Chesapeake City Council Meeting February 25, 2025
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Chesapeake City Council Meeting February 25, 2025
The Chesapeake City Council held a regular meeting on February 25, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting included a work session at 5:00 p.m. for the Constitutional Officer's Annual Report, followed by the regular session. Key actions included approval of the agenda with an added item confirming the declaration of a state of emergency for severe winter weather, a proclamation for Career and Technical Education Month, approval of several public hearing items, and appointments to boards and commissions. The meeting concluded with a closed session.
Work Session: Constitutional Officer's Annual Report
- The work session featured presentations from the Commonwealth's Attorney, Sheriff, and Commissioner of the Revenue, focusing on their activities under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and their budget requests for the upcoming year.
- Commonwealth's Attorney Paris Hamill reported that his office was not requesting additional funding beyond the prior year's budget. He highlighted a new collections law firm that increased collections year-over-year: 40% in circuit court, 55% in district court, and 380% in juvenile court, while the office's fee was 9.5% less than the previous firm.
- Sheriff Dave Rosato discussed the Sheriff's Office's 2024 budget of $65,292,874, with 472 paid positions (403 sworn). He highlighted the new mental health therapeutic unit at the Chesapeake Correctional Center, expansion of the School Resource Deputy program to 14 deputies covering all elementary schools (each covering two schools), and reported an average daily jail population of over 700 inmates (rated capacity 747).
- Commissioner of the Revenue Victoria Prophet reported on personal property assessments totaling $3 billion, with $133 million in tax. She noted a 7.6% increase in DMV transactions, 21,334 active businesses, and that delinquent businesses were reduced from 6,000 to 1,284 under her tenure. She also highlighted the new Schedule C project generating $111,000 in new revenue.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of January 14, 21, and 28, 2025.
- Approved the agenda as amended, adding New Business Item B (emergency declaration resolution).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Rogard Ross (representing Friends of Indian River) urged the city to complete speed limit studies on Indian River Road, implement a 35 mph speed limit along the entire corridor from Norfolk to Virginia Beach, and retain the temporary four-lane configuration after bridge construction is complete.
- Katherine Hobbs (self) proposed installing geese crossing signs on Greenbrier Parkway at Eden Way and Volvo Parkway, citing safety concerns and a petition with 228 signatures.
- Stephanie Fulford (self) described multiple incidents of stray bullets crossing her property from target shooting and requested amendments to require permits for safe shooting berms and hold property owners liable.
- Debbie Conboy (self) recounted bullets whizzing over her head and through a barn, urging ordinance changes to enhance safety.
- Heather Browne (self) reported a bullet whizzing by her while fishing with her children, and called for permits and inspections of shooting backstops.
- Ernest Smith (self) alleged that commercial venues on Baum and Ansel Roads are operating without proper permits and safety inspections, violating city codes and potentially endangering attendees, and requested enforcement.
- Stephen Johnson (self) advocated for speed radar signs and additional speed enforcement cameras on Cedar Road, Moses Grandy Trail, and other roads, citing speeding as a major safety concern.
Discussion Items
- Constitutional Officer's Annual Report: Council members discussed the need for more precise reporting from constitutional officers on budget usage and future priorities. Council Member Ward requested more detail on disabled veteran tax relief applications.
- American Legion Lease (Item 7A): Council discussed sublessee insurance requirements with the representative for American Legion Great Bridge Post 280. Council Member Ritter raised concerns about the burden of insurance for private events; an amendment was discussed to exempt small private events, but the item was approved with amendments to be brought back at a later date.
- Watts Brothers Lane Acquisition (Item 8B): Council Member Ritter asked about the potential resale of residual property; the City Manager noted an estimated value of $650,000 and that it would go through the normal bidding process.
- Fentress Airfield Overlay District Signs (Item 12A): Council Member Ritter requested that the review consider properties with conditional uses on two rights-of-way and prohibit blinking, neon, backlit, or variable message signs.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the emergency resolution confirming a state of emergency due to severe winter weather (effective February 19, 2025) and its conclusion on February 24, 2025 (9-0 vote).
- Approved all non-planning public hearing items (7A through 7F) unanimously (9-0 votes):
- Lease with American Legion Great Bridge Post 280 for Oak Grove Center (with amendments to sublessee insurance to come back later).
- Authorized right-of-way acquisitions for three intersection improvement projects: Eden Way at Greenbrier Parkway, Battlefield Boulevard at Volvo Parkway, and Butts Station Road at Kempsville Road.
- Ordinance to convey surplus properties at Emporia Court and 4317 Cromwell Court to the Chesapeake Land Bank Authority.
- Temporary easement to Columbia Gas Transmission for the Virginia Reliability Project.
- Approved an ordinance clarifying Chapter 14 of the City Code regarding building regulations (9-0).
- Approved appropriations and resolution for Watts Brothers Lane right-of-way acquisition: $36,340 from Drum Creek Farms cash proffers, $5,816 from 5109 Charlton Drive cash proffers, and purchase of six parcels for $875,000 (9-0).
- Approved the initiating resolution requesting the Planning Commission to consider amending sign regulations in the Fentress Airfield Overlay District (9-0).
