Minutes 01/08/1974 - Laserfiche WebLink

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201 January 8, 1974 Motion of Mr. Hclley and seconded by Mr. Smith, to be received as infermation was adopted by unanimous vote. , 74-12 Motion of Mr. Smith and seconded by Mr. Johnson, that the Council meet in an executive session prior to the next regularly scheduled Council meeting for the purpose of: (1) Discussing appointments to Boards and Commissions. (2) Discussing the disposition of City property. (3) Consultation with Counsel pertaining to legal matters; was adopted by the following vote: Ayes: Early, Johnson, King, Smith, Wentz, Barnes Nays: Holley 74-13 - Mr. James C. Mintz, Member of Museum and Fine:Arts C~mmission, presented the proposed expansion plan for th~ Portsmouth Naval Museum, and commented that it ~ould be one of the most attractive museums in our grate. Motion of Mr. Wentz and se~anA~: by Mr. King, that the Council endorse the plan as submitted by the Museum and Fine Arts Commission, that copies be submitted to the various Boards and Commissions of the City for their information and comment at the earliest possible date, and that the Mayor, on behalf of the Council, inform our local representatives in the State ~egislature of our endorsement and ask their best efforts in securing any financial assistance for this project which may be available from the State, was adopted by unanimous vo~e. 74-14 The £ollowing letter received from Harvey N. Johnson, Jr., 2400 Palmer Street, was read: "The family of the late Reverend Harvey N. Johnson, Sr., is deeply grateful for the resolution which you adopted and had read in his memory the night of December 18, 1B~32 It was also for me a very personal honor ~o receive, on behalf of the family, an official copy of that. resot,ution. My father possessed a deep and abiding faith in his City of Portsmouth, Virginia and its leadership. It would be his wish, therefore, that our city continue its steady development mn good governmen~ with opportunity for the involvement of all citizens." Motion of Mr. Holley and seconded by Mr. Johnson, to be received as information, was adopted by unanimous vote. 74-15 was read: The following letter received from ~ames A. Cales, Jr., Commonwealth's Attor~ "I am enclosing a copy of Sec. 15.1-257 and 15.1-258 of the Code of Virginia, 1950 as amended, which provides that the local governing body provide office space for the Commonwealth's Attorneys. Due to staff increases and inadequate planning somewhere along the way, our staff has outgrown our office. We need office space for two attorneys and one investigator immediately and I anticipate in the next several years the addition of more attorneys and more investigators. ~ appreciate the fact that the City may be dramped as far as making long range pro- ~isions, but ~ must re-emphasize that my present facilities simply are not suitable and I would like to suggest the possibility of moving the High Constable to either the Civil Court Building, where most of his work is, or to No. 1 High Street. This action coupled wit~ a doorway being placed between what is now the High Constable's office and my pre- sent facilities would serve to give us suitable space for our present staff. Anything less than this would not serve our present problem. Two lawyers can just not work out of t~e same office or share the same telephone. The State Probation office on our other side has more room. This office would allow for more long-range planning and would be an excellent answer to our problem. I would appreciate an answer as soon as possible. Motion of Mr. Smith and seconded by Mr. King, the matter to be referred to a con- ference, was adopted by unanimous vote. 74-16 - The following letter received from Clerk of the School Board, was read: "The Scho61 Board of the City of Portsmouth in special session on December 20 1973 adopted the following resolutions: ' ' R£SOLVFD THAT the School Board of the City of Portsmouth request City Council to appropriate funds to defray the costs of the following: 1. A site for the proposed primary school in Churchland at a cost not to exceed $80,000.00. 2. The commissioning of an architect to prepare the reliminary drawings for the prcposed school,e 3. The commissioning of an architect to prepare the preliminary drawings for a twelve (12) room addition to the Highland-Biltmore school.*