Votes at a glance: Council approves franchise, solid-waste penalty change, budget transfers and other measures (April 8, 2025)

The Chesapeake City Council took several formal actions on April 8. Listed below are the principal votes recorded during the work session and regular meeting. Where recorded in the minutes, the vote counts are attached.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of meeting agenda (motion adopted): Motion to approve the agenda as presented was adopted by a 9-0 vote (clerk recorded motion adopted). (Transcript: motion adopted at the start of the regular session.)

- Franchise ordinance: Council adopted an ordinance granting a 20-year nonexclusive franchise to Crown Castle to install and maintain telecommunications infrastructure in city rights-of-way (bid marked CrownCastle4-8-25). Staff recommended acceptance. Motion to approve the ordinance was adopted by a 9-0 vote. (Transcript: ordinance read; motion adopted 9-0.)

- Solid-waste code amendment (criminal to civil): Council adopted an ordinance amending Chapter 62 (solid waste) to change the penalty for violations related to weeds and debris from criminal to civil. Motion to approve the ordinance as presented was adopted by a 9-0 vote.

- Debt-service appropriation for arbitrage rebate: Council approved a request to appropriate $2,600,000 from the debt-service fund restricted fund balance to pay an arbitrage rebate liability related to the 2020 Series A and B general obligation public-improvement and refunding bonds. Motion to approve was adopted by a 9-0 vote.

- Auxiliary grant program and related transfers (Human Services): Several actions were approved separately: acceptance and appropriation of $117,821 in state funds to the Human Services FY2025 operating budget (approved as an emergency), and a $29,455 transfer from the general fund contingency to the Social Services fund and Human Services FY2025 operating budget. Both measures were approved by recorded votes listed in the minutes (9-0 where recorded).

- Consent agenda: The consent agenda (which bundled a number of routine items including grant acceptances, transfers, refunds, resignations, and other administrative requests) was adopted by a 9-0 vote. The consent list included: refund to Demuth Services Inc.; resignations for board positions; acceptance and appropriations of several grants (selective enforcement alcohol grant, Operation Ceasefire grant, intervention/Marcus Alert funding), and authorization for a mutual-aid agreement with Camden County, NC and Elizabeth City, NC for fire/EMS assistance, among others.

- Greenbrier area plan: Council adopted an initiating resolution to begin amendments to the 1935 Chesapeake comprehensive plan to incorporate the Greenbrier Area Plan and design guidelines; the initiating resolution was adopted 9-0.

- Closed-meeting authorizations and related motions: Council voted to hold a set of closed meetings on litigation, real-property negotiations in Great Bridge, economic-development discussions and appointments; each closed-meeting motion as read into the record was adopted by vote (recorded as 9-0 where listed). A separate closed-session scheduling motion for interviews on April 15 (planning commission appointments) was adopted 9-0.

Notes and next steps: Several accepted items required follow-up (grant-acceptance administration, contract/agreement execution for the Crown Castle franchise, and scheduled budget deliberations). The public hearing on the proposed tax rate remained open for comment; council will return in May to adopt the budget and the tax rate.

Ending: For full vote records, ordinance texts and related staff reports, see the city clerk's official meeting materials and the posted minutes for April 8, 2025.