Minutes 11/25/1969 - Laserfiche WebLink

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25. 1969 There are several factors that have entered into the need for greater amounts than the City or the State anticipated. There has been an unprecbdented increase in applications, particularly in Aid to Dependent Children. A greater proportion of the applicants have to be found eligible because of the increase in standard of allowance which were effective July t, 1969. The WOrK incentive mandates which require the first $30, plus 1/5 of the gross earnings, of public assistance recipients to be ignored as income has caused a considerable amount of increase in the grants. The Medic-Aid Program was slow in being initiated and there were many unforeseen developments. The Welfare Department lost all Federal ftmds for medical purposes. Medical as§istance for the aged has to be financed f~om purely State/Local funds until the second phase of ~edic-Aid goes into effect on January 1, 1970. The Old Age Assistance and Aid to Totally and Permanently Disabled clients in nursing homes must now be paid for from State/Local funds unless the clients are diagnosed as needing skilled care. ~qecriteria for desig- nating those who require skilled care has become more rigid than could have been imagined...We had been told Medic-Aid would take over the entire nur§ing home program, but this is far from the truth./ The department has been and is seriously understaffed as we have been unable to get ~ertificates of ap- proval of applicants for positions from the State office. We also underestimated our need for positions to handle the increase and duplication of work imposed upon us by the separation of relief from services. ~;~en the second.phase of Medic-Aid goes into effect on January 1, 1970, we will need at least four additional persons to take applications and to process them. Currently, we have twenty fewer staff.members than nea~y jurisdictions whose caseloads are less than ours. I will continue to keep the Council advised on the status of these funds; however, we have no choice or control over the standard of allowances which are established by the State mhd Federal Governments," not,on of Mr. Smith that the letter be received as information was adopted, without dissenting vote. Motion of Mr. Smith to rescind action of Council on November 11 in approving t2~e construction of the ~u~J~ tan~~ on West High Street, Churchland, due to increasing deficit, was lost and by the following vote: Ayes: ~_olley, Smith, Turner Nays: Barnes, Eastes, Johnson, KiBg 69-378 - "t submit the attached agreement between the Virginia Electric and Power Company and the City of Portsmouth and recommend that the proper CiQr officials be authorized to sign. ?his is an agreement for under- ground electrical service to the Administration Building and hhe tobacco fumigating warehouse at the new Marine Terminal at Pinners Point." Motion of Mr. Eastes to concur in the recom~endatiDn of the City Manager was adopted, without dissenting vote. 69-379 - "t recommend that I be authorized to transfer City-owned property to ~e Portsmouth Port and Industrial C~mmission. This transfer consists of Lots 50-52 and 81-88 on the plat of the Pinners Point Water- front Company. These are individual parcels of land whic~h the City has acquired for back-up land in the de- velopment of the Marine Terminal. ~ne tobacco fumigating warehouse has been constructed on these lots. The Portsmouth Port and Industrial Commission will furnish the City a note for the transfer of this pro- perty based on the cost of the land to the City. They do not have the funds at this time to pay for the property." Motion of Mr. Holley to approve the recommendation of the City Manager was adopted, without dissenting vote. 69-380 - "! submit the attached ordinance and recommend it be placed on first reading. This amends Section 11-19, 20 and 21 of the City Code pertaining to fire prevention. This amendment adopts standards and recommended practices for the Fire ~revention Bureau to enforce the Fire Prevention Code that has previously been adopted by the City.. ~nis amendment deals primarily with storage of flammable liquids." On motion of Mr. King, the following ordinance Was approved on first reading without dissenting vote: ";gq ORDINANCE TO ;2,~END /HE CODE OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, 1961, BY .~,~NDING SECTIONS 11-19, 11-20 AND 11-21 THEREOF SO AS TO ADOPT THE STANDARDS ;~qD RECOY~U~NDED PRACTICES SET FORTIt IN THE NATIONAL FIRE CODE, lD69~?~! EDITION, OF THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATIC~4 AS A PART OF THE FIRE P~P~VENTtON CODE OF T~ CITY OF PORTSMOUTH." 69-381 - "I submit the attached ordinance and reconm]end it be placed on first reading. This amends Section 2-35 of the City Code pertaining to annual leave. This amen&ment merely changes the procedure for accumulating annual leave. Employees are granted annual leave on the basis of one day for each month, and it is accumulated on an annual basis. This d~ange allows the leave time to be accumulated on a month-by-month basis, and will be credited to the employee at the end of each month worked." On motion of b~r. Smith, the following ordinance was approved on first reading, without dissenting vote: ";dq ORDIN~qCB TO A/~ND THE CODE OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, 1961, BY ;~'4ENDING SECTION 2-SS PERTAINING TO ;~NNUAL LEAVE ALLOWED TO OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY." 69-382 - "I submit the attached ordinance and recommend it be placed on first reading. This. appropriates $111,200 for the purchase of property in the rear of the Municipal Building needed for the construction of the new seawall. This alBo purchases property on the south side of South Street adjacent to tlne present USO building. ~en this property is purchased from the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, it will be resold to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority under the Crawford Urban Renewal Program. We are only acquiring at this time the property needed for construction of the seawall, plus the property on South Street. Under the agreement signed with the railraod company, we have a period of two years to put-