Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Hampton City Council Work Session - October 23, 2024

City Council — Wednesday, October 23, 2024

BodyHampton, Virginia

SessionCity Council

DateWednesday, October 23, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:53:36

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:48

Good afternoon and welcome.

0:50

Like to ask our clerk to call the roll, please.

0:52

Councilman Bowman.

0:53

Present.

0:54

Councilman Brown.

0:55

Here.

0:56

Vice Mayor Gray.

0:57

Present.

0:57

Councilwoman Harper.

0:59

Councilwoman Hobbs.

1:00

Present.

1:00

Councilwoman Mudler.

1:02

Present.

1:02

Mayor Tupp.

1:03

Present.

1:04

And Councilwoman Harper may be a little bit late today.

1:07

I would like to call our city manager, Mary Bunting, to introduce this afternoon's agenda, please.

1:13

Thank you, Mr.

1:14

Mayor.

1:15

As you all know, but for the benefit of the public, we are entering the season where we prepare for General Assembly session.

1:21

It's right around the corner.

1:23

And typically at this meeting, we have a presentation of a proposed draft legislative agenda.

1:30

Today we have with us Ed Reed, the vice president of two capitals consulting.

1:34

Ed and his team have served us very well over the last several years as we prepare and also once we get into General Assembly session.

1:41

We're representing the interest of the community and making sure that not only our delegates, but more importantly, delegates who aren't familiar with Hampton understand the positions of our local government and other local governments.

1:52

So what Ed's going to do today is give you a proposed legislative agenda based upon things that council has expressed to us over the past year, as well as what our department heads have asked us to consider.

2:04

And today's your opportunity really to react to that.

2:07

Let us know if you're comfortable with everything that we've assembled.

2:10

If you think something's missing, please let us know.

2:12

If you would like to see something removed because you don't maybe feel comfortable with what the department heads are asking for, uh please let us know that as well.

2:20

Between this meeting and next meeting, Ed and our staff will work together to get a final agenda for you to officially approve at your November meeting.

2:27

With that, I'm glad to turn it over to Mr.

2:29

Reed.

2:30

Thank you so much.

2:31

Good afternoon, Mayor, members of council, um, City Manager Bunting, City Attorney Sidnore, and uh City Clerk Glass.

2:38

Uh, thank you for the opportunity to present the draft uh legislative agenda today.

2:43

It's um my favorite time of the year.

2:46

Um, and by that I mean Hampton homecoming, but for the purposes of uh today's presentation, it's the 2025 General Assembly session.

2:55

Um I'd like to also recognize my colleague Matty Bussey, who is here with me as well.

3:00

She's assistant vice president at two capitalists consulting and is a integral part of our team that helps to support the work that we do for Hampton in Richmond.

3:09

So with that, we'll go ahead and jump right in.

3:11

Um during today's uh presentation, we will indicate you know the goals of the presentation, talk through the legislative timeline as it currently exists, uh review draft policy positions, review the new and returning legislative requests as well as budget requests as the city manager has alluded to, and answer any questions and gather your feedback uh that you may have.

3:36

So the the primary goal of today's uh presentation is to uh get your reaction and your feedback and guidance on what is being asked for the the draft legislative agenda.

3:49

The next slide gives a glimpse of what to expect uh as we prepare for the 2025 General Assembly session.

3:56

Um yeah, I presented to you I think last in August.

4:00

Uh we talked about taking the time from August to October to gather ideas for the legislative package.

4:06

Um obviously we're here today to present that draft.

4:09

Um we'll look to come back in in mid-November for approval of a finalized uh legislative agenda, and then it will be at that point that our team will begin to share that finalized uh legislative agenda with members of our General Assembly delegation.

4:25

You'll see some additional General Assembly legislative uh deadlines there.

4:29

The deadline for pre-file drafting for legislation is November 25th, which is usually a tight timeline there right before the holiday.

4:37

Um as is the case for the last several sessions.

4:41

We um are looking at bill limits.

4:44

So as we talk about some of the ideas and proposals, I just want to offer some caution because um you know the bill limits in the House of Delegates will be 15 and 20 in the in the Senate this year, and we have uh uh delegation that has shrunk from having six members in the Hampton delegation to only having three as of as a result of redistricting a couple of years ago.

5:00

And we have a delegation that has shrunk from having six members in the Hampton delegation to only having three as a as a result of redistricting a couple of years ago.

5:06

This is a short session, 45-day session, non-budget year.

5:10

However, the governor will submit some amendments to the current two-year budget.

5:17

He will do that on December 18th in Richmond before the General Assembly.

6:14

So we'll start by reviewing some of the draft policy positions.

6:18

Some of these you will have seen before.

