Okay.

Brave men and women in blue who've laid down their lives in service to our communities.

Officers who stood between danger and the people they were sworn to protect.

And also, as Memorial Day has passed, we lift up the countless sons and daughters of this nation who gave their last full measure of devotion on the fields so far from home that we may live in freedom.

We ask your blessing upon this council as we conduct the business of the city.

May our deliberations reflect the values of these heroes that these heroes died defending.

Justice, liberty, and the common good.

Councilmember Bond?

Here.

Council Member Jeffreys.

Here.

Council Member King.

Here.

Council Member Newman's here.

Councilmember Smith.

Here.

Council Member Ward.

President.

Councilmember Whitaker.

Present.

Vice Mayor Ritter?

Here.

Mayor West.

Present.

Madam Attorney, would you please provide the language for the certification of a closed meeting held at four o'clock today?

A motion to certify that to the best of each member's knowledge.

Only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements were discussed, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard discussed or considered.

So we can push a button out of the second.

Fund that's what please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Thank you.

Motion to certify the closed meeting is adopted by a nine-o vote.

Excuse me.

Next to motif uh motion to ratify the remote participation.

We don't need to do that now.

Okay, I'm sorry, yeah.

Of course we're send her away.

Why not?

Oh yeah, that's right, sir.

I may be remote, but not that way.

Next is the approval of the proposed agenda.

Are there any changes?

Council members have this time.

Seeing none.

Thank you, Dr.

Ward.

Second.

Thank you, Dr.

King.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the agenda as presented is adopted by 9 0 vote.

Next are the approval of the minutes of April 14th, 21st, and 28th, 2026, are presented for approval.

If there are no objections and there are no changes or corrections, the minutes are stand approved as presented.

Next uh citizens' comments on public hearing items.

The city council meetings limited public form, so public comments must relate to tonight's agenda.

When speaking, please focus on your your remarks on the merits of the item you are speaking on.

Doing so helps this hearing fulfill its purpose of gathering relevant information for the voting body.

Additionally, to balance order with the public right to speak and as outlined the city's council's rules of order and procedures.

Any speaker who delays, interrupts or disrupts meetings with disorderly insulin or disturbing action speech or conduct will be declared out of order.

Madam Clerk, do we have any speakers who wish to speak prior to the presentation of public hearing items?

No, sir.

Thank you.

Next is the council's consideration of public hearing items.

Madam Clerk, would you please present the items?

Item A, a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a lease with McPherson Farms LLC for approximately nineteen acres of farmland owned by the City of Chesapeake, being a portion of the parcel located at 3700 Battlefield Boulevard South Chesapeake, Virginia.

Requested by public works.

Thank you.

Are there uh any speakers on this item?

No, sir.

Thank you.

Motion is in order.

Move approval.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Whitaker and Dr.

Ward.

Any discussion.

Thank you.

Uh please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the resolution as presented and retroactive to January one, 2026 is adopted by a 9-0 vote.

Thank you.

Uh Madam Clerk, are there any speakers who wish to speak on uh comments on agenda items only?

Yes, sir.

We have two speakers.

The first is Linda Tyndale, representing self speaking in support of City Manager Item 4, followed by Jeff Staples.

Good evening.

Linda Tendall, 1045 West Road.

About 70 years ago, Swain Eller acquired this property when a customer at his service station in Norfolk was unable to pay their past due repair bill.

For the remainder of his life, he kept his family home warm by harvesting firewood for the wood stove from his little forest on George Washington Highway.

He spent afternoons tending to his trails.

He knew every wildfly wildflower and tree and could predict the upcoming weather by the behavior of the plants and the animals.

Mr.

Eller loved his getaway on Route 17.

Once the old road was closed, it was safer and quieter, and he loved it even more on the Canal Bank Trail.

He was not concerned that it would be developed because there was no power supply in the area.

Virginia Power has now provided power lines to the Cornland School and his lots have now been identified as buildable.

