Section 8 voucher to make up some of the difference.

[02:31:20] Yes, they could. So you do have Section 8. Okay, thank you. As I said, we don't automatically have it. If a renter somehow, if a family somehow gets that, I should say two things. If a family somehow is lucky enough to get a Section 8 voucher, we will accept it.

[02:31:41] We are a landlord that will accept it. Also, in the past, HUD has made available Section 8 vouchers, which they call project-based, which we do try to seek to help support our handicapped folks that might come to us. Unfortunately HUD appears to run out of money these days and none of those are available right now So we it seems unlikely we'll be able to get those for this project unfortunately. Thank you. I'm ready for the roll call Mr. Smith, please call the roll

[02:32:35] for that that moves us forward to item 4.2 ordinance number o 2026-455 zta in 2026 0001 zoning text amendments for data center industrial standards mr darcieri good evening your honor members of council for your consideration on first reading is a series of zoning text amendments in our industrial districts that the planning commission and staff have worked on over the last year to address some of the impacts of data center development in the city just to recap that includes codifying some of the items that we have been able to negotiate up to this point with the existing data centers that wanted to make sure that

[02:33:14] they were captured in a zoning code including the requirements for noise studies the requirements for enhanced architecture requirements for mechanical screening and requirements for enhanced setbacks against a variety of uses most notably residential these are proposed to be included in both your I1 light industrial and I2 heavy industrial districts moving forward they've also Also, with the planning commission's analysis of these uses, they've been expanded to cover a variety of not just data center uses, but also your manufacturing and other large uses that could have a negative effect if they were designed adjacent, in particular, existing residential development.

[02:33:54] I will note that the final ordinance contains one change after the city council held their work session. They worked, Council Member Hudson pointed out that the requirement for glazing, which is windows or glass, was one of the facade variations included in the code, but it was a series of things, including varying the facade, horizontal and vertical elements, and a number of other things that made the building not look like a big box, but glazing was just one of those requirements.

[02:34:24] Talking to Council Member Hudson, she pointed out that glazing or windows is one of the things that really makes it not look like a big box with nothing on it. So staff working has proposed an amendment that makes glazing one of the mandatory items, not just the menu of changes, and makes that a mandatory item, and then that 20% of the building facade when facing residential, when facing some of these other uses that might be negatively impacted, such as child care, parks, and open space.

[02:34:49] So that tweak is included in the final draft. That is a really good enhancement to make sure that these facilities, when they're built, have an extra architectural enhancement in addition to all the other changes proposed in the code.

[02:35:04] With that, staff and the Planning Commission do recommend approval of the ordinance, and I stand ready for any additional questions. - Thank you, Mr. Arcieri. Any questions, any comments or questions? Is there a motion? You had a question? Oh, go ahead. - I just wanted to thank Matt and the rest of the staff for taking that recommendation and kind of looking into it as we talked about it at the work session.

[02:35:27] It was discussed that our planning staff had looked at other local jurisdictions and what their requirements were. And as we are such a tight-knit city in such a limited space, I recommended why not take it up a notch.

[02:35:42] Let's make these facades look a little bit more whenever they're, a little bit more something whenever they're facing a roadway. I said it wasn't enough to just be a doodle in the concrete. So hopefully in the future that will be beneficial. And so yeah, I just wanted to say thank you to the staff for working on that.

[02:36:01] - Ms. Vasquez. - Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just wanna thank the city manager and the leadership as the department has worked. We didn't have standards. And if we remember, these data centers that we have currently being built are by right and industrial zone.

[02:36:20] So even when we attended Richmond, many of you were there, most of you were there, And we are setting an example for them as the places that, you know, they should be, if they are to be, places where they should be.

[02:36:37] So to me, it's important to know how, yes, how it looks, and thank you for the changes, codifying what staff has been able to already accomplish that we already enjoy, I will say. But also to make sure that, you know, this is for the well-being of the residents, even though this is an industrial area, and as a way, it's still helping to make it better because it's mindful of all the changes that we have been able to add.

