At Monday’s “circus” of a Richmond City Council meeting, there was a lot of theater and hardly any real ground broken.
At Monday’s “circus” of a Richmond City Council meeting, there was a lot of theater and hardly any real ground broken.
Much of the proposed meaningful business was eliminated before the meeting had even begun – votes to approve permits for a Libby Hill condo development and extended hours for The Camel were delayed to Council’s September meeting.
Councilwoman Reva Trammel sought to introduce a resolution to schedule a referendum on Mayor Dwight Jones’ controversial Shockoe Bottom baseball stadium plan, something Council President Charles Samuels unsuccessfully attempted last summer, but she asked for a delay on it it after realizing she did not have the votes.
Tensions flared during public comment about the temporary GRTC transfer plaza, with two speakers attacking the unsheltered nature of the station. “There’s no proper shelter; there’s no proper seating,” said resident Valerie Coleman of her visit to the plaza. “What I saw was us being placed on the back of the bus again.”
For those of you on twitter – a simple search of #RVACouncil will weave a delightful tale of just how interesting the last meeting of the summer went:
A man holding a shell casing for some reason wants the police chief to identify what it is. He just said it is a shell casing. #rvacouncil
— Taber Andrew Bain (@taber) July 14, 2014
Chris Dorsey, with gun strapped to his side, videotapes #RVACOUNCIL as he tells them they have all broken the law. pic.twitter.com/tP41hXx53H
— Nate Eaton (@n8eaton) July 14, 2014
So #RVACouncil tried to present a commendation to the Richmond PTA, but nobody is there from the PTA to be commended, so, yeah.
— Taber Andrew Bain (@taber) July 14, 2014
We've reached cardboard-effigy levels of activism at #RVACouncil pic.twitter.com/lJgASp7101
— Graham Moomaw (@gmoomaw) July 14, 2014
Awesome. I love RVA so, so much. “@gmoomaw: We've reached cardboard-effigy levels of activism at #RVACouncil pic.twitter.com/qJWXmEtu6O”
— Michele J. Andrews (@MichJAndrews) July 14, 2014
Reva Trammell says Charles Samuels hurt her feelings when he said he didn't want tonight's #rvacouncil meeting to turn into a "circus."
— Ned Oliver (@nedoliver) July 14, 2014
Beyond the madness of public comment, City Council also allowed Chief Administrative Officer Byron Marshall to provide law enforcement in Richmond’s public housing following the elimination of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority police force earlier this year.
After a break for the month of August, City Council will meet again on Monday, September 8.