But I think my father-in-law would be pleased that this purchase by the city will ensure that his cherished land will remain as he had kept it, not bulldozed and developed.

Rest in peace, Papa.

Your woods will remain intact.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing that.

Jeff Staples, representing Save the Dismal.

Speaking in support of City Manager Item 4.

Uh good evening.

I'm Jeff Staples, 1453 Boxwood Drive in the Deep Creek section of our city.

And hello everybody.

Glad to be here.

And I want to support uh the acquisition of this property on George Washington Highway South, or what used to be the Route 17 anyway.

Um we definitely want to get this and uh keep traffic off of off of the uh trail um too many bicycles and horses and me and lots of other stuff too.

So uh don't want to disrupt the bears at all either.

So uh please please approve this.

And question for you are there.

Can we look into seeing if there's any more properties uh like this we can go ahead and acquire?

Uh I think that would be a good use of our time.

Dismal swamp canal trail is such a gem.

I'd hate to see it disturbed in any way.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I concludes the speakers.

Before we uh go to the consent agenda, I would like to recognize uh councilwoman new once.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I'm of course my phone just You can go to Councilman Jeffries if you want to read your disclosure first, Councilmember Jeffries.

No problem.

I am an employee of the city and a member of its police department.

I'm disclosing this personal interest because city manager item one could benefit police department employees.

Since the police department includes three or more people who may be affected, the city attorney is advised that I can participate if this disclosure is made.

I do not have a conflict that prevents me from participating, and I hereby affirm I can participate fairly objectively and in the public's best interest.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

My husband is an employee of the city and a member of its fire department.

I'm disclosing his personal interest because city manager item two could also benefit fire department employees.

Since the fire department includes three or more people who may be affected, the city attorney is advised that I can participate if this disclosure is made.

I do not have a conflict that prevents me from participating, and I hereby affirm that I can participate fairly objectively in the public's best interest.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, would you please present consent agenda?

City Clerk item one refund a Norfolk Southern Railroad Company, $64,633.94 cents.

We have three resignations.

Charles McClaucky, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board, Sydney Perry Parks Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board, and Jamaica Corpue Phillips, Chesapeake Interagency Consortium.

City Manager Item One, request for the authority to apply for a 2026 Virginia Rules Camp Grant from the Office of the Attorney General requested by the police department.

Item two, a resolution approving the 2026 through 2030 emergency operations plans for the city of Chesapeake as required by state and city law that mandate review at four-year intervals and authorizing the city manager to maintain and update the emergency operations plan as necessary.

Requested by fire emergency management.

Item three, request to accept and appropriate $2,102 received from the Virginia Tourism Corporation to the VTC Meta Co-op grant and transfer $6,304 in matching funds from the Parks Recreation and Tourism FY 2026 operating budget to the grant requested by Parks Recreation and Tourism.

That concludes the consent agenda mayor.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Are there uh any items council members would like to remove for consideration in the regular agenda?

See nine the motion, please.

So approval.

Thank you, Dr.

Thank you.

We have a second.

Mr.

Whitaker, thank you.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the consent agenda as presented is adopted by 9-0 vote.

Next is our regular agenda.

City Manager Price, would you please present your items?

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Item 4 has two parts related to consideration of actions for the acquisition of property on George Washington Highway South, both requested by Parks Recreation and Tourism.

Item 4A is a request to appropriate 225,000 from the one-time high priority account to the parkland acquisition capital improvement project for the purchase of two parcels of land.

Thank you, sir.

A motion please.

Thank you, Mr.

Bond.

Mr.

Whitaker.

Thank you for that.

Second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the request as presented is adopted by a 9-0 vote.

Item 4B is a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement with the Swain W.

Eller and Walter B.

Tyndall to purchase two undeveloped parcels of land totaling 5.0 acres more or less, located on George Washington Highway South and fronting the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia for a negotiated purchase price of 225,000 for conservation and open space purposes.

