Steve Frey
Contributing writer
After the Pledge of Allegiance to start Monday’s Radford City Council meeting, Mayor David Horton began the new process of sharing an inspirational thought before requesting everyone to participate in a moment of silence.
Some audience members chose to stand and recite the Lord’s Prayer during the moment of silent reflection at Monday’s Radford City Council meeting. The protest was in response to the council’s recent decision to remove a prayer from the start of the meetings.
The council voted to change the format at last week’s meeting in an effort to be more inclusive to everyone.
Previously council held a prayer before the meetings, usually led by a local pastor or sometimes by former Councilman Keith Marshall.
Horton’s inspirational reflection revolved around the recent Independence Day celebration sponsored by Radford City.
“I was just thinking about the work and dedication it took to make that happen for the many thousands of people who joined us in Bisset Park. And I wanted to say a big thank you right off the top to our public works; to our parks and recreation folks; to our committee who put all that together; to the police, the fire, the EMS who helped,” Horton said.
He mentioned the Founding Fathers and all that they committed to freedom. “They not only risked their social status and their wealth; they risked their lives,” he said.
Horton talked about the “torch of liberty” and how important it is to keep in mind this enormous responsibility as “we gather together; as we move forward; as we stand united as a country.”
He then asked everyone to join in a moment of silent reflection. He said that for those that choose to, it is a moment for silent prayer as well.
While most of the audience sat silently, a small number chose to recite the “Lord’s Prayer.”
After approving the minutes from previous council meetings, citizens were invited to share comments with the council.
Bobby Farmer said, “I don’t know why y’all want to have a silence. He warned the four who voted for the motion that “you better be careful because you never know what’s going to happen ’cause the good Lord is coming soon.”
Mark Tapp talked about how “community” came up often in the campaign, but the council “gave no indication (in the agenda) that the prayer was going to be removed from the meetings. At no point did anybody campaign upon that.”
He went on to say, “what you did was betray the trust of the people of Radford by not inviting public comment.”
He implored the council to “renege on your decision temporarily” and bring the issue back a month from now after public comment.
Laurie Murphy said the people reciting the Lord’s Prayer “disrespected me as an individual” because she doesn’t pray and doesn’t want prayer at the council meeting. She added that she loves the silent reflection.
Ken Alderman mentioned that everyone on the board should have been aware of the vote so an informed discussion could have been had. He felt it would be “very good to bring it out to let people have input in it” and that would help the council to not “lose the trust of the community.”
Catherine Catrupi thanked the council for “making Radford City Council meetings much more inclusive.”
She said that as someone who doesn’t pray, she could “appreciate the moment to sit and reflect on the great works that you all as city council are doing as well as my role here in the community.”
Jenny Riffe said she is not religious, but she understands that many are profoundly religious. She said, “a moment of silence before meetings gives those who choose to pray a time to pray, gives people who choose not to pray a time to center their thoughts and to gain clarity.” She also said, “Nothing is taken away by including everyone.”
Keith Weltens said in a time of need, “I fail to understand why we would turn down any help publicly, so whether that’s from a volunteer, whether that’s from a family member, whether that’s from someone wanting to locate, whether it’s from the government or whether it’s from someone that someone prays to.”
William Ratcliffe said he felt the majority’s opinion on prayer wasn’t taken into consideration. He asked how Radford could “claim to be an all-American city” by taking prayer out of council meetings. He went on to recommend to “come together and pray together as a city for our city.”
Ron Lawson said, “This country was founded on Judeo-Christian philosophy.” He also said, “I just don’t want San Francisco-style government in the City of Radford.”
He asked why one of the first things the council did was “so divisive in the community.”
Connie Cook said, “We live in a world where everyone is offended easily.” Some are silenced because others are offended. She said that “she will not be silenced if it offends you.”
Laurie Buchwald shared with the council a list of local boards and councils that, for the most part, have a moment of silence or nothing.
She said, “I personally am thankful that my friends who are not of Christian faith will no longer feel uncomfortable.”
Bill Fleischer said that “in the effort of trying to be inclusive…we have…excluded God.”
