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Draft Minutes City Council Regular Meeting City Council Chambers, 2400 Washington Avenue Tuesday, August 11, 2020, 7:00 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Councilman Marcellus L. Harris III, Councilman David H. Jenkins, Mayor McKinley L. Price, DDS, Councilwoman Sharon P. Scott, MPA, Councilwoman Tina L. Vick, Councilwoman Dr. Patricia P. Woodbury, and Vice Mayor Saundra N. Cherry, D. Min. MEMBERS ABSENT: None A. Call to Order Mayor Price called the meeting to order and extended a welcome to all in attendance. Mayor Price indicated that it was good to be back holding public meetings in the Council Chambers, but City Council would continue to follow guidelines with regard to limiting the number in attendance to under 50 and following social distancing requirements. Only Council members sat on the dais. The City Manager, City Attorney, and the City Clerk were at desks on the platform. Due to limited space in the City Council Chambers, plexi-glass screens were installed as a precaution for the safety of City Council and the public. Mayor Price stated the City Code identified the procedure for citizen participation regarding items on the Council agenda, as well as the opportunity for citizens to address City Council on matters germane to the business of the Council and were advised to register in the foyer. He explained matters that were germane to the business of Council meant matters that the City Council, by law, were empowered to act upon. This did not include announcements that were personal to an individual, business, or organization, including campaign information. He pointed out copies of the ordinance highlighting citizen participation and encouraged citizens to review the document. Mayor Price requested that cell phones and/or pagers be silenced or turned off. B. Invocation The invocation was rendered by Reverend Anne Kirchmier, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. C. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America was led by Councilwoman Sharon Scott. 1 Page 1 of 34 Draft D. Presentations None E. Public Hearings 1. Ordinance Authorizing the Removal of the 1909 Confederate Monument from Its Location at the 1884 Warwick County Courthouse at 14421 Old Courthouse Way, Newport News, Virginia AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE REMOVAL OF THE 1909 CONFEDERATE MONUMENT FROM ITS LOCATION AT THE 1884 WARWICK COUNTY COURTHOUSE AT 14421 OLD COURTHOUSE WAY, NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA. This ordinance authorized the removal of the 1909 Confederate Monument from its location at the 1884 Warwick County Courthouse at 14421 Old Courthouse Way, Newport News, Virginia. In 1909, a monument honoring the soldiers of the Confederacy was unveiled and dedicated at the 1884 Warwick County Courthouse, located at 14421 Old Courthouse Way, Newport News, Virginia (hereinafter “the Monument”). The Monument consisted of a stone base, carved stone pedestal, and a statue depicting a soldier of the former Confederate army holding a rifle, together with accompanying inscriptions and a plaque. On July 1, 2020, changes to Section 15.2-1812 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, created a process by which localities could vote to remove or relocate publicly owned monuments or memorials for the veterans of any war or conflict, such as the Monument, not less than thirty (30) days after publication of a notice of a public hearing at which interesting persons were invited to present their views on the question or relocation or removal. Notice of a public hearing regarding the proposed removal or relocation of the Monument was published in the Daily Press on July 1, 2020, inviting interested persons to attend a public hearing on August 11, 2020, to express their views on the issue. The aforesaid state law provided that after the public hearing, the governing body may vote on whether to remove or relocate the Monument, and if the governing body votes to remove or relocate, it must first, for a period of thirty (30) days, offer the Monument for relocation and placement to any museum, historical society, government, or military battlefield. The Monument was situated on property owned by the City Newport News (“the City”), and was within the boundaries of a historic preservation easement granted to the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Historic Resources (“the Grantee”) by the City in 2000. Said historic preservation easement provided that the Monument could not be removed or altered without the written approval of the Grantee. The Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Historic Resources granted written approval for the removal of the Monument. 2 Page 2 of 34 Draft The Newport News City Council desired to remove the Monument from its current location. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of Newport News: 1. That the Monument shall be removed from its current location at the 1884 Warwick County Courthouse and relocated to a location to be determined by this Council after the 30-day period during which the City was required to offer the Monument for relocation and placement to any museum, historical society, government, or military battlefield, pursuant to Section 15.2-1812 of the Code of Virginia. Said relocation shall occur no sooner than thirty (30) days after the adoption of this ordinance. City Council recognized that the Monument would likely need to be separated at its original joints for removal, transport, and storage, and specifically authorized such action. 2. That in the event any museum, historical society, government, or military battlefield should propose to take possession of the Monument for location and placement by such museum, historical society, government, or military battlefield prior to its relocation, the City Manager was authorized to negotiate an appropriate agreement with said entity, which said agreement shall not be executed unless and until it was approved by the Newport News City Council. 3. That any decision as to the final disposition of the Monument shall be subject to the approval of the Newport News City Council. 4. That this ordinance shall be in effect on and after the date of its adoption, August 11, 2020. The City Manager recommended approval. Mr. Andrew Shannon, 210 Hahn Place, Newport News, representing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), asked everyone present in favor of the removal of the Confederate Monument from its location at the 1884 Warwick County Courthouse at 14421 Old Courthouse Way, Newport News, Virginia, to stand. Members of the audience who stood represented the following: CNU NAACP Chapter, the Greater Hilton Coalition, teachers from Denbigh High School, and citizens from the community at large. Mr. Shannon also requested the removal of the photographs of the segregationist Mayors from the walls in the City Council Chambers. He advised there were a couple of good Mayors; i.e. the late Jessie M. Rattley, and Joe S. Frank, who worked with the (SCLC) organization founded by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As a result, there was a street in Newport News, Virginia, known as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza. Mr. Shannon advised that the Confederate Statue in the Denbigh section of Newport News on Old Courthouse Way represented hatred, bigotry, and divisiveness. Dr. King stated that our lives would begin to end the day when people became silent about things that mattered, and the Confederate statue mattered. Mr. 3 Page 3 of 34 Draft Shannon quoted scripture – Psalm 37:23, which said “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way,” and Psalm 75:6-7, which said “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another,” and indicated he had witnessed some put up and some put down. He indicated that City Council had been asked to take a stand for far too long, those who sought to oppress and glorify had been glorified for oppressing African-Americans and others. Those who sought to empower were subjected to extraordinary ridicule and scrutiny. Mr. Shannon referenced Ms. Susan Bro, whose daughter, Heather Heyer, was killed in 2017 in the wake of a violent protest in Charlottesville, Virginia by a white supremacist, James Alex Fields, Jr. Ms. Bro wrote a letter which reminded that she had come to the Newport News City Council in 2017 and asked that the Confederate Monument be removed. One Councilmember, Councilwoman Vick, felt that General Robert E. Lee was a cute little man on a horse. Mr. Shannon stated that Robert E. Lee was not was a cute little man on a horse, but represented hatred, bigotry, and divisiveness. Mr. Cary Epes, 58 Rivermont Drive, Newport News, spoke on behalf of The Greater Hilton for Social Justice, and in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Mr. Epes presented a petition which called for the removal of the Confederate Soldier Monument on the grounds of the 1884 Warwick County Courthouse which was erected by the City in 1909. Mr. Epes stated that he and the members of his group were aware of the fact that the Newport News City Council was in favor of the removal of the statue; they were also aware that the stance was not unanimous. The Greater Hilton for Social Justice felt that a strong showing of the City Council’s constituents, many from the Central District, would add a level of gravity to the matter. The petition included over 800 signatures (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). He reminded that the Councilmember from the Central District was recently re-elected by a small margin.

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