Wednesday, July 10, 2013

First Ever: Councilwoman Ellen Robertson to showcase Highland Park Neighborhood by holding Community Tour and Celebration

RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL Richmond City Council – Richmond City Hall - 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 200 - Richmond, VA 23219 - www.council.richmondva.gov COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS ADVISORY IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHARED Wednesday, 10 July 2013 First Ever: Councilwoman Ellen Robertson to showcase Highland Park Neighborhood by holding Community Tour and Celebration Free: Door Prizes; Refreshments; Bus Tours; Pet CPR Training; and, Bicycle Give-Aways and Repairs: Entire Richmond-metro community invited & encouraged to attend WHAT (Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) -- The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Gateway 6th Voter District, will hold a showcase of the Highland Park Neighborhood, located in the Richmond Gateway 6th Voter District. The event will be the first ever of its kind to be held and will include free Door Prizes; Refreshments; Bus Tours; Pet CPR Training; and, Bicycle Give-Aways and Repairs. The entire Richmond-metro community is invited and encouraged to attend. This will be a fun-filled family event to celebrate and promote Richmond's historic Highland Park Neighborhood. Councilwoman Robertson will be joined by Richmond City Sheriff C. T. Woody, The Honorable Jennifer L. McClellan, Virginia State Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates 71st Voter District, The Honorable Shonda Harris-Muhammed, Trustee, Richmond Public Schools Board of Trustees, Gateway 6th Voter District. The event is being sponsored by The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Gateway 6th Voter District, S. L. Nusbaum Realty Company, Southside Community Development and Housing Corporation, RiverCity Blues Realty, Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, and Richmond Public Schools. Established around 1890, the Highland Park Neighborhood is located in the northeastern part of Richmond and was a planned trolley suburb community (originally located in Henrico County) that was developed by the Highland Park Company. The event will include bus tours of community amenities and two new major housing developments being built, which include Highland Grove and Matthews at Chestnut Hill. These two developments are exciting additions and outstanding opportunities for great living in the community. The event is free and open to the public and the entire Richmond-metro community is invited and encouraged to attend. The celebration will include the following: • Home Buying Workshops • Free Refreshments • Free Bicycle Give-Aways • Free Bicycle Repairs • Free Bus Tours - Two New Major Housing Developments: Highland Grove and Matthews at Chestnut Hill - Hotchkiss Field/Anne Hardy Park - Cannon Creek Greenway - Historic Homes and Sites • Community Organization Presentation Tables • Pet CPR Training by Breath of Fresh Air (BOFA) WHEN Saturday, July 13, 2013 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. WHERE Main Event to be held at Richmond Public Schools Overby-Sheppard Elementary School 2300 1st Avenue; Richmond Virginia WHO The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council Gateway 6th Voter District Richmond City Sheriff C. T. Woody The Honorable Jennifer L. McClellan, Virginia State Delegate Virginia House of Delegates 71st Voter District The Honorable Shonda Harris-Muhammed, Trustee, Richmond Public Schools Board of Trustees, Gateway 6th Voter District. CONTACT For more information, please contact Hope Elliott, Council Liaison for The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Gateway 6th Voter District, at 804.646.7964 (tel), or hope.elliott@richmondgov.com (email) - E N D - ______________________________________ Steven R. Skinner, APR Council Public Information Manager RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL CHIEF OF STAFF Richmond City Hall 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305 Richmond, Virginia 23219 804.646.6052 (office) 804.335.4054 (mobile) 804.937.1386 (home/mobile) 804.646.5468 (fax) steven.skinner@richmondgov.com (email) www.council.richmondva.gov(website) ____________________________________________ MISSION The mission of Richmond City Council is to represent citizens in creating and amending local laws, providing government policy and oversight, and approving the city budget. VISION Richmond City Council is committed to creating a vibrant community that is a great place to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Richmond City Council appoints Ms. Jean V. Capel as new City Clerk



RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
Richmond City Council – Richmond City Hall - 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305 - Richmond, VA  23219 - www.council.richmondva.gov
                    
COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS ADVISORY
IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHARED
Monday, 8 July 2013
   
Richmond City Council appoints Ms. Jean V. Capel as new City Clerk
   
Ms. Jean Capel: Duties to begin immediately
      
(Richmond, Virginia) - Richmond City Council tonight (Monday, July 8, 2013) has adopted Resolution Number 2013-R154 during its regular Richmond City Council Formal Meeting to appoint Ms. Jean V. Capel to serve as the new City Clerk. Ms. Capel has served as Interim City Clerk since March of this year. Her service as the City Clerk begins upon adoption of the Resolution and is for an indefinite term.