6:25

These bullets reflect ongoing work to support for the increased efforts surrounding tree canopy, ongoing investments in community flood preparedness fund and general state level coordination as it relates to coastal and recurrent flooding.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Economic Development█████████████████████████████29%

Transportation Safety███████████████████████23%

Legislative Advocacy█████████████████████21%

Tourism Promotion█████5%

Community Engagement████4%

Workforce Development████4%

Procedural███3%

Zoning and Land Use███3%

Mental Health Awareness██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Hampton City Council Work Session - October 23, 2024

The Hampton City Council held a work session on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 1:00 PM in Council Chambers. Mayor Donnie R. Tuck presided, with six members present (Councilwoman Hope Harper arrived late). The agenda covered the 2025 General Assembly legislative priorities, proposed safety improvements for Shell Road and Greenbriar Avenue, and an update on the strategic priority of economic growth.

General Assembly Legislative Priorities - 2025

Ed Reed, Vice President of Two Capitols Consulting, presented the draft legislative agenda for the 2025 General Assembly session. Policy positions included support for resiliency and environment, community development, education, fiscal responsibility, public safety, economic development, FOIA/COIA mandates, and transportation.
Specific legislative and budget requests were outlined: (1) stop sign photo enforcement; (2) technical amendment to photo enforcement authority to create parity (30 days to review footage for all violations); (3) ABC enforcement of larcenies at local stores; (4) restore the Hampton Health District; (5) add municipal park rangers, 911 operators, and animal control officers to enhanced duty pay list; (6) Fort Wool restoration funding.
Councilman Brown raised concerns about expediting enforcement for commercial vehicles parked in neighborhoods and barrier crimes for returning citizens. Mr. Reed noted these were addressed in the community development and public safety sections respectively. Mayor Tuck added that the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission also addresses barrier crimes.
Councilman Hobbs asked about Fort Wool restoration; City Manager Bunting explained the challenge of relocating protected birds and the need for design/engineering work to proceed in parallel.
Vice Mayor Gray inquired about funding mental health services and House Bill 1236 (zoning requests). Staff committed to following up with the Community Services Board before the November meeting and will monitor the housing commission study.

Shell Road & Greenbriar Avenue Proposed Safety Alternatives

Jason Mitchell, Director of Public Works and Community Development, presented safety alternatives for the Shell Road and Greenbriar Avenue corridor. Concerns included speeding, accidents, through truck traffic, pedestrian safety, and community connectivity.
Already implemented measures: four-way stop signs at Greenbriar and Shell, three-way stop signs at Pennsylvania and Shell, no thru truck signage, $200 additional fine enforcement, message boards, and police enforcement. Enforcement data through September 2024 showed no further crashes, 184 summons issued, and 60+ officer hours spent.
Proposed alternatives included rumble strips ($10,000, 3 months), a traffic circle ($350,000, 1 year, requiring right-of-way from 5 property owners), traffic signals ($250,000–$500,000, 18–24 months, requiring property from 2 owners), crosswalk/asphalt art ($25,000, 6 months), and temporary road closure ($10,000, 30 days) with potential permanent closure ($50,000, 3 months).
A community meeting on October 16 with about 25 attendees yielded no clear consensus. Police Chief Wideman committed to enhanced enforcement.
Staff recommended: continue police enforcement; implement a temporary road closure at Shell Road and Childs Avenue for 90 days; evaluate for permanent solution; seek additional funding for Safe Streets for All program.
Council discussion: Councilman Bowman opposed closure, noting improved compliance; Councilwoman Mugler and Councilwoman Harper supported the 90-day pilot; Vice Mayor Gray preferred a shorter pilot due to inconvenience; Councilman Brown attended the meeting and appreciated staff efforts; Councilman Hobbs supported a trial; Vice Mayor Gray ultimately supported starting with a pilot but desired flexibility.
Traffic data: approximately 4,000 vehicles per day in April 2024, reduced to 3,000 after stop signs, but speeds increased by 3 mph.

Strategic Priorities Update - Economic Growth

Leonard Sledge, Economic Development Director, presented an update on the economic growth strategic priority. The vision is to generate resources for community services and produce quality jobs.
Key data: based on the current real estate tax rate of $1.16 per $100 assessed value, it requires $86.2 million in new assessed value to generate $1 million in new tax revenue. Real estate taxes remain the largest revenue source.
Four strategies: jobs, retail, housing, and tourism. These are informed by the city's six master plans (Buckroe, Coliseum Central, Downtown, Kecoughtan Road Corridor, North King Street Corridor, and Phoebus).
Jobs: increasing high-wage jobs via attraction, retention, and expansion. Hampton's jobs pay at or above regional averages (data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Primary industries: advanced manufacturing, aerospace, homeland defense, medical/healthcare. Anchor institutions include NASA, Joint Base Langley Eustis, VA Medical Center, Sentara Careplex, Riverside, Hampton University, and Huntington Ingalls Industries. Between FY20–FY24, over $270 million in capital investment was announced. Recent successes: Liebherr expansion, Phenix Commerce Center (800,000+ sq ft Class A industrial), Hampton Logistics Center (500,000+ sq ft).
Retail: increasing entertainment and meals sales. Example: transformation of a former shopping center into medical office, trampoline park, and chef store. Recent successes include Latitude Climbing & Fitness, Pembroke RV & Boat Storage, I Scream U Scream.
Housing: increasing overall housing value, especially upper-range housing. Hampton's single-family values are on the lower end regionally, but multifamily rents are in the upper half (average $1,600/month for one-bedroom). Projects include Constellation (125 units, $35M), Trilogy ($100M), Freeman Drive townhomes, College Court redevelopment (64 for-sale homes).
Tourism: visitor spending enhances economic vitality. Data from Virginia Tourism Corporation shows positive trends. Assets include Hampton Roads Convention Center, Coliseum, Aquaplex, Fort Monroe, Boo Williams Sportsplex.
Council discussion: Councilman Brown asked about subcontractor opportunities for local SWaM/veteran-owned businesses. Vice Mayor Gray highlighted the importance of workforce training and regional connectivity. Councilwoman Mugler asked about attracting higher-value housing; staff explained land assembly and private partnerships. City Manager Bunting added that the focus is on moving the tax base needle and that other departments handle workforce/low-income housing.
Vice Mayor Gray noted that the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel project will make Hampton centrally located, increasing demand for housing. Staff agreed and noted ongoing housing studies and master plan alignment.

