Richmond City Council’s final meeting of the year was an emotional one, as members reflected on past achievements and looked ahead to the future. Outgoing council members Andreas Addison, Ann-Frances Lambert and Kristen Nye were honored for their service, marking a poignant moment in the city’s leadership transition.

“This is not a goodbye,” 6th District Representative Ellen F. Robertson said. “This is just another path of the journey, and we have no idea where it’s going to lead us but we know it’s going to lead us to great things and we look forward to it.”

Although Addison was absent from the meeting, a video montage of the departing council members’ work over the years and the kind words of fellow council members still made for a sendoff that moved those present.

“I’ve learned so much up here, everybody brings something to this body,” said an emotional Nye, who announced she wouldn’t seek re-election earlier this year. “I feel like we have really changed the direction of this city. We have done some amazing work.”

Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders later appeared during the meeting’s closing minutes, where he was acknowledged for his work and the collaboration between the city government and council. The meeting came hours after he announced his exit from the CAO role ahead of Mayor-elect Danny Avula’s inauguration on Jan. 1.

Former City Council member and House Delegate Michael Jones made a surprise appearance at the meeting. In addition to praising their successes, he presented Nye with a Virginia House resolution commending her 12 years in city government, including time on the Richmond School Board, and her accomplishments.

“The legacy that y’all will leave here, the work that you’ve done, the long hours,” Jones said of the departing council members. “Y’all have done a wonderful job in serving.”

When it came to the meeting’s agenda, council members approved a wide range of ordinances and resolutions during the over two hour-long meeting, including endorsing legislative and budget proposals for the Virginia General Assembly’s 2025 session.

The proposals include requests for legislation or a study on Long-term Owner Occupancy Programs to address gentrification, authority to expand the use of speed cameras to college campuses, and renewing the ability of localities to collect all sales tax revenue from “integral” public facilities like convention centers and hotels.

Ordinances also were approved to support the efforts of the JXN project, which seeks to highlight Richmond’s role in African American history through preserving the Jackson Ward neighborhood. The nonprofit has been granted $950,000 allocated from the the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to reconstruct the Skipwith-Roper Cottage, the home of one of the city’s first Black homeowners, and a special use permit to operate it as a museum and community center, among other uses.

City Council also voted unanimously to appoint Matthew Slaats as interim chief of staff, who will succeed LaTesha Holmes in the role.

The vote that garnered the most discussion of the evening was a reconsideration over how two waste facilities, the Hopkins Road Transfer Station and the East Richmond Road Convenience Center, in Richmond’s South Side would be managed. Waste Management of Virginia, who previously oversaw the sites, and Meridian Waste Virginia both made bids for the franchise agreement. Both businesses also had representatives present at the meeting to argue against or in favor of the current contract.

City Council previously had approved Meridian to handle the sites in October, with a contract bid that included roughly $4.5 million in service fees, only for the adopted ordinance to be reconsidered in November and continued to Monday due to what Nye described as “an incorrect recommendation of staff.”

“Staff incorrectly concluded the bid most favorable to the city was Meridian,” Department of Public Works Director Bobby Vincent Jr. said during Monday’s meeting. “We recommend Waste Management.”

Council members voted to accept Waste Management’s bid of around $3.7 million, with Stephanie Lynch, 5th District, and Nicole Jones, 9th District, abstaining. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 13.