Franklin council approves utility-bill extension ordinance, concurs with Mercy Health bond issuance and schedules town hall; council agrees to request school‑​-

The Franklin City Council on March 10 approved several administrative items and took two council-originated actions addressing the local school-board controversy.

Utility-bill extensions: Council approved an ordinance amending city code chapters related to electric, garbage and water/sewer utilities to permit the city manager to declare a temporary, citywide extension of utility-bill due dates when billing problems affect all customers. City staff said the change is meant for systemwide problems, not individual hardship cases. The motion to approve passed by voice vote.

Mercy Health/Bon Secours bond concurrence: The council adopted a resolution concurring with an inducement resolution by the Henrico County Economic Development Authority for a conduit revenue bond issuance for Bon Secours (Mercy Health), with up to $15 million allocated to Southampton Medical Center. Britney Simmons, bond counsel with Dinsmore, told council the bonds would be conduit revenue bonds secured by the nonprofit and would not be an obligation of Franklin. John Haines, market CFO for Bon Secours Hampton Roads, said Southampton employs about 260 people and the facility sees roughly 35,000 patient visits annually; he described projects completed and planned, including OR HVAC work, monitoring and nurse-call upgrades and other infrastructure repairs. The council’s concurrence “does not obligate the city of Franklin to anything,” the city manager said. The resolution passed.

Donation acceptance: The council accepted a $3,000 donation from Bronco Federal Credit Union to support three events — Springfest, Juneteenth and Independence Day fireworks — with $1,000 allocated to each event. The resolution was approved by voice vote.

School-board letter and chair request: During council comments, Councilmember Miss Kitchen moved that the council send a letter to the School Board requesting that School Board Chair Robert Holt step down from the chairmanship. She asked that the mayor and any council members who agree sign the letter. Legal staff advised the council that a letter is a permissible request from the council but that removal authority would rest with the appropriate appointing or legal process. The council voted on the motion to send a signed letter; members recorded votes and the motion carried. The action is a formal request from the council and does not itself remove any board member.

Town hall meeting scheduled: Council members debated holding public town-hall meetings and then voted to schedule a citywide town hall for March 31. The council set the meeting to begin with the city manager’s budget presentation at 6:30 p.m., followed by town-hall discussion; location was to be confirmed, with the workforce development center suggested. The motion included instructions to provide adequate recording/technical support for the budget presentation. The motion passed.

Procedure and closed sessions: Council convened and certified two closed sessions during the evening for candidate interviews and prospective employment matters under Virginia FOIA closed-session provisions; each closed session was followed by the required public certification roll call.

Ending: The council’s votes on code amendments, the bond concurrence and the donation were approved by voice; council members recorded votes on the letter requesting the school-board chair step down and on the town-hall scheduling. City staff will follow up with supporting documentation (debt totals, bond details and the treasurer’s charge-off list) at later meetings.