[02:37:10] To me, you know, I have heard from different residents when it comes to, you know, the hearing or the noise, the whisper, and a few other things, Even though it's industrial doing this, it's going to be a great thing for the data centers, even though it's bi-right.

[02:37:31] Any other comments, questions, motion? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see anything. Yeah, thank you, Matt, for putting this together. We can revisit this as well as certain things start, since it is an industry that we all are still learning about.

[02:37:52] And we're trying to be very cautious by not having something happen that's going to be a long-term issue. And I know that when we had a work session, I talked about some of the things that the frequencies for the electric and as systems change.

[02:38:12] I think Dominion now is doing like a three- to five-year study on power, and it might be moving to possibly micronuclear plants instead of what we heard, or diesel. You know, they're trying to look at other things, so we have to be aware that we might have to pivot with this as our standards change.

[02:38:34] We also heard, I think, when we were down in Richmond about water and how different systems are using less water and some have to go back to more water, and it's just ever-changing. It's a very new industry.

[02:38:52] So I just wanted to make sure everyone's aware that we are not just making this and putting it away for another 20 years. This is something that is really like a living concept. One of the best things your planning commission does every year, one of their most important functions is they are continuously analyzing all of our zoning codes.

[02:39:09] They do an annual zoning ordinance update. So it's one of the sections of code that we continuously say, hey, something is developed in the industry, whether it's data centers or housing. The planning commission works throughout the year on those changes with staff, And you'll typically see each year we bring one of those changes back.

[02:39:25] I'll also note, because it's to come up with a work session, the Water and Sewer Department in conjunction with my department will be releasing the administrative standards that restrict the use of water at the peak and requiring that certain industrial uses go to liquid cooling at a certain level. And that regulation will be released simultaneously with the presumed action on this ordinance.

[02:39:45] So we're going to make some changes on the administrative regulation side to restrict some of the water usage concerns. As you mentioned, utilities are another big topic out there. So we're monitoring that and making changes on the utility side as needed. No other comments or questions?

[02:40:04] Motion? Go ahead. Madam Mayor, I move to approve and I delete. 2026-455.

[02:40:21] Yeah. Oh, 2026-465. second through the motion by councilwoman vasquez luna seconded by councilwoman hudson to approve ordinance number 0 2026-455 any discussion hearing and seeing none mr smith please call the roll councilman vasquez luna yes councilmember hudson yes councilmember ellis councilmember smith yes councilmember osina yes vice mayor wolf yes the motion period okay thank you for that thank you mr rc item 4.3 is resolution number r 2026-575

[02:40:57] Approving the salary increases in compensation for the constitutional officers of the city of Manassas to begin April 1, 2026. Madam Mayor, I'll be going to move adoption resolution in 2026-575. Second.

[02:41:13] May the motion by Vice Mayor will seconded by Councilwoman Vasquez to approve resolution number R-2026-575. Any discussion? I just wanted to be reminded, or I think we talked about this a while ago.

[02:41:33] The salaries that are, these ranges are with the same level in the localities that are similar to ours. Is that correct? I believe they are. The salaries.

[02:42:02] Okay, so it's staying in par with the salaries in the city, not really the localities that are.

[02:42:20] Other localities. It's in the range. Okay, so we are above it. Okay. Do you know if Manassas Park and Prince William County are also above it?

[02:42:39] Bloom does not have constitutional officers. So there's staff constitutional officers. And we don't know the salary of theirs.

[02:42:58] This is a 3% cost of living increase to the family. Okay. So this is just a 3% cost of living increase. And it's within the range, right? I mean, it's not in what we – the range that they are. It's not taking them out of the range or anything like that.

[02:43:14] I want to make sure that that was made clear. It's a range, but it's above the state. So that's why we have to vote on it. Any other questions or comments? Where are we? Oh, we're ready for the vote, right?

