Hampton City Council Legislative Session – March 12, 2025
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Hampton City Council Legislative Session – March 12, 2025
The Hampton City Council held its legislative session on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers, 22 Lincoln Street, Hampton, Virginia. All seven council members were present. The meeting included a consent agenda, a Women's History Month presentation, one public comment, appointments to city boards, and a report on upcoming budget input sessions. The meeting adjourned at 7:06 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (7–0) a resolution to amend the FY 2025 budget to accept and appropriate a Continuum of Care Planning Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, used to end homelessness.
- Approved unanimously (7–0) a resolution to accept $457,068 in additional Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation for the Traffic Signal System Retimings Phase II project.
- Approved unanimously (7–0) a resolution requesting that VDOT program four new projects (North King Street, North Campus Parkway, Tide Mill Lane, and West Queen Street) into its Six-Year Improvement Plan.
- Approved unanimously (7–0) a resolution to appropriate $500,000 from the Capital Budget Committed Fund Balance to fund a contribution to the Hampton Newport-News Community Services Board, recognizing their investment at 1644 Briarfield Road and benefits to Hampton citizens.
- Approved unanimously (7–0) the minutes from the ceremonial session of February 26, 2025, and the legislative sessions of January 8, 2025, February 12, 2025, and March 12, 2025. Note: The agenda listed the ceremonial session date as February 26, 2026, while the minutes state February 26, 2025; the discrepancy was not discussed during the meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Joan Weaver, a Hampton University graduate and Old Wythe resident, expressed gratitude to the City Manager and all involved for the recent unveiling of panels honoring the Virginia State School of the Deaf and Blind. She called the event elegant and respectful, and said the school had finally been "brought home." However, she also stated that the current structures on the site remain "an atrocity" and that a monument should have been built. She vowed that Old Wythe would continue to demand respect and a place in the city, saying "We're not sleeping giants."
Presentations & Proclamations
- Mayor Jimmy Gray proclaimed March as Women's History Month and noted that this is the first time a majority of women serve on Hampton City Council. He acknowledged the female City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk.
- Councilwoman Carolyn Campbell, Councilwoman Martha Mugler, Councilwoman Michelle Ferebee, and Councilwoman Hope Harper presented a history of the three women who have served as Mayor of Hampton: Ann Kilgore (mayor 1963–1971 and 1974–1978), Mamie Locke (mayor 2000–2004), and Molly Joseph Ward (mayor 2008–2016). They highlighted each mayor's accomplishments, including downtown redevelopment, integration, the establishment of Virginia Peninsula Community College, Fort Monroe's national monument designation, and improvements to tax collection.
- Mayor Gray presented a pin to Clerk of Council Katherine Glass in honor of her 20th anniversary as Clerk. Ms. Glass made brief remarks thanking the city and citizens.
Mayor's Comments
- Mayor Gray announced upcoming listening sessions on his "first hundred days" listening tour. He listed sessions on March 18 or 19 at Northampton Community Center (the minutes say March 18, the transcript says March 19), March 24 at Sandy Bottom Nature Park, April 2 at Aberdeen Elementary School, and April 16 at Fox Hill Neighborhood Center. He also mentioned Hopeful Hampton Initiative sessions to combat gun violence. He encouraged citizens to attend or contact him directly.
Appointments
- Appointed Leonard Sledge, Hampton's Economic Development Director, to the Virginia Peninsula Community College Board of Trustees. Motion by Vice Mayor Steven Brown, seconded by Councilmember Hope Harper; approved 7–0.
- Appointed Quincy Byrd and Spenser W. Bosch to first terms on the Social Services Local Advisory Board, expiring March 31, 2029. Motion by Vice Mayor Brown, seconded by Councilmember Harper; approved 7–0.
Reports by City Manager
- City Manager Mary Bunting reminded the public of the annual "I Value" budget input sessions. In-person preference polling sessions will be held Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 PM at the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex and Saturday, March 22 at 9:00 AM at the American Theatre. A virtual Facebook Live discussion will take place Thursday, March 20 at 6:30 PM, and online polling will run from March 18–25 at hampton.gov.
- She explained that the public will provide high/medium/low/no priority ratings on budget issues, including unfunded mandates, potential real estate tax adjustments, fees for wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste, and new requests from departments and community groups.
- All feedback will be presented to Council at the March 26 afternoon work session. The Manager's recommended budget will be released April 15, with public hearings on April 23 and May 7, and final approval on May 14.
