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2026-10-27 - City Council

Summary

Built from the agenda docket, the final action docket and the closed captions of the 3:37 recording, which are live broadcast captions with no speaker labels; names and figures may be misheard. Closed session ran 6:17 to 7:20 pm; the meeting adjourned at 9:51 pm.

  • Opening: electronic participation by the Mayor approved by roll call; closed session on investment of public funds; proclamations for Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Red Ribbon Week (October 23 to 31), the latter with student peer advocates.
  • Council member reports: regional ferry study that leaves Old Town without a say, Council-School Board subcommittee on state funding, commuter rail tunnel repairs, the 495 South Side express lanes, and an election-reform subcommittee proposal to move to four-year school board terms starting in 2033 (3-1 in subcommittee). The Mayor also reported on a state regional bus consolidation review that Alexandria opposes without a study.
  • Roll-call consent items 13 to 17 approved, taken out of order; no oral City Manager report was captured.
  • Elbert Avenue Housing Project (no action): replacing a 1940s building with a six-story, 91-home affordable building, all at or below 60% of area median income for 40 years, with more than half at 50% or below; total budget about $58.8 million. The requested tax abatement is 100% of added value for years 1 to 15 and 60% for years 16 to 30; the loan plus abatement is about $7.5 million nominal ($5.8 million present value), about $63,000 per unit. Construction is expected April 2027, with tax abatement and zoning text amendment items returning in November.
  • Detention Center Study (no action): average daily population fell from about 420 in 2018 to about 270 in 2025, with local inmates nearly halved and federal detainees about half the population; seven scenarios will be studied, a community feedback form is open through November 20, and the work finishes by December 31, 2026.
  • Duke Street Land Use Plan Update (no action): a roughly 1.6-mile plan area with 79 acres of opportunity sites, heights up to 85 feet with bonus density, about 1,400 existing committed affordable units and development expected at about one building every year or two. Members raised cut-through traffic (30 to 40%), small business space, block size and traffic data after 2022. The plan returns to council later.
  • Flock Cameras and License Plate Readers (oral report, no vote): the City Manager said notice was sent that evening cancelling the Flock Safety contract, with data to be turned off within 48 hours and cameras removed by December. Council will take up a surveillance technology resolution at its November 10 legislative meeting; the Vice Mayor stressed this is not a switch to another vendor.
  • Interim Independent Policing Auditor: OIR Group, with Florence Finkel as interim auditor, approved by roll call, unanimously, with the contract starting October 29.
  • The FY2027 look-ahead schedule and calendar were approved by voice vote.

Agenda

Agenda docket posted on the city's Granicus page; see Sources.

Sources

Video

Watch on Granicus

Transcript

Closed captions from the City's meeting portal; names and numbers may be misheard.