Move to approve.

Second.

Mr.

Bond, Mr.

Whitaker, thank you.

Any discussion?

And before we vote, I do ask I want to ask Mr.

Manager was a request to obviously do more of this.

Where is there a place that citizens could go and see where we've purchased property like this?

I don't know the answer to that question, but I will find out and get that information to council.

All right, thank you, sir.

We do have a motion for approval.

Did Miss News?

Thank you, Mr.

Mr.

Manager.

Um, there was to piggyback off the mayor, a request that we consider looking at additional properties along the Dismal Swamp Trail.

We have considered additional properties and are we're gonna continue monitoring those properties for their availability.

Is that correct?

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling for that, Ms.

Newell.

Appreciate it.

We do have a motion for approval.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the resolution as presented is adopted by a 9-0 vote.

Item five is a resolution designating city owned property located at 298 Cedar Road, known as the Chesapeake Central Library, to be renamed and known as the Stillman Central Library requested by public libraries.

A motion is in order, Ms.

Ritter.

Thank you.

I move approval.

Second.

Thank you, Dr.

Ward.

Any discussion?

I'd just like to make a brief comment, if I might.

In the past couple of months, the city has taken an extraordinary effort to recognize three people who have been such a positive and influential part of the city from its beginning.

For Dr.

John D.

Trequet, for Claire Askew, the former director of parks and recreation, and now for Peggy Stillman, or Peggy lived here for many years.

But whatever you chose to call Peggy, she built our library system into such a nationally recognized gem of a system.

Under her leadership, we built four libraries for the public, and Peggy put her heart and soul into the city.

Her she had moved away, she suffered for many years from multiple sclerosis.

And I think she would be honored to know that the city is recognizing her this way.

So as with the other recognition, I want to thank council for um their enthusiastic support of recognizing so many of those people that have made such a positive impact on our city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ms.

Ritter.

We do have a motion for approval.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the resolution as presented is adopted by a 9-0 vote.

Item six is an ordinance amending chapter two of the Chesapeake City Code, Article 11, entitled Chesapeake Land Bank Authority, Sections 2-731, 2-732, and 2-743 to update the principal office location and clarify member requirements for the board of directors and citizen advisory committee requested by Chesapeake Land Bank Authority.

And just some questions I think that would fill in, and I think the memo, while it was interesting, um, could have been stronger on why, what the reasoning is for some of these.

So I'd like to make a motion to continue this for four weeks.

Thank you.

I know Mr.

Harbin always makes uh great policy of contacting us and answering our questions, but I uh spoke to the manager today.

He said there was no immediate rush.

Dr.

King.

Second.

Thank you.

Any other discussion?

See none.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record, Madam Clark.

Motion to continue the ordinance as presented is adopted by a nine-o vote.

Item seven is a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a first amendment to lease agreement between the city of Chesapeake, Virginia, and Commonwealth of Virginia, Supreme Court of Virginia, requested by public works.

A motion please.

Thank you, Dr.

Ward.

Thank you.

Ms.

Ritter.

Any discussion on this matter?

Dr.

King.

Yes.

And this question is for the city manager.

It looks as if we have not had a lease in place now since the end of 2025.

Is that correct?

And why is it that we're having to backdate the lease?

Um, I think they're actually they extended the lease at the exist at the space that the judge was in, and they're moving to a smaller, it's a retired judge, they're moving to a smaller space.

Um that that's probably it, but I'll I'll get an answer from public works and then we'll get we'll get in answer dispatch to council.

I may I may ask a question.

This may probably should go to Ms.

Lindley, because this is a state court issue as opposed to federal court.

When someone transitions into being a senior status as opposed to not retired, but Justice Goodman will be in a senior judge status.

Um what does that actually mean?

And what to why he needs the office?

He will still be a practicing judge, but he will operate kind of on a as needed basis for certain court cases.

