Council Likes New Shops, Dining Map; OK's Plans for Nighttime Meeting and Coal Plant Stance

By Desiree Parker Friday, August 13, 2010

At their Thursday meeting, Williamsburg city council got a look at a new map of the city’s restaurants and shops and also decided to switch to evening meeting times for their work sessions.

Council also planned out public discussions they’ll hold to decide their stance, if any, on the proposed coal-fired power plant in nearby Surry County.

The Economic Development Authority just completed a map of all the dining and retail shops in the city, and presented it to council at Thursday’s meeting. The map is available in brochure form to be located in public buildings, parks, William and Mary and any businesses that might be interested in carrying them. It is also available online here.

To continue on the council’s trend of embracing new technology, the brochure map has a code on the front which, when photographed by any smart phone (like a BlackBerry or iPhone), will open the online interactive map right away.

Economic development Director Michelle DeWitt told council she was excited about the new map, because nearly every business owner she talks to says they want the city to help them get more customers. This is one way she hopes to help them out.

Council members seemed very supportive of the map, which is based on a similar one offered by the city of Blacksburg.

Councilman Doug Pons said the map is “a proactive step to help the economy in Williamsburg,” and that he was “mindful of all it takes to put this together.” He expects it to be a good resource for his hotel and other hotels and businesses in the city.

At the behest of new councilman Scott Foster during their last meeting, council discussed on Thursday changing their meeting times to later in the day to accommodate more people.

Council members who have been around for a while pointed out that moving to evening meetings doesn’t mean more people will attend, and can sometimes mean the opposite.

Vice-Mayor Paul Freiling seemed dubious, and said at council’s previous budget meetings which were held in the evening, “no one showed up to either. I’m not sure later meetings would draw more folks.”

Councilwoman Judy Knudson agreed, pointing out that when she served on James City County’s board of supervisors they decided to switch to evening meetings and “it made people feel better, but there was no change in turnout.”

Foster argued that council should “go above and beyond” to make themselves available to the public, especially for working families and families with children.

Pons, who has experience holding meetings from his time on the planning commission, said what drives people to meetings is whatever issue is at hand, regardless of time. He did agree that council should always be accessible.

Council gave Foster’s idea a chance, though, and voted unanimously to move their work sessions – generally held on Monday of the week the council holds its regular meeting -  to 7 p.m. for six months starting in October and see how it goes. There are public comment sections at the beginning and end of the work sessions, and council will encourage people to talk about upcoming items at the work session in anticipation of the later regular meeting on Thursday. The council's regularly scheduled meeting is on the second Thursday of the month.

Finally, council also approved its plan on tackling the issue of the proposed power plant in Surry County, in the town of Dendron. To read more about the issue, read a previous story here.

During the recent election, Foster and Pons both said they would sign a resolution to oppose the planned power station, called Cypress Creek Power Station.

Though neither shared their opinion on the plant during Thursday’s meeting, council unanimously approved a plan to hear public presentations on the issue, invite opposing groups to address council at an upcoming work session, and to hold a 30-day comment period afterwards to solicit input from Williamsburg residents.

Staff told council the Department of Environmental Quality will be reviewing Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s application for the plant once it’s complete. The process of review will take approximately one year, during which time the DEQ will hold public meetings and solicit input.

Staff suggested that council reach its conclusion on whether to support, oppose, or remain neutral on the issue during the DEQ public input process. Council members also asked to find out what James City County and York County would be doing about the issue to see if the localities could coordinate their efforts.

A few council members had some concerns about the process, though.

Freiling said if the public were to offer their comments online, he didn’t like the idea of anonymity. “I would like to know the city residents’ opinions,” he stressed, and not necessarily the opinions of people outside the city.

Pons questioned how much staff time (and therefore money) the process would cost, and whether the city’s opinion would carry any weight. “What’s the weight of our voice versus the cost of staff time for all this?” he wondered.