Carol Colby explained that she is grateful and “glad for the inclusivity that your vote brought about last week.”
Hannah Martin thanked the council for being inclusive with the moment of silence and “opening up doors for people to come in who aren’t Christian.”
Chris Bradbury said he thinks if there were a public referendum, the “overwhelming majority would say—moment of silence.”
During the council comments portion of the meeting, Councilwoman Naomi Huntington that she really appreciated everyone who came out to share thoughts.
She said she wanted to be transparent about her thought process for the motion and that she felt it was the appropriate time to bring it up since it was an organizational meeting.
She went on to say that it was not her intent to exclude anyone and asked forgiveness and understanding since she was new to the process.
Her intent was to “make everyone feel welcome” and the community is stronger the “more inclusive that we are.”
Councilwoman Jessie Critterton said she wanted to reiterate that during that moment of silence, “your God is welcome here; everyone is welcome here. We represent and support all of our community members, so, again, this is not to exclude your God your Goddess, whatever faith you have or don’t have. You are all welcome here. Everyone is welcome here.”
She also mentioned having quarterly meetings in the community where the council can meet around a table and talk directly to people.
Horton said that he and city manager David Ridpath have been talking about town halls. He said that “it was appropriate that Miss Huntington bring it up (changing to silent reflection) because it was our organizational meeting.”
Councilman Harshberger added that the council did amend to add the inspirational statement.
Horton said, “Our goal is to find ways to unite us that may not be necessarily based purely in faith and church and to find time where we do respect each other and have a moment of silence so that whatever choice you make during that time is your choice, and I do believe this—if God is in your heart, in your mind, then God is with us.”
He added, “I think we’re going to try to keep what we’re doing for a period of time and see how that goes and for the foreseeable future move down that path so that we’re able to work together and be as inclusive as possible.”
In comparison, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and Christiansburg Town Council have a moment of silence and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, while Blacksburg Town Council only recites the pledge.
Other news
In new business, the council considered a number of appropriations and other items.
The 2018 city pavement contract went to Adams Construction with a low bid of $354,530.
The city will be acquiring a new ambulance with a cost of $256,000.
Radford Social Services Director, Vickie Collins, described how by moving items from one line item to another and with a $21,253 appropriation, the city would save about $14,015 in matching funds.
The city needed to make end-of-year adjustments for the garage with money spread from various departments. This will include a new lift and vehicle maintenance. The appropriation was for $53,715.
The city council appropriated $7,412 for additional deputies in schools. The schools provided the $7,412, so the appropriation is a budget adjustment by the city.
Collins explained the Extreme Recruiter Grant appropriation for $119,520. This is the third year the city has received the grant. The grant is used to fund a team to work intensely to help children to find extended family members or previous foster homes for placement. The goal is to provide adoption opportunities for children before they age out of foster care.
The council approved an appropriation for $60,758 received through Medicaid Expansion. The program is planned to go “live” on January 1, and the funds will be used to hire an additional person to help process applications and work with people using Medicaid.
All appropriations were approved unanimously.
The city council created a new Sustainability Work Group (changed from Task Force). The group will include staff, community and council members. The time frame will be a month to a year, and then the group will bring back recommendations for the council to consider. Harshberger said sustainability is a good place to start, citing the recycling program as an early success. Huntington will be the council representative for the group.
Horton said the idea is to “get more folks involved in what we’re doing” and get new ideas. The work group was approved unanimously.
Horton mentioned that he envisioned work groups for downtown and other areas to get short-term public input.
Ridpath thanked all who attended and worked with the Fourth of July Celebration. All of the council members also mentioned the great success of the celebration. Huntington added that many people let her know they were very appreciative of the free activities for children.
Councilman Rob Gropman complimented the new Radford utility bill format. He also said he voted for the sustainability work group, but he is worried about the “end game.” He is concerned about government overreach that might impinge on private choice. Harshberger mentioned that that was why the charge for the group was so important. He reminded everyone that the council is a deliberative body that will look at a variety of recommendations and discuss the most appropriate course of action.
Horton reiterated that the work groups would give the council some alternatives, something to consider. The idea is to find answers to challenges that have emerged, just like many other communities around the country.