Um and so he'll have a smaller staff, and therefore he'll need a smaller space.

Okay, do we anticipate he will have staff?

I think he had one clerk previously.

I heard that he might have someone on like a part-time basis, but that this space would accommodate whatever he needed.

But he's not going to have a full-time position anymore, but he will still be sitting in on certain occasions in the Virginia school.

Correct.

He would be used as like a substitute judge in the case of conflicts.

Um so yes, he will still be practicing, he just won't be a regular member of that bench.

Thank you.

And I'm sorry, to Council Member King's question.

I do recall, and this this could have been part of the delay when we made the switch of offices and and moving from an active judge to a retired judge.

I wanted to we did have staff take a look at what other cities do in terms of lease rates for similar similarly situated office space for judges, and so it took a little bit of time to conduct that that research.

So that was that was probably part of the delay.

But we'll get an answer to council.

Okay, and then I guess this is from Ms.

Lindley.

I guess I just have a concern about allowing someone to occupy a space without an active lease.

Are there any legal ramifications for that?

We've kind of treated him almost as the past December, sorry.

We've treated him as a holdover tenant, um, which is is legally acceptable if you have an existing lease with someone, and then if the lease expires, you continue on on a month-to-month basis.

Out of respect for the fact that he is a sitting judge, and we knew that it was imminent before council, um, we just allowed him to remain under the terms of the previous at least.

Thank you, and thank you for those questions.

We do have a motion for approval.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Madam Clark.

Motion to approve the resolution as presented, retroactive from January 1, 2026 is adopted by 9-0 vote.

Item eight is a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to submit an application for grant funding to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of maritime operations at the LS Green Link site by offsetting the cost of design and construction of one or more peers and related facilities through the U.S.

Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, FY 2026 Port Infrastructure development Program requested by economic development.

Motion please.

Mr.

Smith, uh, thank you.

Uh Dr.

King.

Second.

Any discussion on this?

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the resolution as presented is adopted by 9-0 vote.

Item 9 is a request to appropriate $394,937 in Hampton Roads transit refunds and transfer $305 within the public works FY 2026 operating budget for increased HRT expenses requested by public works.

Motion please.

Thank you.

Any discussion on this item?

Thank you.

Let's vote.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the request as presented is adopted by a 9-0 vote.

Thank you.

Next is uh citizens' comments on services policies and affairs of the city.

Do we have any speakers, Madam Clerk?

Yes, sir.

We have one speaker, Vic Nichols speaking on affairs of the city.

Still nothing is fixed or changed in green bar traffic or the lights while we're taking millions of dollars from the TIFF.

Yet you want thousands of more people there in the next 10 to 20 years.

A peaker said the following.

Council city members, staff, and the CM learned nothing from last year.

Peak residents didn't turn out in droves to fight against the proposed data center here because they wanted zoning and policy changes that would serve as new guardrails.

Residents stated they didn't want data centers at all, especially from politicians that consistently work against the interest of the majority of peak residents.

How can you legislate in the public's best interest, as was just said, when you're not even representing our interest at all?

What are the stats on the executive sessions?

How many meetings are held with and without them?

It's a whole lot of business being done out of the public eye.

When a third of council objected to putting mixed use to everywhere, why is it that's exactly what we're ending up with?

And I want to give you a roast that came up.

Welcome to Chesapeake, America's largest, most sprawling collection of strip malls and suburban subdivisions masquerading as a city.

If you've ever wanted to experience the thrill of driving 45 minutes to go to a target that looks exactly like the other three targets you passed on your way, Chesapeake's your paradise.

Here's a quick breakdown of what makes this place truly special.

The identity never heard of it vibe.

Chesapeake doesn't have a downtown, it has Greenbrier, which is a massive concrete monument to chain restaurants, traffic lights, and a mall that's holding on for deer life.

It's a city that looked at neighboring beach and Norfolk and said, what if we had none of the beach, none of the culture, but twice the amount of suburban sprawl?

