Will you attend Petersburg's Tuesday city council meeting? THE AGENDA.

Welcome to The Agenda! This weekly feature will cover all the public meetings in Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights that may be important to you.

While there's not many public meetings on the agenda this week— in part due to the Fourth of July Holiday— two Petersburg City Council meetings are on the books for this Tuesday. One is closed to the public and the other is open.

Petersburg City Council meetings

According to the meeting's agenda , the Petersburg City Council meeting that is closed to the public will involve three main topics of consideration. The first is a discussion pertaining to the award of a public contract, including interviews of bidders or offerors, in a way that the discussion of these topics in an open session would potentially adversely affect the bargaining position of the city. Secondly, city council will be receiving legal advice and a status update from Petersburg's City Attorney, including legal counsel regarding (but not limited to) the Code of Virginia Rule IV of the Rules of Council. Thirdly, city council members will be discussing the performance, assignment and appointment of a specific public officer in Petersburg.

After the closed-session meeting, the Petersburg City Council will be hosting their regular public meeting that is open to the public and will be live streamed here starting at 5 p.m. on July 2.

Among other items on the agenda is a request by the City Attorney to schedule a public hearing for the consideration of an ordinance aimed to retain employees within the City Attorney’s Office.

This ordinance was proposed in light of chronic understaffing issues in the City Attorney’s Office, which has two staff positions that are both currently empty due to employees regularly transferring from the City Attorney’s Office to other jobs in the city.

“..it is difficult, if not impossible, for the Office with only two staff positions, to compete with the salaries and other jobs available given the large number of vacancies that the City currently has,” the agenda request for the proposed ordinance states.

The ordinance would prohibit employees working within the City Attorney’s office from being eligible for re-hire or transfers to other departments within the city for a year after leaving the City Attorney’s office (unless they have written permission to do so by the City Attorney.) Among other changes, it would also allow the City Attorney to incorporate career development programs for staff and amend the job description of staff at their discretion.

Petersburg Department of Public Works and Utilities monthly updates on city projects

Also on the agenda is the Department of Public Works and Utilities’ monthly presentation to the Petersburg City Council, including status updates on department projects.

This includes the addition or modification of signage around the city to better notify drivers of road conditions, roadside vegetation removal to provide improved driver visibility and safety alongside multiple city roadways, drainage improvement for Powhatan Avenue and details regarding an emergency response street operation to clear the roadway on E Washington Street and Slagle Avenue on June 22.

There have also been several updates to city facilities this past month, including the temporary installation of a rental AC unit at the Union Street Train Station, the repair of the Petersburg Library's sprinkler system, several broken drainpipes in the wall of the men’s restroom at the Petersburg Sports Complex as well as faulty AC units at Blandford Church, Southside Depot and City Hall Annex, the mowing of grass at several city parks and more. Read more about these updates here .

Questions on Public Works and Utilities updates? Contact Director of Public Works and Utilities Jerry Byerly at jbyerly@petersburg-va.org .

Upcoming public meetings

This week's public meetings in Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights are as follows:

Tuesday, July 2

Petersburg City Council Closed Session Meeting , 4-5 p.m., Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library. View the agenda for this meeting here .

Petersburg City Council Regular Meeting , 5-6 p.m., Multipurpose Room of the Petersburg Public Library. This meeting is open to the public and will be live streamed here . View the agenda for this meeting here .

Colonial Heights Planning Commission Meeting , 6-8 p.m., City Council Chambers, 201 James Avenue. See the agenda for this meeting here .

Wednesday, July 3

Petersburg School Board meeting, 6 p.m., School Board Office, 255 South East Blvd. Find the agenda for this meeting here . Questions? Contact Clerk Lauren Williams at 804-732-0510 ext 1053 or lawilliams1@petersburg.k12.va.us.

Hopewell Architectural Review Board Meeting , 3:30 p.m., Municipal Building (City Council Conference Room), 300 N. Main Street. Inquiries? Contact Senior Planner Kelly Davis at (804) 541-2269.

Tuesday, July 9

Colonial Heights City Council Regular Meeting , 7-9 p.m., City Council Chambers, 201 James Avenue. Find the agenda for this meeting here .

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Will you attend Petersburg's Tuesday city council meeting? THE AGENDA.