Petersburg council holds closed session, approves five board appointments

The Petersburg (Independent City) City Council convened a closed session July 1, 2025, citing the Code of Virginia and later approved five appointments to local advisory boards.

Council members voted to appoint Michelle Murrells to the Architectural Review Board; Brenda Henderson and Thomas L. Carlisle to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA); and Tanya Brown and Juan Italia Ferro to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) advisory board. The appointments were introduced and approved following a motion and roll-call vote during the meeting.

The closed session was called under the authority of the Code of Virginia §2.2-3711 for several purposes the council identified on the record: discussion or consideration of acquisition and disposition of real property for a public purpose where open discussion would adversely affect bargaining position; discussion of terms or award of public contracts; receiving legal advice and status updates on actual or probable litigation (the transcript cites civil actions by number); and discussions concerning performance, assignment, salaries and appointment of specific public officers, employees and appointees of the City of Petersburg. After the closed session, city staff prompted the council for a certification that “only those matters lawfully identified in the motion for which closed session was called were discussed,” and the council certified that representation by roll call.

Mr. Williams read the certification language and framed it as a roll-call item; Vice Mayor Hill moved to certify and Councilman Smith Lee seconded. The subsequent roll call recorded unanimous affirmative votes from council members who participated in that certification vote.

Councilman Smith Lee moved to add board appointments to the agenda; the motion carried by voice vote. Vice Mayor Hill moved the appointment motion that named the five appointees; Councilman Smith Lee seconded. The council then recorded a roll-call vote to confirm the appointments.

During the appointments discussion council members clarified that BZA appointments are a recommendation to the court (as recorded in the meeting). No salary, contract awards, or other binding fiscal commitments related to these appointments were stated on the record. The transcript records the civil action numbers cited during the closed session discussions but does not provide additional public detail on those cases in open session.

The council adjourned the closed session and ended the meeting after completing the votes and certification.