        Ms. Capel has served as Deputy City Clerk of the Richmond City Council Office of the City Clerk since January 2010. Prior to this, she served from 2006-2009 as the Emporia City Clerk for the City of Emporia, Virginia. Ms. Capel earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Saint Paul's College and is a member of the International Institute of Municipal Clerks, the National League of Cities, the Virginia Municipal Clerks Association and the International City/County Management Association. 

        Richmond City Council congratulates Ms. Capel on her new position; applauds her experience, dedication and expertise; and, looks forward to continuing to work with her in her new role.

        Ms. Capel's duties as the City Clerk include providing oversight and management of the Richmond City Council Office of the City Clerk as per those described in the Richmond City Charter, which is described generally as follows:

Richmond City Charter
CHAPTER 4. COUNCIL
Section 4.04. City Clerk
The Council shall appoint a City Clerk for an indefinite term. He/She shall be the Clerk of the Council, shall keep the journal if its proceedings and shall file the original draft of all ordinances and shall maintain an index of all such ordinances. He/She shall be the custodian of the corporate seal of the City and shall be the officer authorized to use and authenticate it. All records in his/her office shall be public records and open to inspection at any time during regular business hours. He/She shall receive compensation to be fixed by the Council and all fees received by him/her shall be paid into the City treasury. He/She shall appoint and remove a deputy City Clerk, who shall be authorized to act as acting City Clerk in the absence or disability of the City Clerk, and all deputies and other employees in his/her office, and shall have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or by ordinance. (Virginia General Assembly Acts 1977, chapter 513, Section 1; Acts 1998, chapter 711: Acts 2005, chapter 844, Section 1)

CONTACT    For more information, please contact Steve Skinner, Council Public                                                          Information Manager, at 804.646.6052 (office tel) or 937.1386 (mobile) or                                      steven.skinner@richmondgov.com (email)

- E N D -



______________________________________
Steven R. Skinner, APR
Council Public Information Manager
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL CHIEF OF STAFF
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia  23219
804.646.6052 (office)
804.335.4054 (mobile)
804.937.1386 (home/mobile)
804.646.5468 (fax)
steven.skinner@richmondgov.com (email)
www.council.richmondva.gov(website)
____________________________________________

MISSION The mission of Richmond City Council
is to represent citizens in creating and amending
local laws, providing government policy and
oversight, and approving the city budget.

VISION Richmond City Council is committed to
creating a vibrant community that is a great place
to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.

Date change and cancellation: Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission meetings



RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
Richmond City Council – Richmond City Hall - 900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305 - Richmond, VA  23219 - www.council.richmondva.gov
                  
COUNCIL PUBLIC INFORMATION NEWS ADVISORY
IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO BE FORWARDED AND SHARED
Monday, 8 July 2013
   
Date change and cancellation: Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission meetings

All Richmond Residents invited and encouraged to attend

WHAT      (Richmond, Virginia U.S.A.) -- The Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission's upcoming meeting schedule has been changed. Changes include a new date for the previously posted meeting scheduled for July and the cancellation of the August meeting.  The meeting for July will now be held on July 25, 2013 at the regular time and location. The July 11, 2013 meeting date has been canceled. The meeting scheduled for the month of August has been canceled. No meeting will occur in August. 

                  The Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission typically holds monthly meetings regarding its work and ongoing projects in helping to preserve and present the history of slavery in Richmond. The upcoming scheduled meeting dates are listed below. Meetings are typically scheduled to be held the first Thursday of each month, beginning at 4:00 p.m., at the same location (note: meeting dates are subject to change).