Two, the great Centerville Greenbrier traffic paradox.

The city's planner's master strategy for peak seems to be let's build 50,000 homes and connect them all exactly using two lanes.

If you enjoy spending the best years of your life staring at the brake lights of a lifted Ford F 150 on Volvo Parkway or Centerville Turnpike, you'll love it here.

Three, the bridges of Norfolk County.

If you actually manage to get your car moving, don't worry, a bridge will open.

Peak is a place where your boss will completely accept sorry I'm late, the Gilmerton or High Rise, or Centerville, was up as a valid excuse for the fifth time in a month.

The drawbridges here operate on a schedule dictated entirely by chaos and the maritime desires of a single tugboat.

Deep Creek versus Great Bridge.

The city's locked in an eternal invisible civil war.

You have Great Bridge and Hickory where people pay a premium to live in a subdivision named after the trees they cut down to build it, pretending they live in a rural utopia.

Then you have Deep Creek and Western Branch, which are basically just geographic extensions of Petroit and Suffolk, but with higher property taxes.

In summary, Chesapeake is the civic equivalent of a beige minivan.

It's fairly safe, fairly functional, pretty good for raising a family, but absolutely no one is excited to live here.

You know what it's like being a resident for over 25 years to see something like this?

That's painful.

I've invested over 25 years in this city, and for something like that to come out, and that's our roast.

The people, not your party, or whoever the developer friends give to your campaigns, is to be representing us, and this is what is said about us.

Do better.

Mr.

Manager, uh, off the cuff question to you if you can't answer, it's fine.

Uh how many cities in Chesapeake and excuse me in Hampton Roads and Virginia are growing now?

Do you have an idea?

How many cities are growing?

Growing, increasing, not going back in population.

So Chesapeake, Suffolk, James City County, but that list is very small.

Right.

And that's because people want to live here.

One would assume.

One would assume.

Thank you, sir.

Next is uh, may I?

Yes.

Do you this?

Right.

Um, due to the necessity for another closed session, like to ask council's indulgence to move that we hear old unfinished and new business.

Um, and then um take up number nine nominations and appointments in the second closed session.

Uh can you put that in form of a motionless vote on that?

I did, I think.

Amend the agenda.

I'll second the amendment to the agenda.

We have a motion to amend the agenda to hear the new and old business uh before we go into closed session.

Is everyone clear on that?

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

On the motion non to zero, the agenda will be amended.

Thank you.

So next on the agenda would be new business.

Do we have any new business council members?

Uh new business at this time that council member would like to consider.

I've seen uh Mr.

Brunt, Mr.

Bunn.

Yeah.

Um, thank you, Mayor West.

Not really, I'm not sure if it's new business and business business, but just want to welcome our vice mayor back in town.

We miss you, uh Ms.

Frederick.

We love you.

Welcome you back.

Thanks for coming back.

Have you back in operation?

Thank you for the thoughtful lovely file.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Smith.

Yes, thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

And far as new businesses concerned, I want to thank Deputy Manager Geis in reference to the application for road blockage flow of railroad crossings.

Uh, I think it's called Oculus.

Uh, the app I think the experiment in right now, but if the city manager is here, W city manager is here, is he here?

Could you share some information on that?

Yes, sir.

Um, there's a uh company that is in the Hampton Roads area that is uh rolling out an app for citizens to be able to track when railroads uh are when rail cars are blocking railroad crossings over roads.

Here in Chesapeake, we have quite a few in certain areas of the city.

You can go on, you can download this app, it's called Oculus Rail, and you can um check to see when uh rail cars are are blocking intersections.

It doesn't forecast, it just provides it when it's happening.

So that's rolling right now.

Chesapeake is one of the test uh cities, and it's rolling out nationwide.

Thank you.

Any other uh new business before we go to unfinished business?

Any unfinished business council members have at this time?

Thank you.