[02:43:31] Roll call. Mr. Smith, please call the roll. Vice Mayor Wolfe. Yes. Council Member Vassar. Yes. Council Member Ellis. Council Member Smith. Yes. Council Member Alessina. Yes. Council Member Hudson. Yes. The motion carries. Okay, that moves us forward to public comment time, item five on the agenda.

[02:43:47] At this time, we welcome residents and community members who wish to speak about services, policies, and affairs of the city of Manassas. Anyone who has 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.

[02:44:03] We appreciate the time you have taken to be here. A reminder that council does not engage in back and forth conversation with speakers during this time. The lack of an immediate response to your comments should not be taken as a lack of interest or concern, as we have staff present taking notes and we will respond to your concern in a timely manner.

[02:44:20] When you approach the podium, if you could give us your name, we would appreciate it if you would provide us with your address, but you are not required to do so. You may simply state that you are a city resident or state which city you live in. We ask that you please be respectful in presenting your comments to not only council members, but to those residents and community members who are also present.

[02:44:38] With that, I have the sign-up sheet and I have one person signed up, but we won't miss anyone who's here to speak. I have David Curley on the list.

[02:44:54] Good evening, sir. - Good evening, Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the city council. I know you all have voted on this, but I think it's important just to be on the record. So I am here tonight to voice my strong opposition to the proposed sale of the former DMV site to Good Housing.

[02:45:11] From the very beginning, this project has been marked by misdirection and incomplete information. Projects that truly benefit a community should be able to stand on their own merits and earn public support transparently. That has not happened here. Good Housing is a for-profit company.

[02:45:28] This project depends on direct assistance from this council, and that assistance is coming at the expense of Manassas taxpayers. This land has been widely reported to have value of $4.3 million, yet the city claims it is not providing a subsidy by selling it for $3 million.

[02:45:45] We are told the difference is justified because the higher valuation included the building, but that same logic was used when the city paid well above market value for the Old Town Inn, again citing the building as justification. In both cases, taxpayers absorbed the loss.

[02:46:02] Three years later, Old Town Insight is now a parking lot with individual parking spaces that cost more than many of the cars parked on them. This is not fiscal responsibility. It is a cautionary tale. We are also told that this project will prioritize qualifying city employees.

[02:46:20] That may be true in year one, but nothing is being set aside to ensure that benefit continues. In years two through 30, that incentive disappears in practical terms. Even Good Housing has acknowledged that for every applicant accepted at the higher end of the income range, another must be accepted at the lower end.

[02:46:39] What happens if two priority city workers qualify, but both are at the higher end? If scenarios like this have not been thoroughly addressed, then due diligence has not been done. This project locks up taxpayer funds for 30 years at rates that are below market rate and critically still undefined.

[02:46:59] Meanwhile, the landing at Cannon Branch was envisioned as a catalyst for higher-end tax-generating development. This project moves in the opposite direction, locking in reduced tax potential and increased public risk. And to be clear, this is not a NIMBY argument.

[02:47:16] I've also opposed the newly proposed market rate apartments at the Gateway site that offer no parking. That project appears to be a last-minute cash-out by Buchanan Partners before their contract expires, leaving the city with long-term consequences and little to show for it.

[02:47:33] I attended the guided tour of Good Housing's other projects. I understand why they might seem appealing, but during a candid conversation with one of the employees, she shared her own housing search. She's looking to buy in Manassas Park, not Manassas City. When asked why, she said, they're building restaurants, stores, and even a new movie theater.

[02:47:54] Those are the places that are growing and where people want to be. She's right. Growth follows vision, accountability, and responsible investment, not rush deals and taxpayer-funded risk. For those reasons, I was hoping you would vote no.

[02:48:09] Thank you for your time. Thank you, sir. Anyone else present who wishes to address council? And then you can go, sir. Good evening. Good evening, Madam Mayor and council members. I'm sorry, this is the first time ever attending one of these. My name is Joseph Katarin.

