Minutes 01/24/2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 24, 2023 23 - 31 - Motion by Ms. Lucas-Burke, and seconded by Mr. Moody, to go into a closed meeting pursuant to Virginia Code subsection 2.2-3711 A.7 for the purpose of briefings by staff members pertaining to actual or probable litigation, where such briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body, specifically regarding Victory West Thrill Park, LLC v. City of Portsmouth, Circuit Court Case Number 22005055-00, and 1 Ace Parker Drive. The motion was adopted by the following vote: Ayes: Barnes, Hugel, Lucas-Burke, Moody, Tillage, Glover Nays: None Motion Ms. Lucas-Burke, and seconded by Mr. Moody, pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3712(D) certifying that, to the best of the Council Members’ knowledge: 1. Only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and 2. Only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the Closed Meeting was convened were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting just concluded by the City Council. The motion was adopted by the following vote: Ayes: Barnes, Hugel, Lucas-Burke, Moody, Tillage, Glover Nays: Whitaker Councilman Whitaker asked that the following statement be placed in the minutes: “Based on the motion for a closed meeting on January 24, 2023 and information confirmed subsequently, I am requesting an amendment to the minutes of the January 24, 2023 Called Meeting of the Portsmouth City Council for the purpose of a Public Work regarding the certification of the closed meeting. Please amend the minutes to reflect my vote as "No" in certifying the closed meeting pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3712(D). The reason for voting "No" is as follows. On January 24, 2023, Members of the Portsmouth City Council voted to enter into closed meeting based on Virginia Code subsection 2.2-3711 A.7 for the purpose of briefings by staff members pertaining to actual or probable litigation. where such briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body, specifically regarding Victory West Thrill, Park, LLC v City of Portsmouth, Circuit Court Case Number 22005055-00 and 1 Ace Parker Drive. I was not present during the reading of the closed meeting motion because the Mayor ordered the Sergeant at Arms to remove me from the meeting as I was attempting to question the need of the funding request by PRHA. Subsequently, I confirmed that there is no actual nor probable litigation as identified in the closed meeting motion regarding 1 Ace Parker Drive (a.k.a. Elizabeth Manor Golf Club). The update given on Elizabeth Manor Golf Club was that the entity had not paid real estate taxes since 1970 as required. Furthermore, the City Attorney and City Assessor confirmed that the City Attorney is not involved in the matter regarding the 50 years of non-payment of real estate taxes by Elizabeth Manor Golf Club. These facts indicate that there is no actual nor probable litigation as required by law. Therefore, based on my above statement, I must vote "no" because I cannot certify that pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2-3712(D) that: i. Only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and ii. Only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the closed meeting on January 24, 2023.”