Hampton City Council Work Session - July 10, 2024
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Hampton City Council Work Session - July 10, 2024
On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the Hampton City Council held a work session from 1:00 PM to 6:05 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting opened with a presentation on the Grant Street redevelopment community engagement, followed by the annual police crime data briefing and a hurricane season update. No public comments were received. The council then entered a closed session (2:41 PM) to discuss appointments, personnel performance, real estate, investments, and legal advice on short-term rentals. The closed session and its certification were approved unanimously (7-0). The meeting adjourned at 6:05 PM.
Discussion Items
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Grant Street Engagement Update – Staff presented a comprehensive community engagement process for the Grant Street redevelopment project in Olde Hampton. A values-based survey of 40+ residents revealed top priorities: safety, cleanliness, sense of place, family-oriented housing, and community. Desired amenities included a farmers market, mini-grocery, café, community garden, and dog park. For housing, residents preferred owner-occupied, single-family detached homes, with some support for duplexes or townhomes. Options for zoning (R-8, R-4) and potential mixed-use or live-work units were discussed. Council asked about engagement sustainability, housing mix (affordable vs. market-rate), and resident tenure. Staff noted no objections to housing overall.
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Hampton Police Division Crime Data Briefing – Chief Wideman reported a 9.3% overall crime reduction citywide from 2023 to 2024. Violent crime dropped 17.3% (murder down 70%, robbery down 31%, aggravated assault down 6.3%). Property crime fell 8.6% (burglary down 0.7%, larceny down 8%, motor vehicle theft down 19.5%). The ABC store larcenies, once 60% of larcenies, have decreased due to enhanced security and prosecution. Recruitment and retention remain the biggest challenges; the department has 20 in the current academy and aims for 20 more in October. The Real-Time Information Center (RTIC) and partnerships with VSP, ATF, DEA, and U.S. Marshals were highlighted. Discussed camera network expansion, fireworks enforcement, and ShotSpotter (not recommended due to citizen desensitization and cost). Council noted the city’s significant improvement in the Ceasefire program, with Hampton being asked to serve as a benchmark for other localities.
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2024 Hurricane Season Update & Emergency Management Status – Interim Director Gwen Pointer presented the National Hurricane Center’s most active forecast on record: 17-25 named storms, 8-13 hurricanes, 4-7 major hurricanes. Excessive heat risks (40-50% probability through July-August) were also addressed. Completed mitigation projects include 22 home elevations, 1 reconstruction, and 1 acquisition; 39 pending projects (two funded, two under FEMA review). Community preparedness initiatives include Community Emergency Preparedness Days (first on May 4 at West Hampton Community Center served 193 people from 142 households), Community Lighthouse pilot at West Hampton Community Center, revamped CERT with 38 volunteers, and regional grants for terrorism awareness/Stop the Bleed (3,000 kits to be distributed) and Family Assistance Center training. The coming grant cycle faces a 25% funding cut over two years. A $150,000 UASI grant application has passed initial review to continue terrorism awareness training.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken on the three presentations; they were informational for council discussion.
- The council unanimously (7-0) approved a motion to enter closed session at 2:41 PM, citing Virginia Code Sections 2.2-3711.A (.1), (.6), and (.8) to discuss appointments, performance evaluations of the City Manager and Clerk of Council, prospective City Attorney candidates, investment of public funds, and legal advice on short-term rentals.
- The council unanimously (7-0) approved the resolution certifying the closed session upon reconvening.
- The meeting adjourned at 6:05 PM without any new business or regional issues.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome. I'd like to ask our clerk to call the role, please. Councilman Bowman. Present. Councilman Brown. Here. Vice Mayor Gray. Present. Councilwoman Harper. Present. Councilman Hobbes. Present. Councilwoman Muggler. Present. Mayor Tuck. Present. And I would like to begin our meeting by welcoming back a familiar face and presence. We are so delighted to have our former city attorney, Cynthia Hudson, who is serving as our interim city attorney for a period of time. Welcome. Thank you, Mayor Tuck, for the opportunity to work in the service of Hampton residents again. It's surreal, but a welcome opportunity. Thank you. Glad to be back. Really? Watch those qualifiers. May I ask our city manager to introduce this afternoon's agenda, please? Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council members. To kick off the afternoon open session briefings, we're going to begin with a briefing outlining our community engagement efforts for the Grant Street redevelopment project. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Manager Bonteen. Good afternoon, Mayor, members of council, Madam Clerk, and Attorney Hudson. Yes, so as Manager Vonti said, this is going to be a tag team effort this morning, this afternoon rather, on our Grant Street redevelopment, as we have been engaged in this project for quite some time. So we are very excited to finally be able to bring this presentation to you all and for you all's enjoyment and information. So as she spoke, uh yes, I am the director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and we've had many staff persons to work on this, some who have gone on to other projects within the city and beyond, but I would like to highlight those individuals that are here with us today. Um Mariah Roder, the program coordinator for diversity, equity and inclusion, following uh Mr. Jonathan McBride, which is our housing and neighborhood development manager, and then Mr. Mike Hayes, which is our planning and zoning administration manager. Excuse me. Before you continue, I don't know the level of their involvement at which point you plan to call them, but it just seems so awkward to see them standing. So if they don't mind, you just have a seat right there and realize they were ready to go. Okay. Thank you. I just seen that before, and it just seems like everybody's lining up and it might be five or ten minutes for their opportunity to speak. And so I just thought it'd be better off a more comfortable if they just had a seat. Thank you. Thank you for the support. So I wanted to start off with our engagement goals. Understanding that this has been a lengthy process that we have been engaging in the old Hampton community.
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