                  Meetings are free and open to the public and all Richmond residents are invited and encouraged to attend. The agenda for these meetings typically include the following:

     Welcome
     New Business
     Updates
     Committee Reports
     Upcoming Events
     Closing Remarks/Adjournment

WHEN                 4:00-5:30 p.m.
                  New Date: Thursday, July 25, 2013  Thurs, July 11, 2013
                  Canceled: Thursday, August 1, 2013
                  Thursday, September 5, 2013
                  Thursday, October 3, 2013
                  Thursday, November 7, 2013
                  Thursday, December 5, 2013
                                         
WHERE   Richmond East District Initiative Government Services Building
      701 N. 25th Street (In Richmond’s Historic East End)

WHO                    The Honorable Delores L. McQuinn, Chairman, Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission; Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates - 70th Voter District
                   
CONTACT           For more information, please contact:

      The Honorable Delores L. McQuinn, Chairman, Richmond Slave Trail Commission (Member, Virginia House of Delegates -70th Voter District) at 804.698.1070 (tel), or deldmcquinn@house.virginia.gov (email)

Background ____________________________________________________________________________

Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission
One of Richmond City Council's more than 55 official boards, task forces and commissions that it has created and that assists with providing oversight of certain projects and priorities, the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission is a government entity of Richmond City Council that was established by Resolution Number 98-R 102-107, adopted July 13, 1998, as amended by Resolution No. 2000-R111-109, adopted July 24, 2000, as amended by Resolution No. 2003-R132-123, adopted July 14, 2003, as amended by Resolution No. 2003-R155-141, adopted September 8, 2003, as amended by Resolution No. 2004-R125-131, adopted June 28, 2004.

      The purpose of the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission is to assist Council with oversight and assistance in helping to preserve and present the history of slavery in Richmond. The Commission meets monthly and includes 17 members that are appointed by Council to serve for three year terms. The composition of membership is as follows:

The Commission shall be composed of seventeen (17) members.  Such persons shall be appointed by the Council and shall serve for terms of three (3) years.  The membership of the Commission shall include at least one (1) member of City Council, not less than three (3) members of the “Hope in the Cities” organization and a representative from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities.  Any appointed Council members shall be given the first option of serving as the Chair of the Commission in order of their appointment. Five members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for meetings.

Over the years, Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission has worked on a number of important projects, which have included:

     2011
Unveiling of 17 Richmond Slave Trail Markers located throughout the Shockoe Bottom area of Richmond, marking sites that help tell the historic journey, human impact, and the role Richmond played in the tragic history of slavery.

The Richmond Slave Trail Markers will serve to recognize the regrettable time in our nation’s history when parts of the United States allowed the enslavement of fellow human beings and an estimated 8 percent of U.S. families owned slaves just before the U.S. Civil War. The site of the event and location of one of the 17 markers, Lumpkin's Slave Jail was the largest slave-holding facility in operation in Richmond, Virginia from 1840 until the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865. During that time, Richmond was home to the largest domestic slave export business in the United States. The Confederate Army surrendered Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy, on April 3, 1865.

Following shortly after the end of the U. S. Civil War, which ended in Virginia on April 9, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States of America Constitution was adopted on December 6, 1865. This amendment officially abolished slavery. A precursor for this amendment was the Emancipation Proclamation, an Executive Order signed by President Abraham Lincoln, on January 1, 1863, which proclaimed the freedom of slaves living in states under Confederate control.

     2009
Development of the conceptual Richmond National Slavery Museum
Richmond City Council provides annual staff assistance and financial support for the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission. Council staff support includes providing fiscal management, public information, writing, publication creation, graphic design, special event and project management, promotions and fundraising. Additional staff support is provided by the Richmond City Administration through the Richmond Department of Economic Development, which includes project engineering and management.

     2009
Development of the Richmond Slave Trail Marker Program, Signage and
Commemorative Site: Lumpkin’s Slave Jail

     2008
Discovery of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail historic foundation and architectural
artifacts.

     2008 – 2009
Phase II Lumpkin’s Slave Jail Archaeological Assessment: which
included engineering and storm water engineering

     2007
Richmond International Unveiling of Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue on Friday, March 30, 2007, erected at 15th and E. Main Streets. Included design and construction of the Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statute plaza and erection of the statue. This project was part of a global initiative placing three statues in three countries. Dedicated to slavery reconciliation, the installation of the statue represents nearly 10 years of work between the City of Richmond, Virginia, USA (North America), Liverpool, England (Europe), and the Republic of Benin (Africa). A statue was erected in Liverpool in 1989 and the Republic of Benin in August 2005.