[02:48:25] I've been resident of Manassas City for about six years. relocated to Manassas, actually the state of Virginia, from Fort Worth, Texas, and I grew up in Oklahoma, middle of nowhere, and I chose Manassas with my family for several reasons. In fact, when I moved here in 2020, I had already put down the down payment for a townhome in Dumfries, and just a last-minute Google search, I found Manassas, and my wife and I drove here, and Manassas reminded us of small town Oklahoma. It reminded us of the community we grew up in and we wanted to be a part of, full of immigrants. My dad came to the United States from the Philippines with $100

[02:49:04] in his pocket. My wife, my in-laws were refugees from the Vietnam War who were forced relocated here. So I know about affordable living. My cousin is currently living in a one-bedroom efficiency apartment in San Francisco with four family members. One of the reasons why we chose Manassas is I'm not against affordable living. In fact, you look at Oklahoma City, you look at Fort Worth, you look at other cities that I travel for work, you have affordable housing and you have apartments with restaurants, with infrastructure, with a lot of things.

[02:49:38] When I hear jokes about, you know, you can get in your car and go to the restaurant, that's not the point. We saw a graphic up there that said we want to retain these high-paying businesses in Manassas, the BAEs, the whatnots. I'm a federal worker. I don't make as much money as those businesses.

[02:49:53] I wish I did. But I think a lot of the calculus has to show what's retained the high-quality workers that wanted to live in Manassas in the first place. I could have lived in Fairfax. I could have lived in Tyson's Corner. I could have lived in other places, but I chose Manassas because of the spirit of community.

[02:50:11] And, you know, actually, we were promised in our development that, you know what, there could be apartments coming up, but we promised that Manassas is growing and it's a vibrant place and that you would have places to walk to. You know, you could take your kids on the stroller. We have a park that's amazing, but now we're going to have an airport, which is going to have a lot of traffic.

[02:50:31] You know, you look across 234 and 28, and you see two silos, and you see all the people over there. Why can't you have housing with that other stuff that's walkable for our families? You know, all of my neighbors are not from Virginia. All my neighbors in the Landing Canyon Branch moved to this area for the exact same promise, because we all felt Manassas felt like where we originally came from, you know, and we would have walkable places to take our families, to spend our money.

[02:50:58] Those people who are going to live in this affordable housing, they deserve to have somewhere to stay local too and, you know, take their kids to the movies. Maybe have the opportunity to open a coffee shop, you know, live that America in a dream. Maybe the opportunity to open a restaurant. I was actually thinking, you know, with my mother-in-law to move her from Oklahoma, if there was actually an area she could have there, you know, open another Vietnamese restaurant.

[02:51:22] You know, so when we were, I would say, blindsided to see this, all we saw was the housing. We didn't see anything else. We laugh about a bus stop, but nothing else. Sorry. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, sir. Sir, what is your name, please?

[02:51:40] Colin Turner. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and members of council and neighbors. My name is Colin Turner, and I recently moved back to the city of Manassas and purchased a historic home this year. I live about a 10 minute walk away from here and only a few minute walk away from the old courthouse and the old Bennett school.

[02:51:59] I appreciated the mayor's opening remarks tonight about making space for new voices, about showing up and about having conversations in rooms where people may not always agree. That sentiment is exactly why I'm here. I want to briefly acknowledge something that can be confusing for residents.

[02:52:15] The fact that the county, Prince William County, owns land within the city limits, like about an island in the city that contains courthouse and the judicial campus. While the Old Bennett School also sits on that county old land, it's physically and functionally part of the city's civic core and decisions made there directly affect the city of Manassas and the people who live around it.

[02:52:39] I'm speaking because historic Prince William recently raised concerns about the future of the Old Bennett School, not associated with historic Prince William in any way. And also in recent county meeting minutes included in the January 2026 Historic Commission meeting, it was noted that demolition of the Old Bennett School is currently being recommended as part of the Judicial Center expansion.

