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Hopewell council votes to enter closed session on personnel and Hope Center investment; permits remote participation for councilor
Summary
The Hopewell City Council voted to enter a closed meeting under Virginia Code to discuss personnel matters and investment discussions related to the Hope Center, and unanimously approved Councilor Stokes’ request to participate remotely for medical reasons.
The Hopewell City Council voted to enter a closed meeting to discuss personnel matters and a potential investment involving the Hope Center and approved a councilor's remote participation.
At a procedural meeting, the council approved an amended closed-session motion invoking Virginia Code §2.2-3711(A)(1) to discuss personnel matters — including board and commission appointments, the economic development authority (EDA), the housing authority (HRHA), and a city manager executive search proposal — and §2.2-3711(A)(6) to consider the investment of public funds where bargaining or competition is involved, specifically naming the Hope Center. The motion to enter closed session passed on a roll-call vote recorded in the transcript as 7-0.
Before entering closed session the council considered a separate procedural motion to allow Councilor Stokes to participate remotely. When asked to state her location and reason, Councilor Stokes said, “I'm at home, and I'm asking for medical consideration.” The council recorded a roll-call vote permitting remote participation that passed unanimously, 6-0, as one member was not yet connected for that vote.
Minutes and the meeting record show the council returned from closed session later in the meeting. A motion to come out of closed session was moved and seconded, and the returning roll call recorded a 6-0 vote in favor. The body then certified, pursuant to the closed-session authority cited in the motion, that only matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements were discussed; that certification was recorded as passing 6-0.
The transcript does not include details of the matters discussed in closed session. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, which was adopted by voice vote.
Votes at a glance: the motion to permit remote participation: passed 6-0; motion to enter closed session: passed 7-0; certification after closed session: passed 6-0. No substantive motions on policy or spending were recorded in the open transcript.
