Riverfront Park Again Center of Council Contention

A vote to grant a design contract for Riverfront Park to Rhodeside and Harwell Inc. is on City Council's Jan. 8 agenda, but several council members are requesting it once again be tabled.  The contract is valued at $99,656 with an option of an additional $7,062.

In a letter to his colleagues on the council, Ward 3 Council member Fred Howe said, "Given all the outstanding issues and the fact that we have not set forth any quantitative decisions and/or agreements as a body on the process going forward — I would respectfully request in advance that this item be pulled from the Jan. 8th agenda for our Council meeting."

Howe reminded the members of City Manager Beverly Cameron's recent report that Fredericksburg will face a deficit budget situation in less than one year "and by 2016 we will be approximately $5M in the hole."

Letter: Councilmembers React to River Front Editorial

Howe was also angered over what he called, "being miss-lead or have the truth slightly twisted or the like."  During the Dec. 11 work session reviewing the proposed contract for design, Howe asked if planning for river bank stabilization was included in the cost. 

"We as a Council governing body after I directly queried our City consultant who drafted the first proposal / contract were told less than the truth in the last Council work session, after I very specifically and pointedly asked if river bank stabilization was included in the contract — we were told “yes it was”, when in fact — it was not!" he wrote.

Questions were also raised about the Riverfront Park Task Force. "Since this task force was established in 2007 and we have had three new councils since then, I would highly recommend that we re-establish the task force and review the membership to ensure we have the right representation," wrote Ward 4 Councilor Bea Paolucci.

"To avoid future similar situations, I would highly recommend that we have a written policy on task force appointments and that we reaffirm any sitting task forces every two years when a new council is elected and appointments are made," she continued.

The motion to establish the task force was approved Jan. 9, 2007, according to meeting minutes. The task force members were:

Organization

Name

City Council (2)

George Solley

City Council

Kerry Devine

Planning Commission

Susan Spears

EDA

Dana Herlong

DRMI

Scarlett Suhy-Pons

Clean & Green Commission

Carolyn Helfrich

Recreation Commission

Ken Kroko

Arts Commission

Ellen Killough

Rising Sun Assn

Johanna Humphrey

Darbytown Assn

Mike Carmody

HFFI

Jamie Scully

FOR

Jenn Allen

Parks and Rec Dept*

Bob Antozzi

Econ Dev & Tourism*

Karen Hedelt

* Ex Officio member

In the fall of 2010 the city completed improvements to recently acquired river front property between Hanover and Charlotte Streets, known now as Riverfront Park.

Related Stories:

Council to Continue Riverfront Park Debate (Dec. 11, 2012)

Riverfront Park May Require Special Permits (Dec. 11, 2012)

Riverfront Park's Future: What's The Best Next Step? (April 23, 2012)

City Moves to Buy Riverfront Lodge (May 16, 2011)

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