[02:53:02] This is happening right in the heart of the city. I understand the city doesn't control the land, but it's not just a county issue. It's in the city's interest to be involved, not only because of the history and character associated with the Old Bennett School, but because decisions about the Judicial Center shape the civic core and daily experience of city residents.

[02:53:22] The old Bennett School represents an opportunity, not an obstacle. It could be adaptively reused as a civic hall or a reception space connected to the old courthouse or another public facing use that serves both city and county residents. Growth and preservation don't have to be at odds.

[02:53:39] Tearing the building down would permanently remove part of what gives Manassas its identity, preserving leadership and respect for the city's historic fabric. I'm respectfully asking the city council to use its voice to support preservation, to engage with the county now while plans are still forming, and to help ensure that the expansion strengthens rather than diminishes the heart of Manassas.

[02:54:02] Thank you for your time. - Thank you so much. Did you wanna address it? - Good, yeah, yeah. - You didn't know us, go ahead. - Oh, well, I just wanna-- - Sorry, Mr. Plabniak, we just wanna make a comment on this.

[02:54:18] - Yeah, we do have a meeting coming up, and even though that hasn't brought up to us, I think the mayor will be at that meeting, and hopefully we'll be able to ask about those things, but we never had this meeting before. The first one is Wednesday.

[02:54:34] It's an inter-jurisdictional committee that involves the county, the city, and the park, and Judicial Center is on the agenda to be discussed. So I actually screenshot and send a bunch of stuff to Chair Jefferson saying, this is hot, and this is at the top of our agenda.

[02:54:51] So no promises, but we are gonna be discussing it on wednesday and we'll see what what comes out of it so we are talking it is open to the public yeah it's going to be at the mccourt building where the where the princeway and board holds their meetings it's down on route one but we can reach out to you if you want to give me your number afterward we can do that okay thank you sorry mr plavniak hello hello i'm tim plavniak uh my first thing is a good housing project and i feel it's going to pass like freight trains that go by here every day.

[02:55:28] The one thing that, I was here for the presentation and they talked about the income level, low and high for residents. And they said if the residents for some reason fall below that level, we're going to ask them to leave.

[02:55:45] I don't know how that works. But the other side, he said, if they go above that level, they can stay. I don't think, oh, because they can pay. My point is, if you have someone in there and they go over the income threshold, so if someone else is waiting to get in they're being held out by someone who in theory shouldn't be able to be there in the first place well no they've got in there and then they've improved themselves well then they have to move on i don't know you know like i said this is going to pass like freight train but there are contingencies i think this needs to be something that needs to be

[02:56:24] addressed because there are people that are looking for affordable housing and they can't get in because someone has gotten in there before but now has gone over the threshold and then how many of these people do you allow to go over the threshold and then it's not affordable for anybody anymore so i think that needs to be addressed when you're going through all the contingency my other thing is heck of a snowstorm we had here a couple weeks ago huh i see now they're finally getting around to cleaning up uh the roads um now i work for the postal service i get around the city i see a lot

[02:57:04] how i'm very grateful for the city for how they clean the roads got things open but they just made them open the first night of the storm we waited you know and then the plow comes through oh good the plow came through they made a pass in front of my house i made a pass four feet from the curb and then plows came through again in the same trail not moving it over closer not spreading it out i don't know who the people are doing the plowing or where they've been trained but we've

[02:57:40] We've seen, we watched plows go down the road with the plows up off the ground when they could be moving more snow. Well, when it was able to be moved before it turned to the concrete, which we have now. I just don't know, you know, what they're, how they are told to do things.

[02:57:59] I know they don't want to break mailboxes, personal property, they've got to go around cars. I see roads where there are no cars, and it's a good 10, 12 feet from the curb that they could have moved more snow to make a wider pass.

[02:58:14] And we wouldn't be doing this what we're doing right now with the construction companies helping clean up. Maybe we need to go north and go to one of these cities like Watertown, New York, where they get 200 feet of snow or 200 inches of snow.