Key Outcomes

Council provided feedback on the draft legislative agenda; staff will finalize for approval at the November meeting.
Council concurred with the recommendation to conduct a 90-day temporary road closure pilot on Shell Road at Childs Avenue, with evaluation through traffic data, neighborhood survey, and follow-up meeting.
The economic growth update was presented for information; no formal vote was required. Staff will provide a digital copy of the presentation to Council.
Council moved into closed session at 2:52 PM to discuss real property disposition in Downtown Hampton and acquisition in the Neil Armstrong Corridor, with a motion and second; all members voted aye. The closed session certification was also approved unanimously before adjournment at 4:06 PM.
New Business: City Manager Bunting noted that superintendents from across the country were visiting Hampton City Schools to learn about the Academies of Hampton.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon and welcome. Like to ask our clerk to call the roll, please. Councilman Bowman. Present. Councilman Brown. Here. Vice Mayor Gray. Present. Councilwoman Harper. Councilwoman Hobbs. Present. Councilwoman Mudler. Present. Mayor Tupp. Present. And Councilwoman Harper may be a little bit late today. I would like to call our city manager, Mary Bunting, to introduce this afternoon's agenda, please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As you all know, but for the benefit of the public, we are entering the season where we prepare for General Assembly session. It's right around the corner. And typically at this meeting, we have a presentation of a proposed draft legislative agenda. Today we have with us Ed Reed, the vice president of two capitals consulting. Ed and his team have served us very well over the last several years as we prepare and also once we get into General Assembly session. We're representing the interest of the community and making sure that not only our delegates, but more importantly, delegates who aren't familiar with Hampton understand the positions of our local government and other local governments. So what Ed's going to do today is give you a proposed legislative agenda based upon things that council has expressed to us over the past year, as well as what our department heads have asked us to consider. And today's your opportunity really to react to that. Let us know if you're comfortable with everything that we've assembled. If you think something's missing, please let us know. If you would like to see something removed because you don't maybe feel comfortable with what the department heads are asking for, uh please let us know that as well. Between this meeting and next meeting, Ed and our staff will work together to get a final agenda for you to officially approve at your November meeting. With that, I'm glad to turn it over to Mr. Reed. Thank you so much. Good afternoon, Mayor, members of council, um, City Manager Bunting, City Attorney Sidnore, and uh City Clerk Glass. Uh, thank you for the opportunity to present the draft uh legislative agenda today. It's um my favorite time of the year. Um, and by that I mean Hampton homecoming, but for the purposes of uh today's presentation, it's the 2025 General Assembly session. Um I'd like to also recognize my colleague Matty Bussey, who is here with me as well. She's assistant vice president at two capitalists consulting and is a integral part of our team that helps to support the work that we do for Hampton in Richmond. So with that, we'll go ahead and jump right in. Um during today's uh presentation, we will indicate you know the goals of the presentation, talk through the legislative timeline as it currently exists, uh review draft policy positions, review the new and returning legislative requests as well as budget requests as the city manager has alluded to, and answer any questions and gather your feedback uh that you may have. So the the primary goal of today's uh presentation is to uh get your reaction and your feedback and guidance on what is being asked for the the draft legislative agenda. The next slide gives a glimpse of what to expect uh as we prepare for the 2025 General Assembly session. Um yeah, I presented to you I think last in August. Uh we talked about taking the time from August to October to gather ideas for the legislative package. Um obviously we're here today to present that draft. Um we'll look to come back in in mid-November for approval of a finalized uh legislative agenda, and then it will be at that point that our team will begin to share that finalized uh legislative agenda with members of our General Assembly delegation. You'll see some additional General Assembly legislative uh deadlines there. The deadline for pre-file drafting for legislation is November 25th, which is usually a tight timeline there right before the holiday.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com