- Appointments to Boards and Commissions: John Formica and Christina Halverson to Bicycle/Trails Advisory; Dwight Parker to Behavioral Healthcare Board; Nerissa Rhodes to Interagency Consortium; Reynaldo Hernandez, Jr., Andrew Oglesby, and Shannon Terhune to Natural Event Mitigation; Lisa Dixon to Senior Services (7 votes vs. 2 for Crystal Rosario); and Stormwater Committee: Michael Battle, Vic Nicholls, Kevin Walker, Reynaldo Hernandez, Jr., David Scott, and Brennen Waters (all unanimous).
- Mayor directed staff to consult with police and city attorney on options for addressing target shooting issues, to follow up on concerns raised by Mr. Smith and Mr. Johnson, and to provide information on geese crossing signs.
- Council members requested budget work sessions on public safety needs (Ritter), ways to fund public safety without raising taxes (Newins), and ensured the March 11 work session on disposable waste remains on the agenda (King).
Closed Meeting
- The council convened a closed meeting at 7:59 p.m. to consult with the city attorney regarding pending litigation and to discuss an economic development opportunity in the Washington borough. The meeting was certified at approximately 8:33 p.m., and the council reconvened and certified the closed meeting unanimously (9-0).
Meeting Transcript
Do you know what? I want to welcome everyone to our February 25th, 2020 council work session. We have several guests here with us. Mr. Manager, I'll let you introduce, and if I could, like to make a uh comment after you've done that. Um so as council will recall last year during the budget process, um uh we we talked about the notion that the city provides supplements to constitutional officers. Um we also for the first time last year started to provide a city supplement to the public defender's office, and so council asked uh my office and the city attorney to work with the constitutional officers and the public defenders um to draft uh um memorandums of understanding so that we could identify um really what it is that that um the the services that um that were supplementing and just to make sure that that all of those expectations are met. If you recall part of the um part of those memorandums require the constitutional officers and the public defender to come before council annually um to provide um an update on those activities for the prior year in advance of the of the um upcoming uh budget year. So this meeting we have uh three constitutional officers with us. We have the Commonwealth attorney, we have the sheriff, and we have Commissioner of the Revenue, and then we'll have the remaining constitutional officers and the public defender um coming up in March. But really the purpose is um to give a brief overview of the elements uh that were outlined in the MOU and the performance uh um on those, and then um uh really provide uh give council the opportunity between now and and the budget to give me any feedback on what they'd like to see in future MOUs and future budgets. And with that, I'll turn it back to the mayor. Thank you, uh Mr. Manager. I would like to just a couple of uh ground the understandings from council and from presenters. You know, this is an election time. We do not want this to be an election discussion where uh the purpose of it is to understand what you're requesting for the budget, so if you'll keep your comments to to that to those uh to that point, and I ask council members if you have any questions after the presentations uh related to what uh the expectation is for budget that you give those questions to uh our city manager and city manager will go back to constitutional officers to get the answers, and we will follow up with the with that later. Mr. Yes, sir. So up first is the Commonwealth attorney. Well, good afternoon, uh members, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor, members of the City Council. Um it is indeed an honor to be back in front of you all. I think since I was on the council with you, or several of you, I've only been back once to address you, and we'll get into why I was here for that because I think that was a particularly uh joyous occasion. Um but I am here as the city manager has uh eloquently laid out to begin discussions uh, I guess relevant to the memorandum of understanding that was signed last year. Um but I think I'd like to spend the first part of the presentation talking a little bit about our office because this is the very first one of these presentations we've ever done uh as far as the four years that I was on council, we never did this, and certainly I'm not aware of any other uh constitutional office coming. I think I'm the first one of the five to present to you. So uh for the benefit of those that are newly elected as well, and congratulations, Dr. King and Councilmember Smith. Um, I want to tell you a little bit more about our office first. And uh so I'll get right to it. I'm gonna introduce my team in a minute, so I don't want uh you or the public to think I'm uh ignoring them, but I have a flow to this presentation, and I'll get to that in a second. The Commonwealth Attorney's Office for, and I think most of you know this, if not all of you, but for the public that's watching, you know, we are what's called the district attorney's office and most other jurisdictions. But because of the way that uh the Virginia Constitution uh outlines our our role, we are a constitutional office, and I am the Commonwealth attorney for the City of Chesapeake. What that means is that we are responsible for prosecuting all felonies that occur within the city and certain misdemeanors. And I'll get into that a little bit later as well, because we're not statutorily obligated to prosecute all misdemeanors. However, we have certain policies in place where we do prosecute all of certain types of misdemeanors. But overarching that, the mission of our office and the mission of the Chesapeake Commonwealth Attorney's Office is to seek justice in every case that we prosecute. And our vision statement, our vision is to represent the best interests of the victims, the citizens, and the City of Chesapeake with integrity, fairness, and dedication to doing what is right. We will accomplish this vision within an atmosphere of teamwork that fosters a desire in our employees to serve people where they need us. What the vision statement doesn't say that is also important is we also as prosecutors need to look out for the interest of the defendant in the case. And our role is markedly different than that of a defense counsel uh as we seek justice. But we in our office, we are our North Stars are our core values of teamwork, mentorship, training, and integrity. To orient you a little bit about our office, and now is the part where I'm going to introduce you to our team members. This, and I know it's probably a little hard for you to see, but I think and hope that uh you all have copies in front of you. This is a organizational chart of our office and how we are structured. Um sitting to my left is Chief Deputy Commonwealth Attorney DJ Hanson. Uh DJ has been with the Office of the Commonwealth Attorney since September 11th of 2001. And seated next to him is Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Stephanie Pass.
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