[02:58:30] Go learn how they do it. I know we only get this, Steve, you said, once every seven years. And every time it comes, it's like we've never seen it before. But I think there's, I'm very grateful for what they've done. I'm very grateful. I know they've worked hard.

[02:58:45] I know the city has worked hard. Every department has gone through a lot the last two weeks. I just think we could do better. And I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Pyevian. Anyone else? Good evening, Mayor, Council.

[02:59:03] Diane Lane, Manassas City resident. And I adamantly support the Good Housing Project for a variety of reasons. Working as a member of the Housing Advisory Board, we have gotten lots of information about the programs that the city does have for paths to ownership, helping people get into homes.

[02:59:25] This program and the good housing allows for young adults, our people who work in the city, and our seniors to be able to go into housing that they can afford on Social Security, on small pensions because pensions have largely gone away.

[02:59:44] If you're a senior, you know that. And what this presentation several months ago talked about was the average stay of a member or someone who goes into good housings units is two to three years.

[03:00:01] They go, they save money, they get education. So Councilwoman Ellis asked about those managers. One of the managers on site is responsible for education, teaching people how to save money, how to budget for homes, how to become home owners so that when they go and are able to buy a house, they are able to buy it, maintain it responsibly, and continue to live in the community.

[03:00:27] Councilmember Osina's point about investing in our kids, one of the members who is on the Housing Advisory Board is an Osborne graduate. He's currently living with two other people in a downtown apartment because he can't afford to live by himself and he makes a good living as an engineer but he's in debt student loan debt and that is the elephant in the room for this generation who's looking for housing it's not only their income it's also their liabilities that they have for their education and while this may not be a perfect location it is a good first step as we try to resolve an issue that has

[03:01:06] been on the city's plate since at least 2021 when i was the housing lead for the diversity council and we were looking at how to get people to stay in the city chief keen shared the pilot program that he did with the police department back there the challenges they face so while this is to uh council vice mayor wolf's point not the perfect solution it is a step and it is an additional tool in our toolbox to help make manassas a desirable welcoming community thank you thank you mr anyone

[03:01:42] else evening janet plebniak i'm resident a citizen of the city um as you all know i attended your retreat and learned a lot one of the things that i would suggest is that you all do your team building privately i think you all deserve not to have outside people there not to have even other city employees there i think it would have been um more beneficial if it was just you know

[03:02:19] the i i would think it would include steve but just you guys having that team building um they needed a bigger room because there was a lot of big egos in the room so i think the egos could be adjusted a little if you all could feel comfortable and the public doesn't know what your personal feelings are so you know that i think would be a good thing for you all to consider this money on the good housing six million dollars i sat there and listened to the six the the uh social services and the finances that they need that's for the citizens of manassas

[03:02:59] the buildings aren't what's important the citizens of manassas are what's important that was discussed on the end of the second day i know you have to have a an agenda the other thing that i was very concerned about was schools our schools get 51 to 54 percent of our whole entire city budget. That got talked about one Saturday. I don't remember if it was before or after lunch, and it was less than a half an hour. Y'all are talking about retaining people for the city to come and move here, to live here, to stay here, and our schools are one and

[03:03:34] two out of ten. When I bought a house in Ohio when I was first married, not even thinking about children, the first thing I checked about was what are the schools like where I'm going to buy. So it's going to be hard to get people to live here with the school system that we have. And they get a lot of money. They need to improve. Maybe the people that work, come and work in the city, live other places because they don't want their children in the city of Manassas schools. My children went to the city of Manassas schools. I was proud that they went there. They're

[03:04:12] nowhere near like they were. And my last one graduated in 2003. They've fallen very far since then and that is a shame that's what draws people to a city is the education for their children I know the language issue was brought up with having someone to facilitate language one school they said they have 80 languages in there how are we going to provide people to to you know but

[03:04:48] instead of going for having different people with the different languages we need to work on getting our kids speaking English. And if you don't mind, I would like to do my prayer. Father God, you know all, and I trust your will will be done. You know the motives and the hearts of each one of our public servants working in the best interest of the citizens of Manassas. Please guide them in their decisions, not for personal gain, for community gain. I ask this through your son, Jesus Christ. Amen and amen.