And we'll go to uh city attorney Lindley for the the language of the closed meeting, all right.

All right, a motion again back to conduct a closed meeting for one discussion and consideration and interview or no interview, pardon me, discussion and consideration of candidates for appointment to city boards, commissions, and authorities for the purposes of considering candidates for the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area, Chesapeake Redevelopment Housing Authority, Economic Development Authority, South North Revitalization Commission, Animal Services Advisory Board, Chesapeake Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee, Chesapeake Interagency Consortium, Chesapeake Land Bank Authority, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, Parks Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board, and South Side Network Authority, and two, to continue discussion on evaluations of City Council appointees, including the city real estate assessor, city attorney, city auditor, city clerk, and city manager, all is permitted by section two point two-thirty seven eleven A one.

Both of them are covered under that exception of the code of Virginia.

Thank you, Miss Lindley.

I have a motion.

Thank you, Dr.

Ward, can we have a second?

Thank you, Mr.

Smith.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to conduct a closed meeting is adopted by a nine oh vote.

Council will now go into closed session.

I'm gonna ask if I can be excused after a certain portion of the closed sentence and be excused from the rest of the meeting.

Well, we'll have a lot of the water.

Landwind.

Catherine.

Four thirty, Catherine.

Four thirty.

Thank you.

City attorney Lindley, would you please provide the language certification to closed meeting?

A motion is certified that to the best of each member's knowledge.

Only public business matters lawfully exempted from opening meeting requirements were discussed, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered.

Motion to certify the closed meeting is adopted by an eight-o vote.

Thank you.

Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority, there will be interviews for Terrell Cuffy.

Reappoint Julie Anderson.

Revitalization Committee reappoint Chastity Pritchard.

Continue the other two.

Animal services.

Reappoint Antonio Falteroid.

Appoint Stephanie Daniels and appoint Christine Joseph.

Chesapeake Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee.

Appoint Tracy Joan Schofield.

Chesapeake Interagency Consortium, reappoint Vice Mayor Debbie Ritter and Romania Whitehurst.

And Lisa Dewey.

Chesapeake Land Bank Authority, reappoint Jojo Sue.

Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.

Reappoint Pat Patricia Y.

King, Vice Mayor Debbie Ritter, Council Member Patricia King.

Parks Recreation and Tourism.

South Side Network Authority, reappoint Vice Mayor Debbie Ritter and Laura Fitzpatrick as the alternate member.

That concludes the nominations and appointments.

Excuse me, please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to approve the slate of appointees and nominees is adopted by an eight-o vote.

May I ask a clarifying question from the clerk?

The boards that we will hold interviews for are Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Board and Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

So just redevelopment.

Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority is the only one.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

You're welcome.

All right, Mayor, I'm ready.

Okay.

Motion to conduct a closed meeting on Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 at 4 30 p.m.

in Chesapeake City Hall to discuss, consider, interview prospective candidates for appointment to city boards, commissions, and authorities.

For the purpose of considering candidates for the Chesapeake Redevelopment Housing Authority as permitted by section two point two-thirty seven eleven, A1 of the Code of Virginia.

Thank you.

A motion, please.

Proof approval.

Thank you, Mr.

Woodaker.

Dr.

King.

Please prepare to vote.

Please vote and record.

Motion to hold a closed session on June the 9th, starting at 4 30.

Is adopted by an 8-0 vote.

Benediction now will be offered by Councilmember Jeffries.

Lord, as we adjourn, we carry with us the weight and honor this month demands.

May we never grow comfortable with the freedoms purchased by the ultimate sacrifices made by our police officers and soldiers who answered the call of duty.

Let their courage inspire our own commitment to faithfully serve the city.

Watch over the families who grieve, the officers who continue to serve, and the veterans among us who carry memories we cannot fully know.

Bless the city of Chesapeake and bless all who labor to make it safer, stronger, and a more just community.

Lord, go with us now and bring us back together in that same spirit of service.

Amen.