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Organizational Development Standing Committee

November 3, 2025 ·4:00 PM Final

Council Chamber, 2nd Floor - City Hall

Agenda PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 51 items

  1. 1 Members Present
  2. 2 Others in Attendance
  3. 2 The Honorable Cynthia Newbille, Chair The Honorable Katherine Jordan, Vice Chair The Honorable Andrew Breton, Member The Honorable Kenya Gibson, Member The Honorable Nicole Jones, Member The Honorable Ellen Robertson, Member (late arrival) The Honorable Stephanie Lynch, Member The Honorable Sarah Abubaker, Member
  4. 3 Approval of Minutes
  5. 3 Absent
  6. 4 October 6, 2025 - Organizational Development Standing Committee Meeting Minutes CD.2025.340
  7. 4 The Honorable Reva Trammell, Member
  8. 5 Reports from City Administration, Council Staff, and Other Parties
  9. 1. Richmond Region Tourism Annual Update ~ President and CEO Katherine O'Donnell
  10. 6 Laura Drewry, City Attorney Candice Reid, City Clerk Kiley Kesecker, Deputy City Clerk RJ Warren, Council Chief of Staff
  11. 7 Richmond Region Tourism Annual Update CD.2025.342
  12. 7 Call to Order
  13. 2. Federal Government Shutdown Impact Update ~ Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II
  14. 8 Chair Cynthia Newbille called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. and presided.
  15. 9 Federal Government Shutdown Impact Update CD.2025.350
  16. 10 Reports of Standing Committees
  17. 10 There were no corrections or amendments to the minutes of the Monday, October 6, 2025 Organizational Development Standing Committee meeting at 4:00 p.m., and the minutes were approved as presented.
  18. 11 Discussion Item(s)
  19. 1. 2026 General Assembly Session Legislative Agenda Update ~ Devon Cabot, Vice President, Two Capitols Consulting
  20. 13 Virginia General Assembly 2026 Session Legislative Agenda CD.2025.345
  21. 14 Paper(s) for Consideration
  22. 15 City Council standing committee updates were provided by submitted documentation prepared by Council staff.
  23. 15 A copy of the material provided has been filed.
  24. 16 Consideration of Appointments to Boards, Commissions and Similar Entities
  25. 16 Member Ellen Robertson arrived and was seated.
  26. 17 There were no appointments for consideration.
  27. 17 Richmond Region Tourism (RRT) President and CEO Katherine O'Donnell presented an annual update on the work of RRT in the region over the past year, and discussed opportunities for growth. The presentation also highlighted visitor spending in 2024, sports tourism as a driver of group business, conventions, hotel booking data, regional marketing campaigns, blog and tourism publication features, and hosted influencer visits.
  28. 18 RRT Vice President of Community Relations Danielle Fitz-Hugh presented information on RRT Foundation programs including: the I Am Tourism VCU student program, workforce development programs, RVA Sports Awards, BLK RVA, and OutRVA.
  29. 19 Vice Chair Jordan asked if there were any visitor spending numbers available for 2025.
  30. 20 CEO O'Donnell stated that they would not have that data for some time, but noted that both July and September were record breaking months for hotel occupancy, so they are anticipating to see very good numbers when they are available.
  31. 21 Member Stephanie Lynch asked how RRT is funded and what percentage Richmond pays compared to other regional partners.
  32. 22 CEO O'Donnell stated that RRT is funded by the hotel occupancy tax, with Richmond, Hanover, Henrico, and Chesterfield each contributing the equivalent of 2% of hotel occupancy tax revenue from the previous fiscal year. She added that in dollars, Henrico contributes the largest sum due to having the highest number of hotel rooms of the four localities.
  33. 26 A copy of the material provided has been filed.
  34. 27 Devon Cabot, Two Capitols Consulting, provided an overview of the city's updated draft legislative priorities for the 2026 General Assembly session. The legislative agenda highlighted five legislative and budgetary priorities:
  35. 28 • Low-Income Housing Tax Credit • Long-Term Owner Occupancy Program • Sales Tax for School Construction • Water Treatment Plant • Combined Sewer Overflow
  36. 29 Member Kenya Gibson stated that she would like to see more visibility in the process and that the language in the draft agenda is vague, not inclusive enough, and there was not enough public involvement. She also stated that she would like to see inclusionary zoning as a top legislative priority and to revisit the legislative agenda process to include more public participation.
  37. 30 Member Ellen Robertson stated that having too many items on the agenda could dilute the meaning of the requests, emphasizing the need to recognize the capacity for the number of bills being put forward.
  38. 31 Member Sarah Abubaker asked if it is more beneficial to use general or specific language.
  39. 32 Ms. Cabot stated that with many new legislators taking office, it is best to use vague policy statements.
  40. 33 Reports from City Administration, Council Staff, and Other Parties
  41. 36 A copy of the material provided has been filed.
  42. 37 Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald, II presented information on the increasing local impact of the federal government shutdown. Items highlighted included:
  43. 38 • At risk federally supported programs • Initial mitigation activities • Navigation framework • Projected cuts to Housing and Community Development • Projected cuts to Department of Social Services • Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) resources and programming • Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) • Food distributions strategies and partnerships • Focused outreach efforts targeting priority populations
  44. 39 At the request of Member Kenya Gibson and Member Stephanie Lynch, CAO Donald expanded on the city's outreach efforts to distribute information to individual residents regarding what resources and assistance programs are available and how to access them.
  45. 40 Member Nicole Jones asked how the city is combating misinformation surrounding the shutdown while expanding information distribution efforts.
  46. 41 CAO Donald explained the importance of more targeted communications strategies with marginalized populations.
  47. 43 There were no papers for consideration.
  48. 46 November 3, 2025 - Staff Report CD.2025.369
  49. 47 A copy of the material provided has been filed.
  50. 50 Adjournment
  51. 51 There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:19 p.m.