[03:05:18] Amen. Thank you, Ms. Payne. Thank you. Anyone else? Hello, Mayor and Council, Lynn Forkel-Greem, a NASA City resident. I just wanted to remind you that the reason for a public hearing is to gain the perspective of those folks in the area that is going to be most affected.

[03:05:46] And again, the public hearing failed because most people in that area said, no, thank you, not right now. Please work a little bit harder to get a better deal. And it's very frustrating to come to meetings, to do what you say online to do, to be involved to be engaged to be a voice to trust your process and to trust you to be told from there to hear that we are not strategic that we do not know what we're talking about and that you know better and your comprehensive plan means you must do this and so to the folks

[03:06:22] who have come here spoken to you over many times I hope that you will use your voice in this process along with good housing who I've also asked Mr. Hart the same to make sure that the things that were addressed stay your focus as you move forward with this agreement because this community has not had what they were told they would have. They came here they moved here you solicited these people with this neighborhood and you got them here and now you're telling them who cares if you're here

[03:06:59] we want these other people here. And that's the frustration. They are here too. And they matter also. And so it's frustrating to go to the meeting. The community meetings are so much better than they were when I first got involved. So thank you. But also, they are the same result. You do what you want to do. That's what they think. That's what they hear. That's how they feel. So how do we fix that? How do we fix the public hearing process? The one thing that I got to hear, sorry, was in and out of the retreat this year because it was a week earlier than normal, so I was ill-prepared for those dates. The one thing I heard you discuss, though, was possibly

[03:07:39] moving up public comment time to the beginning of your meetings. And while part of that is very logistically frustrating because of traffic and the fact that you start at 530, the one thing that it would do if you moved up public comment time to even time certain like it used to be is that folks would be able to talk to you before you vote because, as you can tell there was more that folks wanted to say tonight whether or not that it would have swayed you or not I don't know probably not but they would have the further appearance of being included in the process so I'm actually hope you will continue to talk about that um please just consider the people who are

[03:08:18] here also want to remain a part of your commit your community this is our community and our voices shouldn't stop just because you're no longer trying to get us to buy a house here. You know, we're trapped in a way. Some of us who have been here for a while because maybe we love it here, but we still like our voices to be heard. So maybe we could work on that public hearing situation. Finally, I just want to bring up a point that was also discussed, I believe, during your legislative breakfast and also your retreat, and that's the FOIA costs. I haven't shared the many experiences that I've had, but I'm going to

[03:08:55] let you know this is a problem I was quoted seven hundred and forty five dollars to get publicly accessible information and the information that you shared or had shared with you during your retreat conversation was that in this year it was just two hundred dollars that had been charged maybe two twelve if I recall so this is a very big deal you are a public body we need to

[03:09:20] work on this situation thank you thank you anyone else hello again mayor vice mayor members of City Council my name is Leticia Spaulding I'm a resident at the landing of cannon branch an original owner who as many of us has stood up

[03:09:57] here time and time again to share under promised under delivered and I couldn't agree more with what mrs. green said like I am NOT a public speaker I'm a preschool teacher like this is not comfortable for me and i got up here and i shared my heart and i shared my family and i felt like the only person who heard us was madame ellis because i am somebody who lived in affordable housing i needed affordable housing but what affordable housing did for me is provide a playground for me to play on so that way i didn't get in trouble

[03:10:31] it provided different amenities around me to allow me to enjoy the community i was part of and where you guys are building is not an area where children can play there's a pond with a very very minimal fence around it there is no playground for them to plan and if you're considering our tot lot that holds maybe five children that's not a considerable place for children to cross over four lanes of traffic to go to this small tot lot i just really am also disappointed that we didn't have another voice before this vote went through because I do feel that if you really took the time