     2006
Lumpkin’s Slave Jail Archaeological Assessment
Lumpkin's Slave Jail was the largest slave holding facility in operation in Richmond, Virginia from 1840 until the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865. During that time, Richmond was home to the largest domestic slave export business in the United States. Owned by Robert Lumpkin, the jail was a place that tens of thousands of African men, women and children were "stored" before being transported to slave owners living in states where slavery was legal. Following Lumpkin's death shortly after the Civil war, his common law widowed wife Mary Lumpkin, who was African-American, inherited the estate. In 1867, she leased the jail to Reverend Nathaniel Colver, who established a school for freed slaves at the site. Founded by the American Baptist Home Missionary Society and the National Theological Institute, the school grew into what is now Virginia Union University.

     2003
Acquisition of Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue. For three quarters of the 18th Century, Virginia (North America), Liverpool, England (Europe), and the Republic of Benin (Africa) represented one of the largest global commercial trade triangles of enslaved Africans. Liverpool's shipbuilding industry provided the vessels that sailed to the Kingdom of Dahomey, now the Republic of Benin, where Africans were loaded on ships and transported to the Americas, with Richmond, Virginia being one of the major recipients.

Support
Richmond City Council provides annual staff assistance as available and financial support for the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission. Council staff support includes providing fiscal management, public information, writing, publication creation, graphic design, special event and project management. Additional staff support is provided by the Richmond City Administration through the Richmond Department of Economic Development, which includes project engineering and management.
Council financial support is provided through appropriations in the Richmond City Budget. This includes appropriations in the Richmond City Budget Capital Improvement Plan, Non-Departmental budgets and Departmental budgets. Funding is predicated on requests made by the Commission and as determined by Council.

An overview of estimated financial investments in the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission, and some highlighted projects, are listed below per Fiscal Year (FY). The estimates reflect Richmond Government Budget - General Fund Budget and Capital Investment Projects disbursements.

    FY 2013 (Year To Date 3/2013) - $59,290.69
For general Commission support/and for development of the Richmond Slave Trail Marker Program; signage and commemorative site; Lumpkin’s Slave Jail/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2012- $80,931.46
For general Commission support/and for development of the Richmond Slave Trail Marker Program; signage and commemorative site; Lumpkin’s Slave Jail/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2011- $190,258.66
For general Commission support/and for development of the Richmond Slave Trail Marker Program; signage and commemorative site; Lumpkin’s Slave Jail/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2010- $102,311.43
For general Commission support/and for development of the Richmond Slave Trail Marker Program; signage and commemorative site; Lumpkin’s Slave Jail/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2009 - $286,628.13
For general Commission support ($30,000 - spent $5,124) and for development of the Richmond Slave Trail Marker Program; signage and commemorative site; Lumpkin’s Slave Jail; development of conceptual National Slavery Museum; and, paid sponsorship for Symposium at the University of Richmond for the Civil War Sesquicentennial/ Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2008 - $51,212.28
For general Commission support ($30,000 - spent $7,748) and for Phase II of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail Archaeological Assessment, which included $155,000 for earthmoving and $35,000 for engineering and stormwater engineering (floodplain and proximity to I-95 berm) and $150,000 for archaeological services to hire a vendor/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2007 - $493,439.48
For general Commission support ($11,000) and design and construction of the Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statute plaza; erection of the statue; and, the International Unveiling of the Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2006 - $31,535.44
For Richmond Slave Trail Brochure Creation/Printing Phase I of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail Archaeological Assessment/Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission support/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2005 - $113,599.83
Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission support/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2004 - $1,000
Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission support/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

    FY 2003 - $41,445
Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission support/Richmond Slavery Reconciliation Statue

     Additional financial, staff and archeological support has also been provided by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods, Virginia Commonwealth University, and a number of corporate, nonprofit and individual financial sponsors.


- end -


______________________________________
Steven R. Skinner, APR
Council Public Information Manager
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
OFFICE OF THE COUNCIL CHIEF OF STAFF
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia  23219
804.646.6052 (office)
804.335.4054 (mobile)
804.937.1386 (home/mobile)
804.646.5468 (fax)
steven.skinner@richmondgov.com (email)
www.council.richmondva.gov(website)
____________________________________________

MISSION The mission of Richmond City Council
is to represent citizens in creating and amending
local laws, providing government policy and
oversight, and approving the city budget.

VISION Richmond City Council is committed to
creating a vibrant community that is a great place
to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.