Key Outcomes
- All consent agenda items were approved unanimously (7–0).
- Both appointments were approved unanimously (7–0).
- No public hearings were held, and there were no general items or miscellaneous new business.
- The next steps include the budget input sessions in March and the release of the Manager's recommended budget on April 15, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to our Hampton City Council uh legislative session. Uh ask the clerk to call the role, please. Councilman Bowman. Present. Vice Mayor Brown. Here. Councilwoman Campbell, present. Councilwoman Fairby here. Councilwoman Harper, present. Councilwoman Muggler, present. Mayor Gray. Okay. And uh this evening, uh Councilwoman Michelle Therapy. Michelle Taylor Farabee will lead us with the invocation, followed by Pledge of Pledge of Allegiance. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you before you today with hearts full of gratitude for the opportunity to serve this community. We ask for your wisdom and guidance as we make decisions that impact the lives of our citizens. Help us to work together in unity and respect, always striving to serve the with integrity and for the greater good of all. Lord, we lift up our first responders, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and all who dedicate themselves to keeping our city safe. Protect them, strengthen them, and guide them as they serve our community with courage and compassion. We also pray for our hardworking city workers who maintain the infrastructure and services that allow our city to function. May they feel valued, supported, and equipped to continue their essential work. Lord, we ask that you help us foster a city where diversity is celebrated, where equity and inclusion are the heart of our actions and decisions. May we work toward a community where all people, regardless of background or circumstance, heard, and valued. Let our actions reflect a commitment to justice, fairness, and unity for the good of all. Finally, we pray for our entire city, its leaders, citizens, and all who live and work here. Guide us toward a future where peace, prosperity, and mutual respect abound. In your name we pray. Amen. So March is women's history month, as some of you may know, and uh we have uh women in our community, women in local government uh working around us who've uh uh uh had some remarkable achievements and uh you know, and that's just not today, it's uh women who have served our community uh over the past uh you know hundreds of years uh that have made a difference in the community. And so this uh month as we celebrate women's history month, I want to uh congratulate all of the women uh in Hampton City government, particularly those that are sitting uh on the dais with me this evening and at our clerks table. As you can see, um we uh have quite a few women serving here. I think when we talk about women making history in Hampton, uh this is the first time I think I'm correct in saying that we have had women make up a majority of our city council members, and so we uh congratulate all of the uh women council members here for that achievement. Uh you know, while it's notable today, a lot of times, you know, history is written many many years later, so uh, you know, there it will certainly be uh a point in time where that will be you know celebrated by you know many young people that will follow you and they will uh talk about you and write about you for this remarkable achievement. You also see that we have our city manager, uh I believe our city manager is the first woman who served as a city manager here in Hampton, and she's uh after uh 15 years now, uh the longest serving city manager, and um and uh we certainly pride of what she's to date me. Uh trying to date her. So she too will will go down in history. Hampton history is uh being that first woman to serve in that position, and we have uh our new city attorney, although she's not the first woman in that position. She's continue continuing a uh tradition of great uh women who have served as uh city attorneys here in Hampton. We've had I've had the pleasure working with uh I think all of them, and uh it's been a great pleasure. They certainly served our city well. And then our clerk who uh keeps her straight and helps us run our meetings here in Hampton uh is uh you know serving in that role, and uh she's not the first woman in that role either, but certainly making history here as she uh celebrates her her milestone. So uh I think we all owe you all a debt of gratitude for your service to our community, not only for what you've done, but for what I know you're gonna continue to do in uh serving us going forward. And I'll give you a chance to hear from them uh a little bit uh later on the agenda. Um next, I want I just want to say that uh I am as your new mayor still uh trying to make my way around the city and uh talk to people. It's not like I haven't been out and and met with a lot of folks uh on the campaign trail, but now I'm uh you know, doing my first hundred days as mayor. I'm uh doing listening sessions out in the community. So I've been uh some of those I've arranged for myself and uh with the staff and uh others uh people that reached out to me, invited me to come to uh various events, and I've tried to accommodate those as well. But some of the announced uh listening sessions uh I want to kind of give you those right now. The next one will be next Wednesday, March 19th at Northampton Community Center from 6 until 7 30. And then on March 24th, I'll have another one at Sandy Bottom Nature Park, same time, six uh until uh 7 30.
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