[03:11:09] to listen to the residents of the landing of Cannon Branch who is truly going to be affected by this, I truly believe that your decisions would have been swayed more. And I do feel like we have shared and really truly done our research, really found good reason why. And if you took time to talk to some of the people who actually live in the Ashburn Good Housing, it's not a positive environment for them and you know so I just urge you guys to really take in consideration it's already been approved so there's nothing we can do about it but take in consideration what us residents desire and truly for for me

[03:11:47] it's more about the children and what the children are going to be able to do because if these family members are moving in the likelihood of them just being a single person I hope not these are they're going to our schools and they're being built up around us I want children there but they need a place to play and enjoy. That's all. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Spalton. Anyone else?

[03:12:10] If not, we'll move forward. Mr. Brown can come forward. Thank you. Item 6.1, resolution authorizing a closed meeting of city council. Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of council.

[03:12:30] The next item on your agenda tonight is a closed meeting of city council. There are two items for your discussion, number one being a discussion of the terms and conditions for selling city-owned property on Fairview Avenue, and secondly, a discussion of the qualifications of applicants for appointment to city boards and commissions.

[03:12:53] Both of those discussions under state law may take place in a closed meeting. To be in a closed meeting, I would recommend your adoption of resolution number R-2026-583 resolution authorizing a closed meeting of city council.

[03:13:14] I get unmoved. Resolution authorizing a closed meeting of city council. Second. I approve the motion by Councilman Smith, seconded by Councilwoman Hudson to approve resolution R-2026-583.

[03:13:34] Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none. Mr. Smith, please call the roll. Councilmember Smith? Yes. Councilmember Hudson? Yes. Vice Mayor Wolfe? Yes. Councilmember Ellis? Councilmember Elcina? Yes. - Council Member Vasquez-Luna? - Yes. - I'm not prepared.

[03:13:50] - All right, thank you. - That the only matters that were discussed in the closed session were those that were identified in the motion convening the closed session and those that are exempted from open meeting requirements under state law.

[03:14:14] That certification is included in Resolution R-2026-584, Resolution Certifying and Closed Meeting of City Council that I recommend for Council's adoption.

[03:14:31] - Mayor? - Yes, sir. - I move the adoption of Resolution R 2026-584. - Second. - I get a motion by Councilman Ocina, seconded by Councilman Hudson to approve Resolution R 2026-584, certifying the closed meeting.

[03:14:46] Any discussion, hearing, and seeing them? Mr. Smith, please call the roll. - Council Member Ocina? - Yes. - Council Member Hudson? - Yes. - Vice Mayor Wolfe? - Yes. - Council Member Ellis? - Yes. - Council Member Smith? - Yes. - Yes. - The motion carries.

[03:15:01] - Thank you so much for that, Mr. Lucina. - Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to move resolution R-2026-651, where we make the following appointments to our city's boards, committees, and commissions, that we appoint Nadia Peterson to the Parks and Recreation Committee as a regular member, partial term, February 9, 2026, and ending June 30th, 2029.

[03:15:28] Point Marsimiam Singh Halan to the Economic Development Authority as a regular member for a partial term beginning February 9, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027. Point Louis Loarte to the Parks and Recreation Committee as a regular member for a partial term ending February 9, 2026, ending June 30, 2027.

[03:15:51] And reappoint Demetra J. Gillum-Fry to the social services as a regular member for a term beginning February 9, 2026 and ending June 30, 2030. Second. We have a motion by Councilman Lucina, seconded by Councilwoman Vasquez-Luna to approve resolution, I think I heard, 2026-651.

[03:16:16] Yes, ma'am. Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none, Mr. Smith, please call the roll. Councilmember Lucina? Yes. Councilmember Vasquez-Luna? Yes. Vice Mayor Wolfe? yes council member ellis council member smith yeah council member hudson yes the motion carried thank you so much for that anything else to come before the council if not we are adjourned

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